Popovich on Spurs' injuries: 'It's gonna be tough to sit guys and win as much as we did last year'
Greg Popovich has never been one to mince words, and he's certainly never been one to apologize for his oft-unconventional approach to coaching.
Popovich is open about de-emphasizing the regular season and focusing on having his troops fresh and healthy for the playoffs, an ethos that helped bring the San Antonio Spurs their fifth championship ring last season. But being that it also occasionally involves sitting his best players for hyped, nationally-televised games, it's drawn the ire of NBA fans and front-office personnel.
Because the Spurs were on a back-to-back, Popovich held Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili (who are 38 and 37 years old, respectively) out of Thursday night's TNT showdown with the Houston Rockets.
The problem was, the Spurs' bench was depleted - with injuries to Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli and Patty Mills - and couldn't make up for the notable absences. In the past, they've been able to remain competitive even while resting starters.
"We're a sum of the parts team," Popovich said after his patchwork lineup got blown out of the gym by the Rockets on Thursday, 98-81. "We have to have all of our parts to be at our best."
San Antonio won 62 games last season without playing a single player more than 30 minutes a night and, in the process, changed the way multiple teams around the league approach playing time. But Popovich makes sure to point out that depth is a huge part of that blueprint, and right now the Spurs don't have it.
"We're not gonna maintain without Tiago and Belinelli and Mills," he said. "It really puts pressure on us offensively."
Belinelli and Splitter's injuries aren't considered serious, and the Spurs could have them back in the lineup soon. Mills, on the other hand, is working his way back from offseason surgery on a torn rotator cuff, and isn't expected back until January.
"It's gonna be tough to sit guys and win as much as we did last year if we don't get those guys healthy," Popovich said.