“Unimpressed” is a pretty good way to describe Spurs coach Gregg Popovich‘s general demeanor and outlook on life. So when he was asked about his team’s lopsided victory over a depleted Memphis Grizzlies squad in Game 1 of their opening-round series, he was understandably unwilling to lay out a rose-pettled path to the Larry O’Brien trophy in June or start planning a victory parade in San Antonio. Via Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com:
“I don’t even think of things in place. I’m scared to death. There’s not just a Golden State out there. There’s the Clippers, there’s the Rockets, there’s Oklahoma City and so on and so forth. And to the best of my recollection, we haven’t gotten through Memphis yet. We had one great game against a team that’s injured. I’m not all that impressed with us. We’ll see what happens.”
Pop has plenty of reasons to be ambivalent. Despite running away with it in the third quarter, Memphis was able to keep it relatively close for much of the first half. That’s just the type of inconsistent start to a game that could torpedo their chances against teams like the ones he mentioned in the later rounds. The Spurs will need to find some urgency early on and try and sustain it throughout.
(ESPN.com)
