Gregg Popovich laced into the San Antonio Spurs following an ugly loss at the hands of the Miami Heat. Pop's star player, DeMar DeRozan, tends to agree with his coach. He doesn't enjoy that his coach labeled the Spurs as “soft” in that game, but he's looking to rebound from the off night. He told Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News:
“Nobody wants to have that type of label on you. Granted, we played that way last game. But it’s all about how you respond back to that. Man up. That’s motivation there, and we can’t wait to play Saturday.”
It's hard to argue with Popovich's assessment of the team, but it's likely that he used the term “soft” to give his players a shot of life. No NBA player wants to be labeled “soft,” and the Spurs will likely come out on Saturday against the Houston Rockets with some added motivation. Bryn Forbes told Orsborn that being labeled “soft” is one of the worst things a player could be labeled.
“I don’t enjoy that. I don’t think anybody does. If you are a competitor that’s one of the worst things you can be called.”
Popovich has been coaching in the league for a long time and knows what it takes to motivate his team. To be clear, this isn't a case where Pop is exaggerating to make a point. He told the truth about how his team looked against the Heat, so now it's on the Spurs to respond.
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