| Some coaches are considered great because of who they have on their rosters, or on the type of game their teams are used to playing, but I think that the best coaches out there are the ones who are there for the long haul, able to build and lead dynasties to greatness, and are able to make the best of what they have in their franchises. One such coach is Greg Popovich, and with all the reasons I have stated to justify my vote, I agree with you. Sure, when you look at the San Antonio Spurs right now, you might say, "They're champs now just because they have Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker." To that I'd say that they didn't always have those three players (Popovich didn't even want to rely on Parker early on, and even pondered on trading him for Jason Kidd at one point), and there were a lot of times that they used Ginobili from the bench. And what can you say about their role-players? Beno Udrih, Brent Barry, Robert Horry, Bruce Bowen, and Michael Finley are just some of their non-marquee players right now, and the good thing about them is that Greg Popovich knows when and exactly how to use them. They also do a good job of recruiting new players and knowing the type of game they would run on the court. These are the reasons why for years now they are always one of the top teams to beat in the NBA. Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz is a close second to Popovich, in my opinion. I would also have to give Don Nelson a special mention for his performance last season with the Golden State Warriors, leading to breakout performances from the trio of Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, and Matt Barnes, as well as the effective integration of newcomers Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington into their system. He truly has lived up to his mad scientist character and it has led to positively interesting results. |