Here's Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on how he tells the players to handle media scrutiny: "I give the same speech before playoffs every year. I say, ‘It's playoff time. Try to keep as many guests out of your house as you can. Don't read the newspaper. Don't look at the TV.' Because all that is is opinions, talk, and talking heads like looking at CNN, MSNBC, Fox, about all the stuff that's going on with Russia and all that stuff. It's senseless. It just doesn't matter as far as sports are concerned. The Russia stuff is a little more important. Sports, and people's opinions don't affect what we do on the court. So my suggestion to them is to pay attention to as little media as possible, and your life will be a lot happier. Like if you said something nice to me, I don't want to come in the next day, and say, ‘Hey, thanks, that was kind of nice.' If you said something mean, I don't want to come in and be angry and say, ‘Yeah, what do you want?' I don't care what you said. It's better if I don't read it. I don't care. I don't see it. I tell them to take their kids, put tents in the backyard, and let them stay in the backyard. Keep everybody away from them that's worried about basketball."
