MIAMI — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was asked about Derek Fisher formally being named coach of the Knicks.
“He’s crazy to do it,” Popovich said.
Aw c’mon, tell us what you really think. And seriously, Popovich sees a terrific opportunity for Fisher with team president Phil Jackson behind him.
“He’s got a great opportunity to have a really good career. He’s crazy to do it because coaching in this league is crazy,” Popovich said before the Spurs’ 111-92 blowout win over the Heat in Game 3. “But he obviously wants to do it and he’s got a mentor in Phil that’s going to help him be successful, help set the stage for him, give him a comfort zone.”
But it’s not all Jackson. Popovich said Fisher appears to bring all the usual coaching goodies to the table.
“He’s obviously a very intelligent individual who understands the game and knows how to play knows what it takes to win and lose so there’s no reason why he can’t be successful,” Popovich said.
Oh, and that whole coaching thing?
“It’s not so crazy that we stop doing it,” Popovich said.
LeBron James scored 12 straight Heat points in one segment of the first quarter. He finished with 22 for his 154th double-figure playoff game, out of 156. James also had five steals, one off his playoff high. … The loss ended the Heat’s run of eight home playoff victories this postseason.
James on the defeat: “It’s the Finals, so everything is magnified. You want to win at this point in the season but for us, we will get better from tonight.”
The Spurs made one big lineup switch, replacing Tiago Splitter with Boris Diaw in the starting unit.
“Boris has been great,” Tim Duncan said, “(with) his ability to attack off the dribble, his passing ability. When they collapsed, he made some great passes. … He gave us another attack guy.”
Said Popovich, “He allows us to have more variety in our offense and he’s an underrated defender.”
Diaw finished with nine points and five rebounds in 37 minutes, while Splitter had six points and four rebounds in 16 minutes.
San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili said he didn’t care that Miami’s Dwyane Wade was fined for his obvious Game 2 flop.
“I really don’t care,” Ginobili said of the $5,000 fine levied by the NBA. “I think I touched him on the arm. It could have been a foul. I was upset because [the referee] didn’t see it he was behind him. … It was my third foul and I was very frustrated about that.”