Duncan has adopted a similar tact. During San Antonio's lone visit to Boston this season, the team was at shootaround when Popovich gave Duncan his assignment: guard Mark Blount. Duncan, irritated he wouldn't have a chance to shut down Raef LaFrentz, was asked if he needed a refresher on Blount's tendencies.
"Never heard of him," he deadpanned. "You've never heard of him, or you don't know his game?" persisted assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo. "Neither," Duncan answered. Popovich, trying to suppress his laughter, pulled Duncan aside and explained, "If you guard LaFrentz, you'll be running out to the perimeter, then back under the basket. I'm trying to give my best player a break." Duncan cracked, "In that case, have [Manu] Ginobili guard Blount."
"I'm telling you right now," reported Spurs teammate Brent Barry, "Tim is one of the funniest guys around. But he's gotten used to being the boring guy who is really good."
Cincinnati receiver Chad Johnson has become a household name because of his clever end zone celebrations. On the surface, they seem fun and innocent enough, yet Johnson admitted he didn't celebrate after a touchdown last week in a win against Detroit (which clinched the AFC North title for the Bengals) because the game was "too important." And why, exactly, weren't the other games?
"Jim Brown and I talked about this," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "He feels as soon as the play is over, you should be thinking about the next one. There were times when Jim played that he was slow getting back to the huddle, and it might have looked like something other than it was, but in his mind, as he was walking back, he was already getting himself into the proper mind-set to think about the next situation."
Belichick said spontaneous celebrations are fine, but staged antics have no place on the field.
"This is the way I was brought up," Belichick said. "It's the only way I've ever seen it. At the Naval Academy, it was all about teamwork and what the team embodied.
"When I was in high school, I played for Al Laramore, and he was a very straight old-fashioned disciplinarian. He wouldn't put up with anything -- nothing that drew attention to you in any way.
"I remember one year one of our best players was caught smoking. That was it. Al kicked him off the team. No discussion at all. He was just gone."
Tom Brady willingly drinks Belichick's Kool-Aid and it has served him well. He has three Super Bowl rings and a Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award to show for it.
"To a degree, T.O. is a wonderful example of what can happen," Brady offered. "Individual stuff is fine -- for a while. You can make a splash, but when it's all about you, it doesn't last long.
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