San Antonio – Detroit Pistons coach Larry Brown is more concerned about his team than his future.
Soon after Game 7 of the NBA Finals tonight at the SBC Center, Brown will have a medical evaluation. While he has said he would like to return as Detroit’s coach, he has been mentioned as an executive candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Brown said Wednesday about his future. “This is about the players.”
Spotlight on Billups
Spurs coach Gregg Popo- vich said stopping Pistons guard Chauncey Billups will be a “major emphasis” tonight. The Denver native is averaging Finals bests of 21.7 points, 6.0 assists and 91.7 percent free-throw shooting (for players with more than two free throws attempted).
“We have to figure out a way to handle Chauncey a little bit better so that he doesn’t have such an easy time to do that, and it’s easier said than done,” Popovich said. “But he’s created a lot of problems for us in a lot of different ways with pulling up, shooting, penetrating, finding people, being aggressive offensively.”
Popovich also respects the former George Washington High School and Colorado star as a person.
“He’s not an MTV guy,” Popovich said. “He’s a humble guy, and he’s not going to point fingers at anybody. He’s always respectful. There’s no flair kind of thing. He just does his job.
“He’s as solid as solid can be.”
Footnotes
Pistons forward Antonio McDyess, a former Nugget who almost retired last year because of knee trouble, on what a first NBA title would mean to him: “I have been through a lot. I have accomplished a lot and just to get a ring would mean the world to me. Being here, just playing here means a lot to me, even if we don’t get it – which is not an option. It is going to mean the world to me.” …
Detroit guard Lindsey Hunter said his sprained left ankle is feeling better. He suffered the injury during Game 5 of this series. …
On whether he compares to the New York Yankees’ Derek Jeter and the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady for making his teammates better in the postseason, Billups said: “That’s unbelievable company. But I do like these situations. I love them, man. I love to be in these kind of pressure situations.” …
The Pistons moved from the downtown Westin Hotel to the Westin La Cantera Resort in suburban San Antonio late Tuesday night.
