SAN ANTONIO — Whenever the Jazz and Spurs play nowadays, it’s almost like a mutual admiration get-together.
Not only do Jazz coach Quin Snyder and general manager Dennis Lindsey have fond memories of working for the Spurs before they headed West, but Gregg Popovich admires what they’re doing in Utah as well.
“I’ve always been impressed with the Jazz from way, way, way back when, as I think everybody knows,” Popovich said. “In this edition with Quin there and Dennis, they’ve done a great job.”
Popovich said Snyder "absolutely" deserves to be in the mix when it comes to Coach of the Year voting. He also credited Miami's Erik Spoelstra, Houston's Mike D'Antoni, Philadelphia's Brett Brown and Memphis' David Fizdale for having great seasons.
"There’s about four or five of those guys," Popovich said, "and Quin’s one of them (for) what he’s done with that group to make them play that hard and execute that well night after night. He's in that mix."
The Spurs coach hopes to see guys like former San Antonio guard George Hill, whom he chatted with after the game at midcourt, and Derrick Favors get back on the court for Snyder.
“I’m just sad they’ve got people hurt right now,” Popovich said. “They’ve had a great season — in the playoffs, in the middle of the mix in the West — and that’s a testament to just working hard every day, players believing in the system, starting to mature and develop some corporate knowledge. They’re rolling pretty good. I just hope they get healthy.”
Snyder credits the Spurs organization for getting his NBA coaching career a kickstart when he was the D-League coach of their affiliate, the Austin Toros, from 2007-10.
“Good memories,” Snyder said. “For me this was the foundation for my career as a professional coach. In a lot of ways, I found the passion that I thought I wanted to have to do this job, being here in San Antonio with Pop and with RC was a big part of that.”
GO-ZAGA: Snyder is a Seattle native, but he’ll have no problem rooting for Spokane-based Gonzaga, located in the eastern part of the state when the Bulldogs take on North Carolina in the NCAA national championship Monday night.
Snyder listed a couple of reasons why, and neither includes the fact that the Zags’ opponent is the rival school of the Duke product’s rival school.
“Personally, I’ve known (Gonzaga coach) Mark Few for a long time. I have a great respect for him and he’s a friend,” Snyder said. “I’m happy to see the success they’ve had.”
Snyder gave a nod to another member of the Gonzaga family too, adding, “There’s a guy that played for Gonzaga that played for the Jazz for a couple of years, too.”
That Gonzaga player he referred to, of course, was Michael Stockton, who played for the Jazz’s summer league teams in 2012 and ’13.
It’s also possible he was talking about Michael’s old man, John.
OFF THE WALL?: Washington guard John Wall criticized the officials after his team lost to the Jazz on Friday.
Or did the Wizards lose?
“We didn’t lose this game. The refs made us lose this game,” Wall said. “We fought hard, we gave ourselves a chance, but you don’t shoot no 31 free throws to 16 the way we attack the basket as a team. That’s how I feel about it.”
Snyder said he hadn’t heard Wall’s comments when asked for his reaction. He didn’t say a word about the Washington guard, either.
“I want our guys to play through officiating one way or the other. You’re never going to be completely pleased. That’s why they total all the games,” Snyder said. “I know the officials are doing the absolute best job they can. Other than coaching, I think it’s the hardest job, may be even harder than coaching. They’re in the hot seat constantly. Someone’s always disappointed on one side or the other.”
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