Popovich on why Patty Mills didn't play more last year: 'He was a little fat a--'

One of the biggest driving forces in the San Antonio Spurs' season has been the emergence of Patty Mills as a capable - nay, effective - rotation guard.

Over the past two years, Mills had been largely nailed to coach Gregg Popovich's bench, scoring well when given the chance but remaining largely unused. 

Why did Mills spend most of last year at the end of the rotation if this talent was here? It's pretty simple, if you ask Popovich:

He was a little fat ass. He had too much junk in the trunk. His decision making wasn’t great, and he wasn’t in great shape. He changed his entire body. He came back svelte and cut and understood you have to make better decisions, point-guard type decisions. He did all those things better and he earned it. He’s been real important to us, obviously.

So there you go: Mills had a little too much Raymond Felton in his game (nevermind teammate Boris Diaw, who falls under the category of "big fat ass," a much more useful player type).

This year, Mills' total minutes have doubled, and his play has improved such that he's averaging 9.8 points in just 18.4 minutes, posting an above-average 18.4 player efficiency rating and an impressive 58.2 true shooting percentage. With Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili occasionally requiring rest, an effective third guard is paramount for the Spurs (Danny Green, while a "shooting guard," is more of a "wing").

What's more is that Mills is among the league leaders in distance run and average speed, so his role with the Spurs requires him to be, uhh, less of a fat ass.

Whatever he did this offseason, it's worked, and it has the Spurs' rotation looking as deep as ever.

[Dap: PBT]