By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
Massimo Oriani from “Gazzetta dello Sport” asked coach Popovich after Game 6 why he didn’t used the European tactic to foul the opponent in order to avoid a three pointer and here’s the video of his answer.
According to European coaching general consensus, if the Spurs have fouled before Ray Allen had the chance to shoot the three, maybe they would have already won the championship title. Popovich was asked the same question during the All Star Game by the Greek channel OTE TV and he explained his thoughts about it (video): “I am just not smart enough to understand it. Manu (ed. note: Ginobili) is always trying to get me to do it, but I tell him I don’t have the guts, I just can’t do it”.
Having Balkan roots himself, coach Pop admitted that he studies the European game and use some of his tactics: “I steal plays from them all the time, very honestly. I have a couple of out of bounds plays from Duda (ed. note: Dusan Ivkovic) that still work very well. I enjoy watching the flow of coach Obradovic’s offense, the way the team passes the ball and moves, so we try to incorporate that, the ball doesn’t stop too much. As for coach Giannakis, he is one of those tough guys, I think of him in the defensive end, the way he gets his players to be in front of people, that’s what’s great about him”.