Top 100 Minutes Played Chart

[Captivus]

I put this little chart together to see if my intuition was correct, and it was.
Only including Top 100 players in MP.
For example, Atlanta has 5 players that average 33 minutes (average between those 5, not each of them).




Team



MP


Players


Avg.







ATL



165


5



33









MIN


170


5


34








PHI


172


5


34








POR


173


5


35








WAS



177


5


35








CHI


128


4


32








DAL


133


4


33








DET


141


4


35








GSW


134


4


34








HOU


148


4


37








IND


129


4


32








LAC


140


4


35








NYK


138


4


35








PHO


130


4


32








TOR


137


4


34








BOS


92


3


31








BRK


93


3


31








CHA


98


3


33








CLE


104


3


35








MIL


96


3


32








NOP


98


3


33








OKC


105


3


35








ORL


103


3


34








UTA


105


3


35








MEM


68


2


34


Gasol, Conley




MIA


69


2


35


James, Wade




DEN


37


1


37


Lawson




LAL


32


1


32


Blake




SAC


31


1


31


Cousins




SAS


32


1


32


Parker




Totals






100















Except WAS, the other 4 teams leading the list are currently in the POs. Coincidence? That has to catch up eventually.
Houston has the highest value in minutes, with 37 between 4 players, all of them, are actually Top 50 in MP!
SAS and MIA are the only contenders with 2 or less players in the Top 100. Coincidence?
What is WAS doing? Is their bench so bad? Why not try some players? Why not be as SAC, at least they are giving other players a chance to show themselves, and who knows, maybe they even find a new starter.


There are many things to say about this chart, but I don't want to start over-analyzing every team.

[freetiago]

Its amazing what Popovich has done to everyones brain in here
they legitimately believe playing 5 more minutes from 30 minutes to 35 minutes will put someone in a wheelchair by the end of the season
these are professional athletes and 35 minutes isn't even a lot
and you have to consider these are 2 hr 30 minute games with multiple timeouts, tv breaks, half time etc so theyre not playing 35 minutes straight

Miami plays its best 2 players the highest minutes
the rest of their roleplayers are interchangable and like 35+ years old

Leonard should easily be playing 35+ minutes a night

[smaka]

I agree about Kawhi, he should be playing more than 28 mpg.

[Chomag]

28 minutes average per game is baffling I have no idea why Kawhi is playing such low minutes. He is in his very early 20's and what is best for a young player is floor time minutes.

I guess pop is so used to playing old washed up vets that he forgot how to manage a younger player :lol

[Juggity]

28 minutes average per game is baffling I have no idea why Kawhi is playing such low minutes. He is in his very early 20's and what is best for a young player is floor time minutes.

I guess pop is so used to playing old washed up vets that he forgot how to manage a younger player :lol

Kawhi has an injury history from last year (knees, I believe). Considering he's absolutely crucial to the spurs' success (no real backup SF), him sustaining an injury form being overplayed would be catastrophic.

[ChumpDumper]

Yeah, if we played Kawhi more we'd have the best record in the league right now.

[james evans]

Its amazing what Popovich has done to everyones brain in here
they legitimately believe playing 5 more minutes from 30 minutes to 35 minutes will put someone in a wheelchair by the end of the season
these are professional athletes and 35 minutes isn't even a lot
and you have to consider these are 2 hr 30 minute games with multiple timeouts, tv breaks, half time etc so theyre not playing 35 minutes straight

Miami plays its best 2 players the highest minutes
the rest of their roleplayers are interchangable and like 35+ years old

Leonard should easily be playing 35+ minutes a night
man u can't believe how many people I have this conversation with. not to beat a dead horse, but I was pissed at game 6 and popobich resting the starters in the 4th quarter. I asked over and over again, "what the fuk are they resting for?". people kept saying, "they were tired". tired from what though? it's a 48 minute game that lasts about 2 and a half hours. u hae 14 timeouts per half(7 per team), freethrows, , ridiculous amout of minutes for break in half time, tv timeouts, and ball stops like turnovers. there is no reason for a professional basketball player to get "tired' if you're not playing Loyola Marymount paul westhead basketball. there are too many breaks in the action and u are not running at full speed for 48 minutes straight. i'm not comparing myself to an nba player because that i'm not, but my team had a league game last year in which we made it to the finals. now only 5 players showed up for the final 2 games. we won the first which put us in the championship game IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING. this was a 40 minute game with not halftime show, not a lot of freethrows(if any), and the other team had about 14 players that they were subbing on the regular. we won the first game and lost the 2nd because we all were catching cramps in our legs. we played 80 minutes straight and I wasn't tired, just cramping like crazy. tim Duncan is a little bit older than I am. there is no excuse for a guy like leonard or our other younger players not to be playing a lot of minutes with all of the breaks they are given.. I understand they practice daily too and need breaks sometimes, but during a game, that limiting the minutes shit I will never fully understand....

