Buck Harvey: Popovich's sin: Subbing to lose
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...3.2a57d8d1.htmlSan Antonio Express-News
Someone should have pointed a finger at Tony Parker during the Spurs' marathon film session on Tuesday and told him the truth.
You were awful.
And your coach wasn't much better.
Someone should have told Jason Hart that minimum-wage players usually don't sit on the injured list for six weeks, then are suddenly asked to pull out a fourth quarter.
Someone should have told Gregg Popovich that these public lashings make for good TV, but that his approach opens up the field for blame.
And someone should have stood up and said he understood Popovich's frustration, that Parker needs to change, but that Popovich committed the worst coaching sin.
He put his players in positions to fail.
Knowing the dynamics of the locker room, Popovich likely did most of the talking Tuesday. He was the emotional leader a year ago, and he still is.
He pushed Parker a year ago, too, and he even used then the same line he used Tuesday when he talked to the media. "Tony has to participate in his own recovery," Popovich said. Last season he was saying those identical words as late as the Phoenix series.
Popovich wasn't wrong then and he isn't now. Parker's inconsistency is what stops him from being ranked with the best point guards.
The NBA Finals underlined that, as has this stretch. Parker has sandwiched two of his worst games (Dallas and Memphis) around one of his best (Denver). As Popovich says now, the Spurs have no chance of repeating if Parker continues this pattern, because this year Speedy Claxton isn't here to raise the lows.
But none of it changes what happened Monday, when Popovich coached with fluctuating desperation. Then he scrambled the minutes of his three point guards, scrambling their chances at the same time.
Begin in the fourth quarter, with the Spurs ahead by 14 points. With Charlie Ward in the game, the lead fell to five before Parker came back in with 7:34 left.
Don't blame Ward. Malik Rose offered up a few of his trademark turnovers, including a behind-the-back pass that he should never try even at home.
The lead kept falling with Parker. He gave up a 15-footer to a Memphis guard, Earl Watson, then fell asleep on a Watson trey. When Parker followed by missing his own 3-pointer, Popovich sat him down with 4:34 remaining.
That goes against what many coaches believe. They go back to their regulars eventually, no matter what has transpired before, in the name of stability and confidence.
Popovich not only subbed, he subbed the same Hart who had been on the injured list since Jan. 10. Hart returned for the first time Saturday, against Denver, when he played four minutes of garbage time.
Before he entered the critical stretch Monday, Hart had played only 11 seconds in the third quarter. And that goes against what nearly every NBA player believes: You need to play in the first half if you are going to be asked to finish a tight game.
Hart still competed as he always does, and he got after Watson as Parker hadn't. But then came a play with the Spurs ahead by a point, and it was typical of someone who hasn't been in this position often. Hart dribbled out the 24-second clock, setting up the Memphis go-ahead basket.
Had Popovich swallowed hard and stuck with Hart for the Spurs' final try, at least some logic would have been on his side. Popovich wanted to send a message to Parker, right? Then live or die with Hart.
Popovich could have opted for Ward, too, who has spent a decade under New York pressure.
Popovich instead went back to Parker, with only 19.2 seconds on the clock, and it reminded of a Spurs' playoff game two years ago. Then Popovich subbed Terry Porter for Parker for the final play.
Porter, both cold and old, slipped. And afterward he asked a teammate, "What was I doing in there?"
Parker likely had the same question. Having spent most of the fourth quarter on the bench — having spent most of his time there getting yelled at — where exactly was Parker's head at that moment?
The answer came soon enough. Parker, left open, flinched.
Parker was awful, all right.
And his coach?
