Comments on: Duncan, Parker, Ginobili all to sit vs. Heat Thursday

By: dko83

dko83 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 04:52:33 +0000

You’re right about the less is more part. 65 game season needs to happen..

By: starks3

starks3 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 04:45:12 +0000

I think you misinterpreted my point. Im not arguing the strategy aspect. Im saying it does the NBA no good when people like me dont tune in when I know it is a sham of a game. Im not tuning in to see 11th and 12th men getting major PT.

By: larrybrown43

larrybrown43 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 04:15:33 +0000

I’ve said it all along. Just more affirmation that the he NBA season is a joke. 25 less games make for a better product. Less is more.

There are too many games where players go through the motions. I credit coach Pop for saving fans from the illusion.

By: hardballtalkusername

hardballtalkusername — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 03:45:11 +0000

My God not since 2007! 5 years without an NBA title, what an awful coach. Please

By: savvybynature

savvybynature — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 02:32:21 +0000

The Spurs want to win as many games as possible, not play as many “competitive” games as possible.

I get your point of view as a fan, but the Spurs are chasing titles here. Ultimately, every team doing their best to win it all is what will deliver the best product for fans, and the Spurs are doing that.

By: bratbeach

bratbeach — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 02:11:24 +0000

Yeah, it kinda sucks to go see a game and not have the star players playing but players miss games all the time for a variety of reasons and part of coaching is managing your players minutes and health. Injuries, personal matters, suspensions, precautionary health moves, blowouts, poor play, etc. lineups change for game to game, any fan has to know that. Buying a ticket to a game is not an absolute guarantee that all the star players will be playing 40+ minutes or that it will be a competitive game.

The fact that he sent them home instead of having them sit on the bench seems odd but making the decision to rest important players that you will need for a playoff run, players who are also in their 30s and have played several games in a relatively small window of time, just isn’t an outrageous decision to me. It seems like people are just mad that he rested them for THIS game and not with the idea of resting them in general.

By: savvybynature

savvybynature — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:52:13 +0000

Heat haven’t played since Saturday, meanwhile this is the Spurs 4th game since Sunday.

This was basically a scheduled loss for the Spurs anyway, so tactically Pop is absolutely right to sit his guys. It’s an out-of-conference, essentially meaningless game for them, whereas they have a very important game on Saturday against Memphis.

I give Pop credit for doing what is best for his team, which is his job, and not bowing to league pressure. To hell with Stern and the league office anyway. If they want to fine Pop for this, they might as well fire him and Stern can set their starting lineup and figure out their rotations if he wants to micromanage every team’s decisions. I’m sure he’d love to play Duncan 44 minutes a night to maximize ratings, since he’d rather L.A. and Miami play in the finals anyway.

By: eventhorizon04

eventhorizon04 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:38:02 +0000

#RandonScrubHeatKiller

By: scalfor3

scalfor3 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:19:51 +0000

Ah yes, the Spurs surprised everyone by making it to the conference finals last year. But because they didn’t win it all, this strategy is garbage. Logic!

By: scalfor3

scalfor3 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:16:18 +0000

Starks: Comparing the NFL to the NBA isn’t fair. You’re comparing a 82 game schedule to a 16 game one. Of course the intensity in each regular season game is higher. Benching Brees for Daniels would be suicide for the Saints, especially at this point of the season. What Pop is doing will barely be a blip on the radar of the Spurs season.

By: BigBeachBall

BigBeachBall — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:10:27 +0000

popovich is old school… but this decision will get hammered by the league…

By: jowmapue

jowmapue — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 01:00:29 +0000

Reblogged this on Jow's World.

By: cosanostra71

cosanostra71 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:54:40 +0000

Wow, I’d be mad if I had tickets to go to this game. NBA games are expensive now!

By: starks3

starks3 — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 00:19:51 +0000

The bottom line always comes down to money. Take a look at it from a different perspective. Say TNT/ESPN go to NBA and tell them to remove the Spurs from any future nationally televised games from here on out. (which the would be totally justified in doing) No national coverage equals less interest in the team, (including playoffs which would result in smaller tv ratings during playoffs) less interest equals less merchandise sales for Spurs. Now Spurs ownership loses money, and NBA loses money. What would happen if Saints and Falcons decided to sit Brees/Ryan tonight because its a short week (similiar to Popo’s excuse) and we had to watch Chase Daniel and Luke Mcnown instead. Goodell would not stand for it. As a result that is why NFL is more popular than NBA because the NFL gets it in regards to putting a quality product out there. Hence the reason they protect the QB’s so much, because no one wants to watch the backups I named above and nobody even knows who the Spurs bench is.

