Right. I don't blame Pops at all. From a league standpoint it's just ridiculous. The Spurs have played 3 games.
I dont fault Pop one bit for having to do this to conserve his starters for the season. He has won five titles...cant second guess how he has to optimize his team to be able to win in the postseason. And I pray the Rockets don't take a team without Duncan, Ginobli or Splitter lightly...they are still coached by a HOF that will get the best out whom ever steps on the court. Period. But you wanna know how things like this will stop?? 1. Reduce the # of games for everyone and end these r****ded back to back games for everyone. 2. Considering that television networks have massive investments now with the NBA...W@#% like this will have huge impacts on revenue. If the Spurs want to gamble, they should be punished financially...ie loss of TV revenues/loss of national TV coverage etc. Im sure Pop wouldnt care, but his owner would. 3. The league hasnt come up with a solution to punish teams that "rest" starters during the season(whether it is the early part or later part of the season). A mandatory IR might change things like this. For example...If a player is deemed unable to play, they must be on IR for 3 games minimum. So if teams decide to rest their starters at the end of the season, they better be ready to risk losing a player starting a playoff game.
As a guy currently rehabbing a post-acl-surgery knee due to playing basketball on the wrong side of 30 , full court 5on5, on a rest day when I should have fricken rested...and as a guy who saw mighty Lebron cramp up during NBA Finals AC-gate while the Spurs old fogeys held it together...I really cant blame Pop 1 bit. We just need to take advantage and not fool around with this W. When 2-3 games could easily separate the 3rd seed from the 9th seed, we have to stay focused during trap games.
Because some of us paid good $$ to go see certain games and watch certain players play. I bought a ticket for tonight's game expecting to see a Howard/Duncan matchup, live. The friend going with me has never seen Duncan play live and was looking forward to it. This is still a form of entertainment and it's not all just about winning. I can sit on my couch or in front of my computer and watch the team if it were only about that.
Pop strikes again with resting his stars. But like has been said, we can't coast on them and have to attack them like the Championship team they are. Kawhi, Parker, Green and Diaw will keep the game competitive so we can't relent. No excuses. We need to destroy them. I hope D-Mo does better this go around since he isn't guarding Duncan or Splitter. Howard should have a solid night. Harden should have a field day but if he doesn't then Ariza and the other shooters need to be dialed in.
Wahhhh. Duncan is a boring player nowadays. Much more entertaining to see Parker run an offense by himself.
This is a trap from Pop. There's only one way to do it. Buckle up. And destroy them with full thrust. Don't sleep on them like the Heat do the other day.
I highly doubt my friend's kid or grandkid will be impressed when he tells them "I saw Tony Parker play in person". When they are comparing new school greats to old school ones, I'm betting Duncan's name comes up more. The bottom line is some people paid money for this specific game to see certain players. They have a right to be pissed.
Well, I was hoping to be entertained. I wanted to see two good teams compete against each other. I wanted to see how the Rockets stacked up against the best. So, I'm disappointed the Spurs won't be playing their best players.
Its a form of entertainment for the fans, but it is about winning for (most of) the players and coaches. Pop has a system that works for his team. He doesnt care about the fans on the road and what they hoped to see when they purchased their tickets. Sorry. Next time you may have to wait and buy your spurs game tix on game day to find out who will be playing. I just want us to win by 15 AGAIN. Keep this thang rollin mane...
