Spartan & Current San Antonio Spurs Assistant Coach Jim Boylen Talks About Draymond Green bringing the Izzo/MSU Mentality to the NBA & & Breaking Down the NBA Finals! !
Spartan Nation Exclusive: Spartan & Current San Antonio Spurs Assistant Coach Jim Boylen Talks About the NBA Finals, Draymond Green bringing the Izzo/MSU Mentality to the NBA & Breaking Down the NBA Finals! LISTEN TO BOYLEN'S ENTIRE SPARTAN NATION RADIO INTERVIEW WHEN YOU CLICK HERE!
Hondo S. Carpenter, Sr.: When you look down the bench and see one of the greatest head coaches in any level of basketball in Gregg Popovich and you look to your right and see one of the game’s greatest players in Tim Duncan, do you realize how fortunate you are?
Jim Boylen: I just really have to stop and thank God for the people I work with and the opportunities that I have had. Working for Coach Popovich has been one of the most fun things I have done, but I also have to admit that it has been a great education. We had a great year last year and a real good year this year, it didn’t end the way we wanted it to. To be around Tim, the way he leads our team, he is 39 years old and he averages 18 (points per game) and 11 (rebounds per game) in the playoffs it’s just unbelievable. His kindness! He is one of the kindest guys I have ever been around. He takes time for everybody. He cares about the game of basketball. Obviously he has taken pay cuts to stay a Spur that says a lot about him. He’s been able to age gracefully. Change his game and change his body. He stays relevant and he stays engaged even though he maybe isn’t the primary guy. It’s kind of went from him, to Manu (Ginobili) to Tony (Parker) and obviously now Kawhi (Leonard) is starting to become one of our primary main guys. His ability to kind of let go of that top dog, but still be a contributor and still help us win has been unbelievable.
Spartan Nation: I have said that maybe what Tim Duncan brings most to the game at this stage of his career is possibly even more important that what he brings on the court. I don’t think you can put a price on it, because nearly every player on the team grew up idolizing him. That quality is his approach to the game, professionalism, showing how to behave on the court, in the locker room, with the media and off the court. His work ethic.
Boylen: They try to emulate him. The think that isn’t really talked about with him is his off season conditioning and his mental toughness to keep his body where it needs to be. It is just amazing what he does. He boxes in the off season, he runs on the track, just the discipline that he has and the example that he gives in the summer is one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen. He just lives it. He does it. It’s not for show. It’s not so he can tell people about it. He just does it because that is who he is. That carries into the season. It carries him. His conditioning in the off season kind of carries him through mentally and physical through a tough 90 game season.
Spartan Nation: Are you shocked by the success of Draymond Green in the NBA?
Boylen: No I am not. I remember when you and I talked about him as a sophomore and what I thought of him. He played point guard on his high school team a few times that I saw him in the summers he would handle the ball so much. I remember talking about his ball handling and his decision making at that age and at that time and his size and just that he wasn’t fearful. He could go out there and play with anybody, play in the big games and he had the leadership qualities right away. He always had a great smile and a great attitude. I’m not surprised at all. I think he has brought a toughness to that team and he’s brought a swagger to that team. You have to give Coach Izzo and his program the credit for that. He has taken the Michigan State mentality to the Warriors. They have other great players and great talent, but that franchise has suffered for a long time. I think Draymond has been the lead dog in giving them an edge. That edge has carried through. I’m really happy for him and I hope he gets what he deserves in free agency.
Spartan Nation: This in my opinion no matter what happens in the Finals has been Lebron’s best season yet. Losing Kevin Love and lifting that team, willing them to the Finals has been an amazing accomplishment. Just like I thought this was Izzo’s best coaching job and he didn’t in a title this year, I simply see that same correlation with Lebron and his success this season. Am I over stating that?
Boylen: No, I don’t think so. I think he has been remarkable in so many ways. They struggled early and he hung in there and he refocused. He was out a few games and came back and was a different guy. I don’t think enough is talked about him and making the change. Going back to Cleveland and the pressure he put on himself. The humility he showed. I think any time you show that kind of humility and make it about everybody else like I think he did, it comes back to you. I think it’s coming back to him and he is having unbelievable playoffs. He was not healthy, he was banged up and he fights through. He’s leading, he’s scoring, he’s assisting and he is a freight train in the break. All those things he does. He is doing it. I just think his soul and his heart is in the right place. It’s showing on the floor.
Spartan Nation: Looking at this final everyone seems to be picking Golden State and probably they should. Day Day is a great player, Steph Curry is a great player and they have those great role players, but then I look over and the way that Lebron is making everyone better even without Kevin Love and I just think this is setting up as an EPIC Final. What is your take?
Boylen: An EPIC Final? I think every Final has an identity of its own. I think this one is going to be a very physical series. I think it is going to be a high scoring series. The game has changed so much that some of those old EPIC series you talk about in the old days, I think about the Rockets and the Knicks in 94 when every game was decided by a basket. That went seven games. I think this will be more of a free wheeling on down series. I think it is going to be who can stay healthy over this series and who can make shots and plays. That is usually what happens. For it to be an EPIC series it has to go seven and obviously someone has to win on someone else’s home floor. That is what makes a series great. When a road team wins a game and some has their back against a wall. Hopefully that will happen and hopefully we’ll have seven games. Once these games end there isn’t much to watch anymore Hondo. You know?
Spartan Nation: I agree.
Add us as a preferred source on Google