"I'm not surprised. Do you think Larry Brown forgot how to coach between the championship and now? It's young players, new pieces, a new system, and I never felt he'd get it done this year. He'll make adjustments, get it started, but the fans won't understand. They're not gonna see the subtle changes, the sophistication. All the fans understand is wins and losses."
That one was by Dunlevy and this by Popovich:
Gregg Popovich, the Spurs' coach and one of Brown's closest friends, said Brown knew what he was getting into.
"He knew it would be a matter of time, it wasn't going to be an immediate fix," Popovich said. "A system would be established, roles would have to be established and that doesn't happen in 25 games."
Popovich called Brown "the perfect person" to fix the Knicks.
"It seems ironic, but he gets the joy out of knowing that something needs to be fixed," Popovich said. "He might seem like he's miserable. He's going to do that drone thing. He's happy as hell when he goes to practice and sees all the things he has to coach and putting in his system. That's the joy right there, that's what excites him more than anything."
"I love the young kids," Brown said in a phone interview two days before tonight's season opener against the Celtics at the TD Banknorth Garden. "When you take a look at this team, and all the kids, it's perfect for me."
Popovich agrees.
"For as long as I've known Larry, and it's been a while, he loves young, athletic guys, and to be able to mold them into the kind of player he wants," said the Spurs coach. "Larry loves challenges. He loves to teach. Practices are going to be more fun for him than the games. And to top it all off, he's doing it in New York. It's in his blood. He is in a great place."
What do you guys this on 2 coaches takes on Brown and the Knicks?
2/9/2006 8:21 AM