Spurs coach Popovich on 3-pointers: 'I hate it,' 'It's not basketball'
Don't let the fact that the San Antonio Spurs ranked 12th in the NBA in 3-point field goals this season confuse you - head coach Gregg Popovich is not a fan of the triple.
On Saturday, Popovich was asked about how the proliferation of 3-point shooting across the league has changed how he tries to prepare his teams on each end of the floor and responded with distaste and reluctance.
"I hate it," Popovich said. "To me, it's not basketball. But you gotta use it. If you don't use it, you're in trouble. Sort of feels like cheating."
Popovich may be right that it's an adapt or perish situation, but his quote kind of ignores the fact that it's actually been the league catching up to the Spurs when it comes to a deep attack. Only once since 2001-02 have the Spurs thought fewer threes than the league average, and not at all since 2004-05:
He may feel dirty about it, but the long ball has been a major part of the Spurs' attack for a decade now. If it ain't broke.