Not everybody loves Gregg Popovich.
Meet DeJuan Blair. You might remember him as the big man without ACLs who played pretty well for the Spurs — he started all but four games two seasons ago and averaged 9.5 points a game. However, he fell out of the rotation last season as Popovich went with the bigger, more solid defender that is Tiago Splitter. Popovich also liked the shooting that Boris Diaw and Matt Bonner brought to the lineup, so they got more run than Blair.
Those rotation changes helped San Antonio improve it’s defensive rating by two points per 100 possessions and saw them reach the NBA Finals.
But Blair, now a Maverick, is pretty bitter about the changes and slammed Popovich to the Dallas Morning News (via Project Spurs) by saying the Spurs would have won if he had gotten run.
If Blair were out there, the Spurs likely are not in the Finals, but we shouldn’t let a few pesky facts get in the way of our resentments. Besides, Spurs fans know they were just a made free throw or defensive rebound away from winning it, not more Blair.
Blair should be warned, however, that Mavs coach Rick Carlisle is as old school a disciplinarian as Popovich when it comes to minutes and team structure. He should get more run on this Dallas roster, but if he wants to see his minutes dry up fast he should try slamming Carlisle and his rotations.