Boston’s Ime Udoka ‘not big on nostalgia moments’ ahead of Spurs showdown with former coach, mentor Gregg Popovich

The former San Antonio player and assistant squares off with his legendary former employer Friday.

For some coaches, emotion is part of their courtside demeanor. But for Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, a more level-headed approach to the game is his preferred approach most night, particularly when facing teams he has a history with as a player or an assistant coach.

So as his Celtics roster geared up with a pre-game practice ahead of their tilt with the San Antonio Spurs — a team with which Udoka has a past as both a player and an assistant under Gregg Popovich — the new Boston coach downplayed how much he’d been thinking about the past now that he is returning to where he first started carving out a career for himself on this side of the clipboard while speaking with the press.

“I’ve talked about it a little bit (in the past),” explained Udoka. “It’s game-by-game, honestly.”