duncan228
03-21-2009, 01:56 AM
Title contenders know to save their best players for playoffs (http://www.statesman.com/sports/content/sports/stories/other/03/21/0321golden_FN.html)
Cedric Golden
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics are on a short list of teams that could win the NBA championship.
Both are veteran teams with a championship pedigree, but aging ballclubs have to contend with those nicks and bruises that come with the rigors of a long NBA season. So regular-season games take on less importance. The goal is to win in the playoffs, and even when the defending world champions are in town, that goal doesn't change.
One story line coming out of San Antonio's 80-77 loss to the Celtics on Friday — besides the Spurs going Shaq on us and missing their last six free throws — was a matchup of teams with championship dreams and major injury concerns.
The Spurs are one of the league's oldest teams, and while a championship is possible, it won't happen without their major forces contributing when the playoffs roll around next month.
Such as San Antonio sixth man Manu Ginobili, who was announced in pregame for the first time in more than a month. While the fans at the AT&T Center roared with enthusiasm, it wasn't because Ginobili was playing, but because he was addressing them in conjunction with a team promotion. He's still battling back from a stress reaction in his right fibula, and his absence is so important that it made big news in San Antonio this week when he practiced. Coach Gregg Popovich is playing it safe and will probably keep Ginobili on the pine until the playoffs. When it matters.
Meanwhile, two-time league MVP Tim Duncan also is struggling with a sore knee, and Popovich sat him Tuesday against Minnesota, which was the second game of a back-to-back. Duncan was back Friday and scored 15 points with nine rebounds in 32 minutes. Asked about his knee, Duncan said, "I'm fighting through, and it's just something you have to deal with."
Boston coach Doc Rivers played Duncan's contemporary, Kevin Garnett, for just more than 14 minutes — Garnett's first action in 13 games since injuring his knee one month ago. Rivers told his star he would play him just seven minutes per half and did not waver on that decision, even with the game hanging by a thread in the closing minutes. Rivers said he would tie Garnett to the bench to keep him from running out on the court in the fourth quarter if he had to.
"Both of these teams are hurting,'' said Rivers, who also brought guard Ray Allen back from a one-game absence because of a sore knee. "I'm sure if all of Pop's guys were healthy then he would like that. So would I but that's not the case."
Popovich and Rivers aren't in any hurry to overdo it with their stars. And for good reason. Garnett and Duncan have nothing to prove at this point. When healthy, they can dominate games. A 30-point performance in a postseason win is much bigger than a dozen 20-point performances during the regular season. Each coach understands his team's memories of the 2009 season won't be based on a regular-season game played in March. The league's big engines don't get revved up until the playoffs, and teams like Boston and San Antonio, the past two world champions, plan to be healthier by then than they are now.
Speaking of engines: if you think the Interstate 35 traffic during South by Southwest is a nightmare, try an 82-game NBA season, especially for a veteran team that's naturally more prone to injury. Popovich is a master at limiting minutes down the stretch of a season, and that's why you see Ginobili in his civvies right now. To bring him back would be an unnecessary risk, especially with the Spurs sitting at 44-23 and in a great position to finish in the top half of the Western Conference.
It goes without saying that Pop wouldn't mind capturing the No. 2 playoff seed to avoid meeting the top seed-apparent Los Angeles Lakers until the conference finals, but he knows better than to overextend his veterans for the sake of a seeding. Now, if it comes down to winning one game to get that No. 2 spot, that's different. Otherwise, he will let the proverbial chips fall where they may.
Besides, if the Spurs are to win an NBA title, it's looking as though they will have to go through the Lakers to get there, anyway. Does it really matter when they play?
In a long season, winning in the playoffs is the only thing that really matters, and the power brokers in this league are not about to rush back valuable pieces of a championship puzzle prematurely.
The Lakers are in a similar position with young center Andrew Bynum, who tore a knee ligament on Jan. 31. Originally, the team thought Bynum would be back by now, but coach Phil Jackson said this week that he doesn't expect him back for another month.
