NBA 2016/17: 5 things we learnt from the opening week

#2 Pops will always be the master in a league full of ‘protégés’

Pops continues to produce tactical masterclasses

Few would have anticipated the final score-line of the Warriors v/s Spurs opening night game, but if you knew coach Popovich any better, you would realize it was all planned. For a man bringing method to madness for generations of ball players, one would not be foolish in assuming Pops is probably the greatest coach of his generation, across sports.

Gregg Popovich may have lost the Big Fundamental Tim Duncan to retirement but he does have a few old dogs left in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. New recruit Pau Gasol may not have had enough ball-time to prove his efficacy yet, but we all know Pops’ magic, it either makes you a champion or the next person out of the roster.

With the likes of Steve Kerr, Luke Walton and Tyron Lue leading some of the other marquee franchises, one would tend to believe Pops is the grand-daddy of the coaching fraternity, but who would dare call him that. The race for Coach of the Year would be a tough one, but can you ever really rule Pops out of it?!

Kerr may have the most incredible starting five, with 4 NBA All-stars donning the white and gold, but his squad was decimated by the tactics deployed by Popovich, which included not starting the star recruit, Gasol. What made the win sweeter was the fact that it erased memories of the thumping the Warriors inflicted on the Spurs last season.