Pop trying to tank games in early March...

[ElNono]

San Antonio Spurs @spurs
(https://twitter.com/spurs)Aldridge (migraine headache), Duncan (rest) &Green (rest) are out for tonight’s game. Ginobili (surgical recovery) remains probable




Jeff McDonald @JMcDonald_SAEN
(https://twitter.com/JMcDonald_SAEN)Per Pop: Would have been 3 in 4 nights for Duncan, with b2b to come. Due rest. Green, Pop says, has been "overplayed."




I don't get it, if there were players that needed rest are Tony and Bobo... Green? He's barely hitting 27 mpg and is 28 years old...

Discuss

[Robz4000]

Pop playing chess while we're all playing checkers.

[Boogie Munster]

Trying to get that first home loss before Warriors come in and blow us out by another 30, tbh.

[Mugen]

You're just mad that Pop is making your SPAM thread look dumb AF now tbh....:lol

[jdelar03]

Wants to see if Kawhi can shoulder the load and will a victory even if it is against a bad team.

[Ice009]

I posted this in the game thread and I thought I would post it here too :

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-truth-about-rest-in-the-nba-181702486.html

Not sure if any of you guys have read this article in the link above, but Tim Grover (Jordan's former trainer) doesn't think having young guys sit out games is the way to go in regards to rest. He thinks that if you want to rest them, just play them limited minutes. That's kind of been my take for years and I haven't always agreed with Pop on sitting out players completely. Maybe older guys like Tim, but I'm not sure I agree with sitting out younger players. Like Grover said, getting proper rest is the key. Not sitting on the bench for 2 hours then going out after games or staying up late texting and/or doing stuff like playing Xbox.

I'm curious what you guys think about what Tim Grover said in that article and if you agree with him. I pretty much agree with him in regards to not having younger player sit out completely. Just limit their minutes instead. I've kind of been against it ever since Pop started doing it. For Tim though, who legitimately needs it, I probably agree with it. Parker and Manu, that's on them if they want to play for their countries during the off-season and not get proper rest. It shouldn't be up to the Spurs to have to rest them all the time during the season.

[siraulo23]

migraine headache,wtf :lol

[spurraider21]

I don't get it, if there were players that needed rest are Tony and Bobo... Green? He's barely hitting 27 mpg and is 28 years old...

Discuss
tony and bobo are fat and need to play to stay in shape

[BillMc]

I posted this in the game thread and I thought I would post it here too :

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-truth-about-rest-in-the-nba-181702486.html

Not sure if any of you guys have read this article in the link above, but Tim Grover (Jordan's former trainer) doesn't think having young guys sit out games is the way to go in regards to rest. He thinks that if you want to rest them, just play them limited minutes. That's kind of been my take for years and I haven't always agreed with Pop on sitting out players completely. Maybe older guys like Tim, but I'm not sure I agree with sitting out younger players. Like Grover said, getting proper rest is the key. Not sitting on the bench for 2 hours then going out after games or staying up late texting and/or doing stuff like playing Xbox.

I'm curious what you guys think about what Tim Grover said in that article and if you agree with him. I pretty much agree with him in regards to not having younger player sit out completely. Just limit their minutes instead. I've kind of been against it ever since Pop started doing it. For Tim though, who legitimately needs it, I probably agree with it. Parker and Manu, that's on them if they want to play for their countries during the off-season and not get proper rest. It shouldn't be up to the Spurs to have to rest them all the time during the season.

I agree. But we have only two genuinely young (by NBA standards) guys, Kyle and Kawhi. Everyone else is pushing or over 30.

For the old guys I thinking sitting out is just playing the odds. You can't get hurt when you're not playing. (Well except for Bynum while bowling. :lol)

More likely he's resting Danny so Manu and Butler get more time at the wings. The former to get in the groove, the later to make his case for staying on the team or being picked up by another (nonplayoff since he wouldn't be eligible) team.

[baseline bum]

So Pop wants to get that home winning streak out of the way now? :lol

[SpursFanInAustin]

Matt Bonner gonna start in his final NBA game tonight?

[spursistan]

Trying to be cute by riding his shtick to extremes now the the rest of league is following him on average..Not the first time he gets a kick out of outsmarting himself (hacking..player substitution.)..As if benching Duncan didn't cost us a ship..Now he is willing sabotage a realistic chance at HC against a historical juggernaut like the Warriors after getting bounced last season in game 7 on the road against a lesser team..

Pop is an elite coach but he is isn't without flaws, which are sometimes fatal..

[ElNono]

You're just mad that Pop is making your SPAM thread look dumb AF now tbh....:lol

Gonna give me a migraine headache... :lol

[Ice009]

I agree. But we have only two genuinely young (by NBA standards) guys, Kyle and Kawhi. Everyone else is pushing or over 30.

For the old guys I thinking sitting out is just playing the odds. You can't get hurt when you're not playing. (Well except for Bynum while bowling. :lol)

More likely he's resting Danny so Manu and Butler get more time at the wings. The former to get in the groove, the later to make his case for staying on the team or being picked up by another (nonplayoff since he wouldn't be eligible) team.

Danny's still a young guy. That is one of the main reasons why I posted the article. Maybe your reason it right, but Pop didn't say that. He said he's been overplayed and I think that's BS, and does LaMarcus really have a migraine? If not, then I don't think he should be sitting out the game either, just play him limited minutes instead. Of course, that all depends on if the migraine is a legit thing.

[ElNono]

More likely he's resting Danny so Manu and Butler get more time at the wings. The former to get in the groove, the later to make his case for staying on the team or being picked up by another (nonplayoff since he wouldn't be eligible) team.

