Gregg Popovich Compared Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan to ‘Fine Wine’


There aren’t too many head-to-head matchups left between Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan, so last night in Boston was a special treat. After the game, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich appreciatively likened the two legendary bigs to one of his favorite beverages. From the Boston Herald: “Neither disappointed in last night’s 87-86 Celtics loss as Garnett had 16 points, five assists and seven rebounds, and Duncan scored 10 points with 16 boards and three blocked shots. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, an appreciator of fine big-man play, loves what he has seen out of Garnett. ‘He’s like Timmy — fine wine,’ said Popovich. ‘They know what they need to do, they’re intelligent people, they know what they do well, they know what possibly they don’t do as well as they used to, and they find new ways to do things. They both have high basketball IQs and you see them both having very good seasons.’ Popovich also dismisses the talk that Garnett is now better suited to center than power forward. ‘You can pigeonhole him if you want, but he’s Kevin,’ said the Spurs coach. ‘He does what he does.’ Last night was perhaps one of the last times the two could be seen playing against each other. ‘They’re so different in the way they play, but they are very similar in the way they approach the game,’ said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. ‘They’re as professional as we’ve seen for stars, maybe ever, at the same time. You rarely get two superstars at their level who are as coachable and as team-oriented as those two guys, and they do it completely different ways. Tim talks more than you think, but you don’t see it,” he said. “Kevin on the floor, you see all his stuff. Yet they still do it for the same reason.’”