After the tragic death of his wife, Erin Popovich, San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will spend some time away from the team but it remains to be seen how long.
With games still to be played, the Spurs must shift their focus to who will be at the helm for at least tonight. According to Jeff Mcdonald of The San Antonio Express-News, assistant coach Ettore Messina will step in as head coach for Game 3 in Popovich’s absence:
Spurs say Ettore Messina will coach Game 3 tonight against the Warriors. Gregg Popovich is out following the death of his wife, Erin, yesterday.
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) April 19, 2018
RC Buford says he has spoken to Pop, who is "overwhelmed" by the love and support. "As you'd expect from Pop, he wants the focus to be on the game tonight."
— Jeff McDonald (@JMcDonald_SAEN) April 19, 2018
Of course given the extremely unfortunate circumstances, Popovich will be afforded as much time as he needs away from the team but until then, Ettore Messina will have a daunting task laid out in front of him.
Already in a 2-0 hole and now without their world-class head coach, the Spurs are in loads of trouble ahead of their first home game of the series. You have to hope the Spurs are able to get a boost from their home crowd and put it all on the line for their coach tonight and get a victory in his honor.
Game 3 in San Antonio between the Warriors and Spurs will be aired live on TNT at 9:30 PM.
