San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is still recovering from a mild stroke he had on Nov. 2 that has kept him away from coaching in person this season, but it hasn't stopped him from advising the team and interim coach Mitch Johnson from afar.
Johnson told The Athletic's Joe Vardon on Wednesday that he has "consistent communication" with Popovich, and he's even seen him some.
“I’ve seen him quite a bit,” Johnson said. “So those conversations are typical in terms of the things we talked about regarding our team trying to get better, coaching backwards, what happened in the last game or what are we coming out of? And then, you know, obviously looking ahead and what we’re walking into.
“So with these unique circumstances that’s out there, especially for people that are not around day to day, to understand, but our interactions and conversations in that regard have not changed really that much. [The conversations are to] just try and help our team and talk about what we see, arguing about anything in terms of moving forward."
Spurs guard Chris Paul also noted that Popovich calls players after the games.
“He calls me after games and I talk to him and he tells me what he sees,” Paul said. “And I appreciate that more than anything because he doesn’t have to do that.”
Popovich has led the Spurs since the 1996 season, so being away from the team is likely difficult for him. As for his return, Spurs chief executive RC Buford said on Wednesday that there is no timeline for when Popovich is expected to come back to the team. But, Popovich still plans to return at some point whenever his health is better.
The Spurs are below .500 so far this season with a 19–22 record. They sit in 12th place in the Western Conference, which would put them out of the postseason for a sixth consecutive season if they don't start winning more games and jumping up in the standings.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Gregg Popovich Doing Special Thing for Spurs While Recovering From Stroke.