Gregg Popovich appears to be turning the El Jefe role …
Gregg Popovich appears to be turning the El Jefe role into his own version of that, displaying his signature ability to forge relationships with players while easing up a bit on the throttle now that he is no longer in charge of managing the whole program. “It’s funny because you hear the stories about him being tough on guys and, obviously, he’s not my head coach, so I don’t kind of get that same experience,” Bryant said. “But I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?
’ This dude is the sweetest, nicest guy. He’s dope. ” With Popovich’s support, Bryant said the playoffs have actually been less nerve-wracking for him than the beginning of the season.
The need to perform to earn minutes produced what he called “unnecessary pressure,” and it was taking his joy of the game away. Then, Pop called and told him to play free and have fun. “When you think about it at the end of the day, you’re grateful to be healthy, you’re grateful to wake up, you’re grateful to do all these things and have all these things in your life on a daily basis,” Bryant said.
“Basketball’s going to be basketball. ” New York Times This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Gregg Popovich appears to be turning the El Jefe role …