Spurs Should Play to Win

[FoxPerez]

From The Daily Six Shooter (http://bit.ly/dQGRSo) at PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/):

With a couple of days rest, the San Antonio Spurs head off to LA to play the Lakers in a nationally televised game… and I think the Spurs should play the starters their regular minutes in this game and play to win.

With playoff seeding on the line for the Lakers, they’re going to get LA’s best. It’s worth the risk to go out and try to play a good game and get a victory to extend their current winning streak and carry that momentum into the playoffs. With two days off, an opportunity to sit his key guys tomorrow in the finale against Phoenix, and a short break after that before the playoff start, Gregg Popovich can go after this one.

He’s already shown a willingness to leave his players in at the end of a blowout to work on their games. He needs to look at this as an opportunity to get their offense ready for the playoffs. A loss would be a great lesson as to what they should expect from the Lakers should they play them and show them what they really need to work on and improve going into the playoffs. A win would be a huge confidence booster and would allow the team to take it easy against the Suns tomorrow know that they’re clicking heading into the postseason.

It’s a win-win proposition that I hope Pop takes into consideration when putting together tonight’s game plan.

[Budkin]

They've already got the "lesson" they need from getting curbstomped before.

[DMC]

Someone email Pop about this new idea: Play to win.

[TE]

I concur.

[Dex]

The Spurs will play to win.

Those of them that aren't sitting on the bench all night.

[ffadicted]

I won't be mad or care either way honestly. I think the chances of a Chi - San finals are super slim, and I wouldn't mind rest for our main guys.

But I also wouldn't mind pounding the lakers and fucking up their seeding tonight either lol

[Dex]

Spurs are in a win/win situation. They can't have the best of both worlds, but there are benefits to winning OR losing.

All that really matters is that whatever happens, everyone in silver and black walks off the court healthy.

[Splits]

If Utah, missing Devin Harris, can go into LA on the back of Gordon Hayward and win, then I think our JV team can as well. Sure, play to win.... just not sure we need our oldies in the rotation. The Fakeshow has been horrible their past 5, especially offensively. What would be more demoralizing to them than losing to our scrubs?

[FoxPerez]

... But I also wouldn't mind pounding the lakers and fucking up their seeding tonight either lol

YES! Agreed. San Antonio would feel great on every aspect going to the playoffs if the regular guys played their same minutes in this game and came out with a win and got to rest tomorrow against Phoenix.

[DAF86]

I don't want to face LA in the second round of the playoffs, and the Bulls aren't getting to the NBA finals, so I would rather rest our key players. Still play to win though.

[ThePop]

Bulls are NOT going to lose their last two games. There is no point in trying to win our games. I don't think the starters should sit out all together but they should get very limited minutes.

[TD 21]

Who the hell do you guys think you're kidding? Pop is terrified of the Lakers and this is just the latest example. Think about it. He's willing to risk losing home court in the Finals, despite the fact that home court is especially huge in the Finals because of the format and the fact that his team has had it virtually all season. And why? To avoid the likelihood that the Lakers are loaded for bear. Shows how much confidence he has in his team. He doesn't think their motivation, which is ample (not just the home court, but what happened to them in their most recent meeting) is enough to trump the Lakers motivation, so he's saving them the potential embarrassment/confidence hit that this could have been. Only, what could be more of a confidence hit than knowing that your coach doesn't think you can beat the team standing directly between you and a return to the Finals and that he thinks you're fragile (mentally/physically)? Because that's exactly what he just told all his players.

I don't want to hear about rest. This is far and away the most rested team going into the playoffs. They've played one game in five days, none in three, had their minutes managed relentlessly all season, have had starters sit out games recently and you're telling me they need rest? They're guaranteed two-three days off after the Suns game, as well. At some point, rest becomes rust. Don't kid yourself, this is not about rest.

[Ghazi]

TD 21 w/ the goods, per the unusual

[ThePop]

TD 21 w/ the goods, per the unusual

As an iranian, your sig makes me want to puke.

