This is the only way.
As soon as Popovich made this decision, Gary Payton jumped up as if he were on an electric chair: "No Craig, no way! We can't defend like this, it's too stupid!"
Popovich frowned; in the Silver and Black Army, no one had ever spoken to him like that, and no one had ever used the word "stupid" to describe him.
He wouldn't allow anyone who spoke like that to exist in the Spurs locker room.
This whole season, Gary Payton had been well-behaved, not showing any star syndrome.
So now, with Payton suddenly standing up and arguing like he was possessed, it made Popovich find it unbelievable.
"Gary?" Popovich didn't lose his temper immediately; instead, he decided to give him another chance to reorganize his words.
But Payton didn't get it and continued to curse on his own: "I said, we can't defend like this! We'd rather let Amar'e go than gamble on Roger's offense!"
