San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is eager to improve his team's defense after being dissatisfied with how the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder played out.
The recent trip to Oklahoma City got Gregg Popovich calling for a change in the Spurs' defensive approach. At the moment, the Spurs rank sixth in the NBA in defense with a defensive rating of 103.8. However, the 31 and 34 points they allowed against the Thunder in the second and third quarters did not please Popovich at all.
Speaking after a team practice, Coach Pop reiterated the need to re-impose that discipline on the defensive end and more importantly, the “fundamentals,” the key approaches the Spurs have relied on dating back to the days of Tim Duncan and David Robinson.
“It’s shown,” Popovich said via San Antonio Express-News. “Our defense has gotten a little less disciplined.”
“We stayed in the game [against the Thunder] and had chances because we are competing well, but the execution defensively both individual and team-wise has kind of slacked off,” he continued. “We can’t afford to do that. That’s who we are (a defensive-minded team). We are not going to score 120 points a game. We can’t do that, so it was great to have a practice today and get back to the fundamentals.”
Acknowledging Popovich's focus during the intense training session, Spurs forward Keldon Johnson echoed the renowned coach's battle cry–“fundamentals.”
“We focused on the little things, the fundamentals,” Johnson revealed. “We haven’t had a practice in like six or seven games. Just little things, closing out on defense, that’s the main thing.”
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