[Solid D]

Jefferson is going to be the only regular to start this game tonight.

[ChuckD]

Watching Noah essentially re-sprain his ankle in the 4th Q of the Bulls/Knicks makes me see how meaningless this LA game is.

[TD 21]

Watching Noah essentially re-sprain his ankle in the 4th Q of the Bulls/Knicks makes me see how meaningless this LA game is.

We'll see if you're saying that in mid-late June, if the Spurs-Bulls meet in the Finals, the Bulls have home court (sent to them on a platter by the Spurs) and beat them.

This terrified-of-the-Lakers coach should at least notify his team before the playoff commence that the Grizzlies and Hornets are clearly trying to avoid the Lakers, so that they can play the Spurs. He should also let them know what the consensus is about their prospects from the national media. Basically, he should hammer home the point that, not only does nobody fear them, but nobody respects them as a team, either.

[The Truth #6]

So is Pop starting the B team?

[ChuckD]

We'll see if you're saying that in mid-late June, if the Spurs-Bulls meet in the Finals, the Bulls have home court (sent to them on a platter by the Spurs) and beat them.

What good is that if the Spurs are fighting LA, and are up 3 points with 3 minutes left and Tim TOTALLY rolls his ankle? At that point, we're going out in the first round, maybe even against NO.

[duncan228]

So is Pop starting the B team?

Splitter, Jefferson, Blair, Neal, and Hill starting.

[ChuckD]

So is Pop starting the B team?

Solid D seems to think so.

[TD 21]

What good is that if the Spurs are fighting LA, and are up 3 points with 3 minutes left and Tim TOTALLY rolls his ankle? At that point, we're going out in the first round, maybe even against NO.

That could happen at any time. Home court in the Finals is crucial. Risking handing that away just because there's a chance of injury is ludicrous. There's not another team in the league that would have done this, especially when they had it in their grasp virtually all season.

This decision isn't about rest, injury, or anything other than this: this coach is terrified of the Lakers and thinks his team has a fragile psyche.

[ChuckD]

Any questions?


http://theassociation.blogs.com/.a/6a00d8341c67fe53ef01053706d51a970b-640wi

[polandprzem]

TD21 with a good point

But the finals with Bulls are not sure.

Also without focus of LA the spurs can pull a win with the reserves

[Josepatches_]

I don't want to face LA in the second round of the playoffs, and the Bulls aren't getting to the NBA finals, so I would rather rest our key players. Still play to win though.


Maybe you like more to let them face NO and DAL so they will make the West Finals easily.We would have to face the anyway and ithey could be stronger later.

If we win they could be 3rd or 4th.At least their first round will be harder.

[TD 21]

Any questions?

I still would have played the big three and McDyess.

If they get injured, they get injured. But I wouldn't hand a potential Finals opponent home court. Especially considering they've had it in their grasp all season and it's crucial in the Finals, because of the format.

[Josepatches_]

I hope Lakers lose tomorrow in SAC.

[ChuckD]

I still would have played the big three and McDyess.

If they get injured, they get injured. But I wouldn't hand a potential Finals opponent home court. Especially considering they've had it in their grasp all season and it's crucial in the Finals, because of the format.

If they get injured, then the EC Finals team means shit, dumbass.

[TD 21]

If they get injured, then the EC Finals team means shit, dumbass.

I'm aware, genius. My point is, there's always the risk of injury. That shouldn't be the mentality when something as significant as home court in the Finals is potentially at stake, particularly when they've had it in their grasp virtually the entire season. It was a clear indication that this coach has no confidence in his team and believes they're fragile and only an idiot would think the decision was based on anything else.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

With a couple of days rest, the San Antonio Spurs head off to LA to play the Lakers in a nationally televised game… and I think the Spurs should play the starters their regular minutes in this game and play to win.


This is just... no other way to say it... stupid.

First, who cares that it's "nationally televised"?

