This year’s example is Keith Bogans, an extra picked up just before training camp. He surely wouldn’t start for the Grizzlies, and he likely wouldn’t be in their rotation. There’s some question whether he would make their roster.

But Bogans took on Rudy Gay on Saturday, just as he will LeBron James tonight if James is healthy enough to play. And Popovich goes this far in describing Bogans.

“He’s really the centerpiece of the whole thing,” Popovich said.

Centerpiece?

“It sounds strange,” Popovich said. “You’ve got Timmy out there, and Tony and Manu — to say he’s the centerpiece. By that I mean … I like to have a starter who doesn’t need the ball, who gives us a defensive identity … somebody I can say, ‘Go play him. Go do your best to stop him.’ For us, that’s been our style for 12 years.”

“The centerpiece” was effective in Memphis. Bogans muscled Gay, and he fit with those around him. He fit, for example, next to Parker.