Gregg Popovich Lights into Spurs, Calls Team 'Soft' After Loss to NY Knicks

Gregg Popovich isn't happy...so what else is new?

The Spurs lost their fifth home game of the season on Thursday, 105-101, to the New York Knicks. San Antonio gave up a crucial offensive rebound to Knicks guard Iman Shumpert on a last-minute possession to put New York ahead for good.

The Spurs did a weak job of boxing out, and it cost them the game. And Coach Pop will not tolerate weakness.

Popovich lit into his team after the game, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News.

"

Most of the time physical, aggressive teams are going to win in the NBA...That's just the way it is. I thought we were very poor in that area. We should be embarrassed about how soft we played tonight.

"

Embarrassing? That may be a bit much. Yes, the Knicks are a pathetic 10-21, but this was San Antonio's first loss to a sub-.500 team. A letdown like this was bound to happen eventually, right?

Not in Coach Pop's world. This is yet another episode in the ongoing tale of the NBA's favorite coach-slash-curmudgeon. Popovich has become almost as well-known for his Hall of Fame surliness as for his Hall of Fame coaching resume, which includes four NBA titles and five Western Conference titles.

Sometimes Popovich is just as surly during a win as he is during a loss. Check out this shot from Tuesday's big win over the Brooklyn Nets, courtesy of The Brooklyn Game's Devin Kharpertian.

His team was up 21-9, but good ol' Coach Pop still sat stewing on the bench like somebody just took away his puppy.

The Spurs are still 25-8, only one game out of first place in the Western Conference and 4.5 games up on Houston in the Southwest Division. But as far as Coach Pop is concerned, that is eight losses too many.