<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BOSTON ? One of Avery Johnson's best friends, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, has been showering the Mavericks with praise lately. That's a problem for Johnson, because he never knows whether Popovich is handing out genuine applause or simply sandbagging the Mavericks with mind games. Either way, Johnson is using it as a motivation because be believes his team hasn't cleared the toughest mental barrier for any team on the cusp of elite status. "I'm still trying to get my team to think as champions," Johnson said Monday. "That's what [the Spurs] got on us. They've won it. They've done it. And they think it." What is thinking like a champion? It's not all that complex, said Mavericks guard Jason Terry. "Whatever the other team's record is, it doesn't matter, you come in with the same intensity ? that's thinking like a champion," Terry said. "And you got to have a swagger in this league." Popovich recently said, "Dallas is the one team in the West that has been the most consistent. Avery knows what he's doing. And he's persistent enough that he will demand it on a daily basis from the 12th guy to the first guy. They're playing with some fuel, too. Avery has instilled a sense of purpose." Johnson didn't want to put too much stock in such comments. "We haven't accomplished anything yet," he said. "You're one of the top teams in the West when you're consistently battling year after year in the Western Conference finals. We're not at that level. "They are the hunted," he said of the Spurs. "We're the hunters." </div> Source
That's what I like about Avery Johnson. He is a very intense guy and brings it to the team. He doesn't let them relax and not put the effort. Otherwise you will get benched quickly with Avery.