[CitizenDwayne]

While 28 minutes is a little low, I can't complain until his lack of minutes causes us a game.

Like one where, I don't know, the opposing SF goes off for a triple double. Something like that.

[TrainOfThought5]

Yeah, if we played Kawhi more we'd have the best record in the league right now.Hell yeah youre totally righ -- AAAH i see what you did there!!

[exstatic]

Kawhi suffers from quad tendonitis, also known as "Jumper's Knee". It's a condition that can become chronic. Best to ease into the season.

[anakha]

fuck long term thinking, fuck the players. i want wins.

[cd021]

10 games in. Mediocre competition, new rotation players 72 games remaining. Leonard and Parker will get more minutes as the season goes on.

[james evans]

8 more minutes a game is not gonna end anyone's career anytime soon. i'm sure u agreed with popovich resting the starters in the 4th quarter of game 6 as well. i mean, we couldn't have them tired for the parade right?

[Raven]

Kawhi and green should be playing 40 minutes per game.

[anakha]

8 more minutes a game is not gonna end anyone's career anytime soon. i'm sure u agreed with popovich resting the starters in the 4th quarter of game 6 as well. i mean, we couldn't have them tired for the parade right?

1) :lol at you assuming I'm in favor of any and all coaching decisions.

2) 8 minutes a game, over 82 games of the regular season, plus another 20+ games (hopefully) in the playoffs, over a number of seasons, playing at the HIGHEST FUCKING LEVEL of the sport against the best the sport has to offer. And that doesn't even include practices (full-contact or otherwise) or playing in international competitions in the offseason.

:lol at you comparing that to playing 80 minutes once one night.

3) :lol at you repeating the same thing over and over like a parrot, hoping you'll actually get someone to buy what you're selling.

[hater]

we deep as fuck rite now. thus the minutes. wake up

[Man In Black]

Kawhi suffers from quad tendonitis, also known as "Jumper's Knee". It's a condition that can become chronic. Best to ease into the season.

It's actually... Suffered. He's 100% and has been since he left San Diego.

[anakha]

It's actually... Suffered. He's 100% and has been since he left San Diego.

Maybe my memory's failing me, but didn't he have some minor knee issues this past season?

[boutons_deux]

"That has to catch up eventually."

didn't "catch up" to James and Wade last season. Wade has been injury prone his entire career so it's not the long minutes in MIA that hurt him.

and yes, not having the starters or the closing 5 play all the CHAMPIONSHIP '13 Game 6 is on POP. resting them up for OT? :lol

WTF? playing all of the 4th qtr of the biggest game of the season is why you rest them all season.

[jsandiego]

we deep as fuck rite now. thus the minutes. wake upThis tbh. We have to get the new guys integrated, and we have, while keeping the best record in the league, and the 2nd best defense. I have a feeling by the end of the year, Kahwi will be playing more minutes.

[BillMc]

Maybe my memory's failing me, but didn't he have some minor knee issues this past season?

You're right. He missed a string of games with it.

[Bartleby]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/35752/heavy-minutes-hurt-title-chances

[hater]

Yeah, if we played Kawhi more we'd have the best record in the league right now.

80 thousand posts and finally 1 decent take :tu

It's beyond me why ppl complaining about Kawhi's #s. I'm sure he'll be playing 40 mins when it matters in the playoffs.

[DesignatedT]

Lol complaining about minutes played 10 games into the season with a 9-1 record. Think about it. You think Kawhi is going to be playing 28 minutes a game down the stretch and in the playoffs? Who cares how many minutes he plays during game 5 vs the fuckin wizards. Use your brain.

[DesignatedT]

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/35752/heavy-minutes-hurt-title-chances

Just shit all over this thread.

[freetiago]

after playing 28 minutes a night of standing in the corner offensively and being taken out for slight defensive mistakes
playing 40 minutes in the playoffs wont help

wont have the practice to post people up and at least try to create offense for himself
Kawhi playing more minutes is about him growing as a player not trying to secure wins
and its not like he has a backup anyway who you can play in his place

[hater]

after playing 28 minutes a night of standing in the corner offensively and being taken out for slight defensive mistakes
playing 40 minutes in the playoffs wont help

wont have the practice to post people up and at least try to create offense for himself
Kawhi playing more minutes is about him growing as a player not trying to secure wins
and its not like he has a backup anyway who you can play in his place

wake up. we've been blowing teams out, so you want Pop to leave Kawhi with the rest of the Spurs scrubs in garbage minutes so he can work on his game? :lol

you want to ride him for 40 minutes a game for 82 games and especially since you say we have no backup for him? :lol :lol

[SpurSwag]

Didn't bother to read all the responses so I don't know if it's been said but those numbers are very skewed. We are 9-
1 and have been blowing people out, leading to players being benched early to avoid injury in garbage time. Obviously in the close games our stars will get 35+ minutes, but that just hasn't been necessary

[james evans]

Didn't bother to read all the responses so I don't know if it's been said but those numbers are very skewed. We are 9-
1 and have been blowing people out, leading to players being benched early to avoid injury in garbage time. Obviously in the close games our stars will get 35+ minutes, but that just hasn't been necessary
i'm not talking about games we are winning easily. shit, i don't care if duncan plays 5 minutes, as long as we are winning. i'm sure nobody's that stupid..

