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Toast to “Pop” the GOAT

Gregg Popovich is the GOAT.

Don’t throw Phil Jackson’s name out there. Don’t throw Red Auerbach’s name out, either.

While accomplished, those coaches never led a U.S. Men’s Basketball Team filled with names such as Khris Middleton, Jrue Holiday, Zach Levine, and JaVale freakin’ McGee to Olympic supremacy like “Pop” did Friday. That squad, while led by NBA superstars Kevin Durant (who scored 29 points in the gold medal game), Damian Lillard, and Devin Booker, defeated France, 87-82, to secure its fourth consecutive Olympic title.

Those coaches never had the opportunity to have their Olympic coaching acumen called out after losses to Nigeria and Australia in exhibition matchups and a defeat to France in the Olympics opener.

“Let’s be direct and to the point as Popovich usually is: He stinks at Olympic basketball,” opined Dan Wolked in a July 25 USA Today column.

Add to the fact that this iteration of Team USA was pieced together on a whim due to COVID restrictions elevates the 72-year-old coaching even higher in the annals of basketball history.

If an Olympic gold medal is Popovich’s last achievement as a coach, as the Spurs are currently in rebuilding mode, his legacy should be celebrated with a glass or two of Masseto, one of his favorite wines.

Basketball fans should celebrate a coach who led a mostly ragbag of NBA players to Olympic glory. To use a wrestling analogy, Pop may have had a Hulk Hogan and a Kevin Nash on his team, but his roster was filled with Buff Bagwell’s, Scott Norton’s, Masahiro Chono’s, and Vincent’s.

Holiday, Middleton, and Draymond Green may be NBA champions, but they are not comparable to Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony in regards to superstardom and accomplishments. Levine is a potent NBA scorer, but has not caught a whiff of an NBA playoff game in his seven-year career.

Popovich has built his coaching resume on guiding talented but not flashy names to championships. Besides Tim Duncan and David Robinson, he molded the No. 57 pick from the 1999 NBA Draft (Manu Ginobili), the No. 28 pick from the 2001, (Tony Parker), and the No. 15th pick from 2011 (Kawhi Leonard) into All Stars and champions.

For those accomplishments alone, fans should toast to “Pop” as the GOAT.

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Give DeRozan his due

Demar DeRozan should be voted into the NBA All Star Game this year.Yes, that is the homer in me advocating, but even the most ardent Spurs cynics can’t deny the type of season the four-time All Star is having this year. DeRozan is the leading scorer (19.8 points) for a Spurs team that sits in sixth place (at 16-11) in the always loaded Western Conference. He also leads the team in assists with 6.9 per dish.

Courtesy Photo

DeRozan’s assists average this year are the highest of his career.

If cynics, or “haters” as I prefer to call them, can justify why DeRozan shouldn’t obtain his fifth All Star nod, then they better have plenty evidence to support why Bradley Beal, who is on a Washington Wizards team that is second to last place in the Eastern Conference, deserves to be in the All Star Game (which a scheduled date has not been set for as of press time,) as he currently is the leading vote getter for guards in his conference (2,528,719). Or why Andrew friggin’ Wiggins (who currently ranks seventh in votes for forwards in the Western Conference) should be in the game, despite being the second leading scorer on a Golden State Warriors team that ranks eighth in the West. Also, please tell me why the following players should be in the All Star Game, despite being on losing teams: Christian Wood, Colin Sexton, Russell Westbrook (who are all in the top 10 in All Star votes for their respective positions.)

Don’t give me past accolades, highlight reel plays, or their shoe designs. All that doesn’t matter; what truly matters are the results the players are producing this year.

To command a squad that was projected to miss the playoffs for the second consecutive year to a winning record so far is impressive. Making the feat more grand is that the DeRozan-led squad is the 15th youngest team in the NBA, according to the Hispanos NBA website, with an average age of 25 years.

While the Spurs may still not make the playoffs this year, All Star Game selections are not contingent upon which players are on teams projected to make the tournament. Rather, it is about the players who are producing for their teams and putting them in the playoff mix.

And with the Spurs’ winning record, there is no reason why DeRozan shouldn’t be selected to compete in the All Star Game.

‘Watt’ kind of move is this?

Arizona is not it, JJ Watt.

The star defensive lineman announced on Twitter Monday that he will be taking his talents to the Cardinals following a 10-year run with the Houston Texans. The Cardinals later announced that the agreement is for two years, with the deal being worth $31 million with $24 million guaranteed, according to ESPN”s Adam Schefter.

On paper, the Cardinals look to be a threat in the defensive backfield, as Watt and Chandler Jones will both lead that side of the ball. Both players have been the two most dominant pass rushers in the NFL since 2012, with Jones leading the league in sacks since that time with 97 and Watt right behind with 95.5.

But the production from the opposite side of the ball is what will block Watt from securing that elusive Super Bowl ring.

Historically, short quarterbacks, typically categorized as those 6’0 and under, rarely win championships. Drew Brees (2010) and Russell Wilson (2014) are the most recent leaders of miniature stature to achieve Super Bowl greatness, but their greatness year in and year out should have warranted at least another title or two on their resume.

No doubt, Kyler Murray was monster for the Cardinals in 2020, becoming the first quarterback in league history to throw for 3,500 yards and run for 800 yards. However, the team failed to make the playoffs this past year, posting an 8-8 record for the year, with five of those losses occurring during the last seven games.

With the acquisition of Watt, and barring that he stays healthy, the Cardinals will be an improved team next year. But for a 32-year-old pass rusher closer toward the end of his career instead of the beginning, going to an average team led by a short quarterback may not be the wisest of moves, especially if history has proven that such leaders can’t win at the highest of levels.

Watt would have been better served going to an on-the-come up Tennessee Titans team led by Ryan Tannehill, who threw for 3,819 yards and 33 touchdown passes, and is 6-foot-4-inches, by the way; and “King” Derrick Henry, who was the league’s leading rusher with 2,027 yards. The former Defensive Player of the Year could’ve also been a boost to a Buffalo Bills squad that was one win away from reaching its first Super Bowl game in 27 years, and by the way, has a quarterback in Josh Allen that is 6-feet-5-inches tall.

The Cardinals will likely continue to be one of the most prolific offenses (the team ranked sixth in total offense with 6,153 yards,) but history is not on the side of the quarterback of miniature stature to win at the highest of levels.

And for a player like Watt who is looking to cap his career by winning a ring, this move was not the one to make.