Break down the decision. If you play your starters, you might win or lose. If you win, what have you got? A chance to get HCA against the Bulls IF you both make it to the finals. That's what, a 1 in 4 chance at best? Then there's a coin flip. So even if you do get to the Finals against the Bulls, you still have a 50-50 shot at getting HCA. So really it's a 1 in 8 chance that you get to the finals against the Bulls, AND you don't get HCA. This is even assuming that the Bulls win out and the Spurs win their final game, so the odds are even worse that this "bad" scenario plays out.

And, even if it does play out, it's only HCA. That's worth something... but not as much as you might think. The team with HCA has all the pressure on them to win the first 2 games. If they lose one, poof, HCA is gone. Also, the finals is a 2-3-2 format, so if the HCA team loses one of the first two, the other team can close it out at home!

If you lose, you've put more mileage on your starters on a back-to-back with possibly only 2 days rest before the playoffs start.

Plus there's the intangibles. Playing your starters gives the Lakers a chance to suck it up, win, and get some momentum by beating a playoff team before the playoffs start, and to get your players down by losing. Do you want to risk that?

Not to mention the chance of injuring one of your starters.

On the other hand: if you don't play your starters, you avoid all of the above risks, PLUS you don't allow the Lakers to get the satisfaction of playing well against a playoff caliber team. And... you just might show very well, or even win! How sweet would that be? PLUS you give your 2nd and 3rd units a great opportunity to play against one of the best in the league, get some experience in what it's like, and gain some confidence, hopefully, because you might need them in the playoffs to step up.

Seems like an easy decision to me. Lots of negatives on the play-your-starters side, and one small potential positive that actually has a small chance of even happening AND being meaningful. Lots of positives on the don't-play-your-starters side.

[FoxPerez]

YoMamaIsCallin,

HCA was not the issue at all. It's not one of the arguments I made.

As for the back-to-back, I addressed that. My argument was that they should play all out against LA and wait to rest those guys against Phoenix because San Antonio has already beaten the Suns this year without everyone healthy.

Yes, there were fewer risks by sitting the guys like Pop did, but there was a higher reward if those guys had played and won. There are fewer negatives to your argument, but higher and better positives to mine. Both are solid arguments.

Of course, everything I said was invalidated by Andrew Bynum's injury and Pop ended up looking like a genius while the TNT guys sang his praises. Both Reggie Miller and Steve Kerr lampooned the Lakers for blowing their chance to clinch a higher seed during that losing streak which forced them to play everyone a lot of minutes against the Spurs, made worse by the fact that the reserved hung around and made the Lakers expend a lot of energy to win a home game that should have been a walk.

While it looks like Bynum won't miss any time, there's no way he's the same dominant force when he comes back.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

If HCA vs. the Bulls is not the issue, what is? That's all that was at stake in the game for the Spurs.

"Momentum going into the playoffs" is not a thing. What matters is how you play WHEN you get into the playoffs. The players and coaches all know that the playoffs are a completely different season and you can toss regular season out the window.

I bet that Popovich starts his starters tonight but keeps them right around 20 minutes. Really tonight's game should be looked at like a practice.

Not to start a thread war, which I detest, but I've got to call you on simply declaring that "both are solid arguments". You've actually got to back it up with something.

[Typical London Boy]

I'd definitely rest the big three, and if that means losing the game, then so be it.

As has been said, the odds of a Bulls/Spurs final are pretty slim, and if the Spurs can't win one of the four games in Chicago during that series, were it to happen, then they don't deserve to be champions anyway.

Thinking about it a little more, the Spurs could play the big three tonight, win, and still would be at the mercy of a random drawing. Doesn't seem worth the hassle to me.

That said, I do think Jefferson and co. are capable of defeating the Suns.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Play the starters the first quarter to give them some rythym minutes and then rest them. Tony, Timmy, Jefferson, McDyess and Manu....all 5 out after Q1.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

As we speak the Bulls are down 4 to the Nets with less than 7 minutes remaining.

Update: Bulls now up 2 with 3:36 to go. Looks like they may pull it out.