[SpurSwag]

i'm not talking about games we are winning easily. shit, i don't care if duncan plays 5 minutes, as long as we are winning. i'm sure nobody's that stupid..

Well the OP and several others have complained about Kawhi's 28 MPG for example, but the numbers of all of our stars look so low because of the many nights of only playing like 25 MPG in huge blow outs. I'm sure if the averages were only of games decided in the fourth quarter Tim, Tony, and Kawhi would all definitely average a solid amount of playing time. The averages just look low because of all the blow outs

[racm]

Worrying about minutes played in November? :lmao

[Man In Black]

Maybe my memory's failing me, but didn't he have some minor knee issues this past season?

I told you all, he's 100% healthy. But if needed, meaning to say Pop, has scheduled rest for his horses, then tendonosis might be used as a reason for Kawhi to not play, even if he is fairly healthy. It's like watching Tom Brady be reported on the NFL Injury list as PROBABLE with a knee issue but then HE NEVER MISSES A GAME.
Tendonosis is an injury that requires rest and therapy. He got all that in the off-season and if you guys can't remember him telling you all that, well...here ya go!
http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/2013/08/01/130801kawhimp4-2555979/ The 1st 2 minutes, he tells you all, his knee is fine. In AUGUST People.

[anakha]

I told you all, he's 100% healthy. But if needed, meaning to say Pop, has scheduled rest for his horses, then tendonosis might be used as a reason for Kawhi to not play, even if he is fairly healthy. It's like watching Tom Brady be reported on the NFL Injury list as PROBABLE with a knee issue but then HE NEVER MISSES A GAME.
Tendonosis is an injury that requires rest and therapy. He got all that in the off-season and if you guys can't remember him telling you all that, well...here ya go!
http://www.nba.com/spurs/video/2013/08/01/130801kawhimp4-2555979/ The 1st 2 minutes, he tells you all, his knee is fine. In AUGUST People.

As Duncan said to Chris Paul, 'calm the fuck down'.

That quote was from August this year, sure. That means he's saying he was 100% as of that time.

What I was asking was: was he 100% last season? The fact that he missed over a month's worth of games suggests otherwise. And 'scheduled rest' doesn't explain missing that much time.

[Kool Bob Love]

Worrying about minutes played in November? :lmao

:rollin:rollin:rollin

[pgardn]

Worrying about minutes played in November? :lmao

You are obviously young and have good knees.

[Captivus]

I like how I started this thread to discuss about teams playing starters a lot of minutes, versus Miami and the Spurs, that are doing great and also resting...BUT...Kawhi took over.
:depressed
On Topic (Kawhi now), there has to be a reason for him not getting more minutes, I mean, besides resting. Either he is injured (in some minimal way), or something is bothering him (knee?) or Pop thinks that he is not needed so much. Maybe he thinks the 2nd unit is better of without him...idk.
Getting rest cant be the reason, not this early.
Or...maybe we see Kiwi with our hearts and not with our head, and he is not the All Star we thought, but we just cant see it...(are we that blind?)

[pgardn]

I like how I started this thread to discuss about teams playing starters a lot of minutes, versus Miami and the Spurs, that are doing great and also resting...BUT...Kawhi took over.
:depressed
On Topic (Kawhi now), there has to be a reason for him not getting more minutes, I mean, besides resting. Either he is injured (in some minimal way), or something is bothering him (knee?) or Pop thinks that he is not needed so much. Maybe he thinks the 2nd unit is better of without him...idk.
Getting rest cant be the reason, not this early.
Or...maybe we see Kiwi with our hearts and not with our head, and he is not the All Star we thought, but we just cant see it...(are we that blind?)

I think your table is interesting and well done. But to analyze the Spurs deeply when we have had such a soft schedule is difficult. Our mantra is enter the playoffs healthy. Pop is forever experimenting with lineups. Add to that we are crushing teams. I think its early to draw any sort of deep dark secrets other than he has not needed Leonard or any other individual. Playing against Lebron or George should get Leonard minutes if Pop deems winning that particular game worthwhile. This is what we get with 82 games, a playoff team, and sheep to slaughter.

[Man In Black]

I am calm. I'm just telling you that health is not an issue with KL. Hasn't been for a long while. What he said in August holds true today. If you CAREFULLY OBSERVE KL moving on the court, there is no hesitation on any of his moves physically. If any of you have spent any real length of time in a Athletic Training Room, you would know what to look for.

That is what you guys needs to see. I am calm, some of you are just over-analyzing with such a limited data set. The only thing that matters currently is 10-1.