(Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
Gregg Popovich has stepped away from coaching, but his coaching tree is still very much alive. Beyond Mitch Johnson, of course, the current Spurs’ coach, this week two other coaches who worked under him met on opposite sidelines: Steve Kerr and Ime Udoka, in the game between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets. Udoka had the upper hand, with a 104-100 win.
Kerr, who played for Popovich in San Antonio and later served as his assistant with Team USA, is probably the last true heir to the Spursʼ’ old ״beautiful game”. Golden State plays with motion offense principles and an emphasis on passing, a category in which the Warriors almost always lead the league. This season, they are at 337.8 passes per game. In fact, in recent years, it sometimes feels as if the flow and aesthetics of the Warriors ’ offense have become Ker’s main objective, even more than simply winning basketball games.
Udokaʼs history with Popovich is even richer. He played for him, spent years as one of his assistants in San Antonio, and was also on his staff with Team USA. But Udoka has never pretended to recreate the ״beautiful game״. The Rockets are once again near the bottom of the league in passes per game - 281.3, 24th overall. If you had to describe Udokaʼs offensive style in one word, the most accurate would probably be ״pragmatic״.
In Boston, he put the ball in the hands of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. In Houston, he relies on isolations for Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant, pick and roll for Reed Sheppard, and above all, relentless crashing of the offensive glass. Against the Warriors, the Rockets grabbed 53 rebounds, 25 of them on offense. Thereʼs nothing inherently wrong with pragmatism - Popovich himself, in the seasons after the breakup of the great Duncan–Ginóbili–Parker core, played a less ambitious style built, among other things, on LaMarcus Aldridge's midrange game.
But in the game against Golden State, it was Udoka who went back several times to an old staple from Popovichʼs playbook - the scissors action, a set that has been around since the 1950s and 1960s. The principle is simple: the center catches the ball at the elbow or near the free-throw line, and two guards cut on opposite sides of him, each presenting a potential handoff.
Hereʼs one example from the fourth quarter: J.D. Davison screens for Alperen Sengun, who flashes to the elbow. Amen Thompson hits Sengun and then cuts hard off him to the right. Right after that, Holiday cuts off Sengunʼs other side. Sengun gives Holiday a handoff, short-rolls, gets the ball back, then finds Davison, who finishes with a pull-up jumper.
Later in the same quarter, on an ATO, Houston ran a scissors variation that was almost identical to the version Popovich used in San Antonio. This time Reed Sheppard - on his way to a career-high 31 points - is the one who sets the screen for Sengun. Sengun pops to the top of the key, Amen Thompson enters the ball to him, and then screens for Holiday in a movement that looks a lot like the high-post split Denver runs so often with Nikola Jokic. Holiday cuts on one side, Thompson on the other – but this time itʼs just a decoy. The fundamental objective of the play is a handoff between Sengun and a third player, Sheppard, who lifts from the corner to the top, receives the handoff, and knocks down a jumper.
And then we go back 13 years, to December 11, 2012, to a regular-season game between the Spurs and the Houston Rockets, and see San Antonio under Popovich running the same action. Tony Parker passes to Tim Duncan at the top of the key and cuts off him on one side. Then, Gary Neal cuts in for a fake handoff on the other side. Only after that – just as Sheppard did a few days ago – Manu Ginóbili arrives, takes the handoff from Duncan, and drills a three. The Spurs went on to win 134-126 in overtime.
The legacy of great coaches is measured by much more than plays. But every once in a while, a single action is enough to remind you they are still here, even after they retire – and still shaping the game.