duncan228
01-26-2010, 01:41 PM
SI.com Roundtable (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/01/26/roundtable/1.html)
Gregg Popovich has been resting the 33-year-old Tim Duncan at times instead of playing him in both games of back-to-backs. What do you think of this? Do teams owe it to fans, especially ticket buyers, to play their stars when healthy?
Thomsen: He's benching Duncan in hope of keeping him fresh for the most important games yet to come. Who wouldn't make that trade? Teams limit the minutes of older players during the regular season, and they routinely sideline starters in the final days before the playoffs. So this move with Duncan is nothing more than an extreme version of that accepted trend.
Hughes: Not at all. Popovich's job is not to entertain; it is to win games, and more specifically championships. Spurs fans will be far more entertained the further their team advances into the playoffs. Knowing Popovich, he would be apoplectic about this question.
McCallum: This isn't a new issue by the way; Pat Riley used to infuriate fans and the league office by resting his stars. But my answer now is the same as it was then: Yes, fans pay a lot of money for tickets, and, yes, they are owed some amount of loyalty by a team, but it is far too slippery of a slope to allow entertainment to affect the way a coach runs the team. Here's what fans should want: The best teams at full strength at playoff time.
Mannix: I don't despise the play-the-guy-people-are-paying-for argument as much as most do, but Popovich owes it to his fans to win in April, May and June more than he owes it to them to win in December or January. Duncan's knees are banged up, thanks to 34,403 regular season minutes and nearly two full seasons of postseason games. The simple truth is that if Popovich were to push Duncan any more than he does, the Spurs would likely fizzle early in the playoffs. And what San Antonio fan wants to see that?
Gregg Popovich has been resting the 33-year-old Tim Duncan at times instead of playing him in both games of back-to-backs. What do you think of this? Do teams owe it to fans, especially ticket buyers, to play their stars when healthy?
Thomsen: He's benching Duncan in hope of keeping him fresh for the most important games yet to come. Who wouldn't make that trade? Teams limit the minutes of older players during the regular season, and they routinely sideline starters in the final days before the playoffs. So this move with Duncan is nothing more than an extreme version of that accepted trend.
Hughes: Not at all. Popovich's job is not to entertain; it is to win games, and more specifically championships. Spurs fans will be far more entertained the further their team advances into the playoffs. Knowing Popovich, he would be apoplectic about this question.
McCallum: This isn't a new issue by the way; Pat Riley used to infuriate fans and the league office by resting his stars. But my answer now is the same as it was then: Yes, fans pay a lot of money for tickets, and, yes, they are owed some amount of loyalty by a team, but it is far too slippery of a slope to allow entertainment to affect the way a coach runs the team. Here's what fans should want: The best teams at full strength at playoff time.
Mannix: I don't despise the play-the-guy-people-are-paying-for argument as much as most do, but Popovich owes it to his fans to win in April, May and June more than he owes it to them to win in December or January. Duncan's knees are banged up, thanks to 34,403 regular season minutes and nearly two full seasons of postseason games. The simple truth is that if Popovich were to push Duncan any more than he does, the Spurs would likely fizzle early in the playoffs. And what San Antonio fan wants to see that?