That would be around the start of the playoffs.
When it matters.
Cedric Golden
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics are on a short list of teams that could win the NBA championship.
Both are veteran teams with a championship pedigree, but aging ballclubs have to contend with those nicks and bruises that come with the rigors of a long NBA season. So regular-season games take on less importance. The goal is to win in the playoffs, and even when the defending world champions are in town, that goal doesn't change.
One story line coming out of San Antonio's 80-77 loss to the Celtics on Friday — besides the Spurs going Shaq on us and missing their last six free throws — was a matchup of teams with championship dreams and major injury concerns.
The Spurs are one of the league's oldest teams, and while a championship is possible, it won't happen without their major forces contributing when the playoffs roll around next month.
Such as San Antonio sixth man Manu Ginobili, who was announced in pregame for the first time in more than a month. While the fans at the AT&T Center roared with enthusiasm, it wasn't because Ginobili was playing, but because he was addressing them in conjunction with a team promotion. He's still battling back from a stress reaction in his right fibula, and his absence is so important that it made big news in San Antonio this week when he practiced. Coach Gregg Popovich is playing it safe and will probably keep Ginobili on the pine until the playoffs. When it matters.
Meanwhile, two-time league MVP Tim Duncan also is struggling with a sore knee, and Popovich sat him Tuesday against Minnesota, which was the second game of a back-to-back. Duncan was back Friday and scored 15 points with nine rebounds in 32 minutes. Asked about his knee, Duncan said, "I'm fighting through, and it's just something you have to deal with."
Boston coach Doc Rivers played Duncan's contemporary, Kevin Garnett, for just more than 14 minutes — Garnett's first action in 13 games since injuring his knee one month ago. Rivers told his star he would play him just seven minutes per half and did not waver on that decision, even with the game hanging by a thread in the closing minutes. Rivers said he would tie Garnett to the bench to keep him from running out on the court in the fourth quarter if he had to.
"Both of these teams are hurting,'' said Rivers, who also brought guard Ray Allen back from a one-game absence because of a sore knee. "I'm sure if all of Pop's guys were healthy then he would like that. So would I but that's not the case."
Popovich and Rivers aren't in any hurry to overdo it with their stars. And for good reason. Garnett and Duncan have nothing to prove at this point. When healthy, they can dominate games. A 30-point performance in a postseason win is much bigger than a dozen 20-point performances during the regular season. Each coach understands his team's memories of the 2009 season won't be based on a regular-season game played in March. The league's big engines don't get revved up until the playoffs, and teams like Boston and San Antonio, the past two world champions, plan to be healthier by then than they are now.
Speaking of engines: if you think the Interstate 35 traffic during South by Southwest is a nightmare, try an 82-game NBA season, especially for a veteran team that's naturally more prone to injury. Popovich is a master at limiting minutes down the stretch of a season, and that's why you see Ginobili in his civvies right now. To bring him back would be an unnecessary risk, especially with the Spurs sitting at 44-23 and in a great position to finish in the top half of the Western Conference.
It goes without saying that Pop wouldn't mind capturing the No. 2 playoff seed to avoid meeting the top seed-apparent Los Angeles Lakers until the conference finals, but he knows better than to overextend his veterans for the sake of a seeding. Now, if it comes down to winning one game to get that No. 2 spot, that's different. Otherwise, he will let the proverbial chips fall where they may.
Besides, if the Spurs are to win an NBA title, it's looking as though they will have to go through the Lakers to get there, anyway. Does it really matter when they play?
In a long season, winning in the playoffs is the only thing that really matters, and the power brokers in this league are not about to rush back valuable pieces of a championship puzzle prematurely.
The Lakers are in a similar position with young center Andrew Bynum, who tore a knee ligament on Jan. 31. Originally, the team thought Bynum would be back by now, but coach Phil Jackson said this week that he doesn't expect him back for another month.
That would be around the start of the playoffs.
When it matters.