Popovich, Rivers are different behind mic but share friendship bond & success
Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich couldn't be more different in front of a microphone.
With Rivers, people see a jovial, talkative coach who laughs, often at himself, and seems to rather enjoy conversations about basketball, his subar golf game and everything in between. Even when he tires of certain questions, like defining Chris Paul's legacy mid-career, Rivers still is graceful in response.
Rivers engages college journalism students, who often sit in on his postgame press conferences, and even after losses doesn't forget to include them and prompts them for questions. He builds their confidence by joking that they hatch better questions than the professionals sitting next to them.
Seemingly no one has a good question according to the Popovich School of Journalism and Social Media.
He's a different animal when he's wearing his game face at the interview podium.
Popovich takes exception not only with questions, but the way they're asked. He scolds those with yes-and-no questions with yes and no or a shrug of the shoulders. He has an icy glare for questions he despises. College students would shudder at the thought of being called on to answer a question in his pressers.
But there's a trusted friendship and mutual admiration between Popovich and Rivers, and that makes this Western Conference first-round playoff series extra special.
After the Spurs lost Game 1 on Sunday, Popovich had a testy back-and-forth with a reporter who dared to ask a vague question about what San Antonio needed to do better.
Some of his one-liners included: "are you serious?" "are you kidding me?" "I hope I made you look good."
He so tired of the first few questions Sunday that he told reporters he was going to help them out and make a statement. Of course, that was the best answer of the day.
Even Rivers heard about the interview session on Sunday.
But Popovich is known for being a fun-loving guy, like Rivers, and the postgame and in-game interviews are his shtick.
After Popovich left the interview podium, the Staples Center moderator informed reporters that Tony Parker would be next in the room. Popovich joked not to keep him too long because he wanted to head out to dinner. Then he put his arm around a reporter and smiled.
Rivers and Popovich dine together often, and Rivers said he loves that Popovich always brings a good bottle of wine with him. The benefit of friendship with Popovich, an NBA coach who is also a partner in A to Z Wineworks in Oregon.
The friendship remains while the two are on opposite benches. So much so that after an earlier game this year, in which Popovich employed the hack-a-DJ strategy and DeAndre Jordan attempted 26 free throws, Popovich apologized to Rivers for using it, even though he's free to do so since it's within the rules.
That's the kind of relationship they have. And it will be fun to watch, as the series goes on, the chess moves between the two. Rivers had an entire bench lineup on the floor early in the game in the first half, which didn't work out. When Popovich subs in some reserves, Rivers may leave his starters in to take advantage of the matchup. It's an interesting game.
"Obviously, I'd rather not have one," Rivers said of a chess match between the coaches. "It's the first time I've gone against him in the playoffs, No. 1. Listen, I'm not on that level. I'm being serious. There are guys that are on a different level, and he's one of them. If I'm going into this thinking it's a chess match between us two then I don't like where we're at. I'm going into this thinking my team is prepared and we're going to play then I like where we're at."
And Rivers likes where the Clippers are at, having won Game 1 and owning homecourt advantage in the series.
Rivers might not believe there's a chess match between these coaches with six rings among them (five for Popovich and one for Rivers), but players do.
"(They're) two of the greatest in the league today," J.J. Redick said. "Pop, you can't argue with the fact that he's probably one of the greatest ever. Doc is certainly up there as well. It'll be fun to watch the chess match between those two guys."
It was fun to watch the mutual admiration between Rivers and Popovich.
"I watch all the time. I listen and I learn. I think he's the best coach of our era, I guess Phil (Jackson) and him would be the two. The three in history are Red (Auerbach), Phil and him," Rivers said.
When told of Rivers' many compliments before Game 1, Popovich joked. He was in a fun mood before the game but not after.
"He's trying to trick me somehow," Popovich said. "I've known him a long time. He's trying to trick me."
Popovich had reporters laughing with that one. An odd scene indeed.
His answers usually go viral for his treatment of reporters. Earlier this year when facing the Clippers at Staples Center, Popovich scolded reporters twice with this line: "Did you stay up all night thinking of that question?"
It's fun for his friend, Rivers to watch, since that Popovich is nothing like the one he knows. When Rivers was coaching the Celtics, the NFL coaching counterpart in Boston - Bill Belichick - had similar Popovich-type press conferences, although Belichick has made a habit of answering 20 questions with the same answer. Popovich at least mixes up his barbs.
"I think they're great. He's very witty," Rivers said of Popovich. "Dry humor. It's funny. Bill Belichick, who I have a very good relationship with, is so opposite of his interviews. In some ways Pop is too. You kind of know two different people. Funny.
"... I don't like to dress you guys down. I'm not smart enough yet. Once I become that way, watch out. Pop would've left this (interview) a long time ago. That's why I'm leaving right now."
Rivers laughed through that whole statement.
Rivers played in San Antonio for one year in1996 and while a broadcaster was on the Spurs broadcast team for one year. He's gotten to know Popovich very well and has picked up on what he thinks makes him such a good coach.
"It's not just basketball to me. It's the team building," Rivers said. "I had a chance to be around Pop not a lot but he was the GM at the time that I did TV the one year. I had a chance to be around Coach K (Mike Krzyzewski) when Austin was at Duke. I got to play for Pat Riley. I feel all three have the same thing, they have this ability and they all do it in different ways, to build teams. To get your unit to buy in. It's a gift."
They have different styles, but their friendship is a gift they share.
And the chess match between the two is a gift for the rest of us, in addition to the can't-miss interviews. The best coaching matchup of the first round of the playoffs.
No matter if the Clippers go on to beat the defending champion Spurs or if the Spurs win the first-round series, you can bet they'll have a good dinner with a lot of laughs this summer. And Popovich will bring the wine.