By: lmoneyfresh

lmoneyfresh — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:58:37 +0000

Uhhh, no. If you’re going to sit your guys, might as well do it on the road as opposed to in front of your fans.

By: buffalowned

buffalowned — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:54:19 +0000

Seriously though why wouldn’t he sit them against Orlando when they could’ve still won without those guys. He’s basically forfeiting the game and turning a marquee matchup into a joke. At least this strategy worked last year when the spurs won it all..oh wait

By: abchome

abchome — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:39:56 +0000

It’s ridiculous to tank a game this blatantly. If you have to sit old players for “maintenance”, sit them in a way that the team remains competitive every game. Tanking tough games against top teams is not only irresponsible and disrespectful but also coward.

By: paulhargis53

paulhargis53 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:38:46 +0000

Lakers haven’t won in nearly 3 years either, and they aren’t anytime soon either.

Unlike you giving oral pleasures to your next fella. That happens nightly.

By: Maxa

Maxa — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 23:14:42 +0000

I don’t know, I think that entertainment value and competitive excellence basically coincide. I mean yeah, it’s a drag to attend a regular season game where the stars don’t play. But you know what’s worse? Attending a playoff game where those stars don’t play because they got injured from overuse during the regular season.

By: eagles512

eagles512 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:56:19 +0000

Sitting them is one thing. But not having them sit on the bench is an absolute disgrace. They should get a huge fine for this.

By: mgavin78

mgavin78 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:49:01 +0000

Pissed if you paid to see this “game”.

By: starks3

starks3 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:45:00 +0000

That was my first thought too. It’s funny how NBA or for any sport really walks a fine line between being a real competitive medium as well as an entertainment avenue and they are both one in the same. However ultimately you can’t have the one without the other.

Sitting the players here and there probably is best when you look at it from a competitive standpoint to give guys a breather during different times of the year. However from the entertainment side, which is really how the NBA/other sports make their money, (we all watch to be entertained) this is now not entertainment and it has turned into pretty much a exhibition game and tells us nothing about either team. If more teams pull this, especially for Nationally televised games, (which is where NBA makes most of their money) the next TV contract negotiations will reflect it as TV execs will pay less for a product since they will have less viewers, and will receive less money from advertisers as a result.

By: southbeachtalent

southbeachtalent — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:43:26 +0000

no doubt

By: rj2323

rj2323 — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:41:01 +0000

Fudge mc nuggets

By: canehouse

canehouse — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:33:14 +0000

got a nice bit of money for this one on my stubb ticket that i sold… feel bad for the guy i sold them to… i think i will refund him to face value. what a bummer!!!

By: 1972wasalongtimeago

1972wasalongtimeago — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:24:07 +0000

But you know some guy on the Spurs you never heard of is going to put up 30 tonight while going 8 for 11 from 3.

By: lakerluver

lakerluver — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:16:01 +0000

This dude is a clown!! How can the NBA let him do this?!! He’s been pulling this crap for years and the Spurs haven’t won anything since 07!! And they won’t win another title anytime soon.

By: 1972wasalongtimeago

1972wasalongtimeago — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:11:22 +0000

18,000 people paid hundreds/thousands of dollars to see the Heat play the Spurs. You want to make a stand Popovich, do it when your team is playing Miami at home.

By: cakemixa

cakemixa — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:07:19 +0000

Lol, Pop really hates TNT, doesn’t he?

By: bowwserr

bowwserr — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:05:31 +0000

edwardsro – What’s bad for the league is when marquee names – such as Duncan, Parker, or James or Wade for that matter – get injured unneccessarily and habe to sit out multiple games. We Spurs fans are used to it, and I actually like to see it. It shows the league what we can do without the Big 3. Plus, that kind of experience for the guys that will be playing is invaluable. Intelligence is what wins multiple rings.