I'll be shocked if Manu plays more than 10 minutes tonight... pretty sure he's going to be on minute limit, especially after missing a month...

[bklynspursfan]

migraine headache,wtf :lol

Uh, if true, migraines are no joke. It's not your typical headache

[bklynspursfan]

We should still take care of business. It's a great opportunity for other guys to play well. Anderson needs to step up and shoot the ball if he's open. Parker/Kawhi need to be aggressive, and we need Diaw 2.0 to show up.

[Spurtacular]

I don't get it, if there were players that needed rest are Tony and Bobo... Green? He's barely hitting 27 mpg and is 28 years old...

Discuss

Could be a match-up thing. Wanting to use other players more without effectively benching Green. Just throwing that out there. I haven't studied it.

[BillMc]

Danny's still a young guy. That is one of the main reasons why I posted the article. Maybe your reason it right, but Pop didn't say that. He said he's been overplayed and I think that's BS, and does LaMarcus really have a migraine? If not, then I don't think he should be sitting out the game either, just play him limited minutes instead. Of course, that all depends on if the migraine is a legit thing.

I can't disagree with you, but maybe he needed a mental break as much as a physical one. It was a long road trip. That said Pop will never give us his real reasons.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

It's the Kings.

[ElNono]

It's the Kings.

I know, and we might pull it off, but why not do it against the decimated Wolves on the road? We have a nice home streak going, but this is why we can't have nice things, tbh...

[vander]

Aldridge needs to play as much as possible, he still doesn't seem to be adequately in sync with the Spurs offense/ball handlers IMO

the guys with 3 or more rings can sit out as many games as they want though

[SAGirl]

I don't get it, if there were players that needed rest are Tony and Bobo... Green? He's barely hitting 27 mpg and is 28 years old...

Discuss
He's given up on catching GSW and is forced to experiment this late in the season bc he is getting 2 new veterans that he doesn't know how to fit in exactly and who need to play with new teammates and system.

On top of that he's unsure who he's going to trust in which situation. He's not just going to just hand spots to these vets over guys who have already been here all season and have helped us to this record. He's got to know for sure who he's going to cut. He might even want to see Simmons and Butler one last time to make up his mind on who to cut. How hard is it to cut Bonner, I guess we will see.

[Spurtacular]

I don't care who plays; if we lose to the lowly Kings.....

[tholdren]

I posted this in the game thread and I thought I would post it here too :

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/the-truth-about-rest-in-the-nba-181702486.html

Not sure if any of you guys have read this article in the link above, but Tim Grover (Jordan's former trainer) doesn't think having young guys sit out games is the way to go in regards to rest. He thinks that if you want to rest them, just play them limited minutes. That's kind of been my take for years and I haven't always agreed with Pop on sitting out players completely. Maybe older guys like Tim, but I'm not sure I agree with sitting out younger players. Like Grover said, getting proper rest is the key. Not sitting on the bench for 2 hours then going out after games or staying up late texting and/or doing stuff like playing Xbox.

I'm curious what you guys think about what Tim Grover said in that article and if you agree with him. I pretty much agree with him in regards to not having younger player sit out completely. Just limit their minutes instead. I've kind of been against it ever since Pop started doing it. For Tim though, who legitimately needs it, I probably agree with it. Parker and Manu, that's on them if they want to play for their countries during the off-season and not get proper rest. It shouldn't be up to the Spurs to have to rest them all the time during the season.


His article is vague and weak in terms of athletics/conditioning/pysiology/etc. He has one sound point about quality rest. I think that pop does it for more than just the physical aspect. Overall - resting is a sound idea.

[FuzzyLumpkins]

I know, and we might pull it off, but why not do it against the decimated Wolves on the road? We have a nice home streak going, but this is why we can't have nice things, tbh...

I think Duncan because of the knee. Green plays the same position as all the developmental/new guys and has the least need to practice.

I would guess he'll do it again against Minn.

[Trainwreck2100]

I know, and we might pull it off, but why not do it against the decimated Wolves on the road? We have a nice home streak going, but this is why we can't have nice things, tbh...

wolves always play try hard on the road against this team

[Strategic]

No need to chance Tim or LA getting taken out by cousins.

[Arcadian]

When Leonard plays, we always have a chance.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

I don't care who plays; if we lose to the lowly Kings.....

It's a permanent stain that won't go away and will render any playoff run meh.

[YGWHI]

When Leonard plays, we always have a chance.

Well, Pop didn't play Tim/LMA against Cousins, it's likely he'll rest Kawhi vs PG/Indiana...

[Ice009]

His article is vague and weak in terms of athletics/conditioning/pysiology/etc. He has one sound point about quality rest. I think that pop does it for more than just the physical aspect. Overall - resting is a sound idea.

The whole point of his article is to play players limited minutes rather than have them sit out completely. That's been my philosophy ever since Pop started doing this. I always thought that he should limit minutes rather than have them sit out completely. If they have a legit injury and have been playing through it, then yes, give that person some rest as much as possible to heal. If it's just about fatigue, just play them limited minutes. That will still help the team more and also keep the player in game shape.

As for the mental aspect, I also kind of agree with Grover. How will the player learn to push through physical fatigue mentally if you keep resting them all the time.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Rest a 24 year old? :lol YGWHI

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Well, Pop didn't play Tim/LMA against Cousins, it's likely he'll rest Kawhi vs PG/Indiana...
Makes more sense to beat Indy with a full cast then rest Kawhi/Duncan against Minnesota since we'll still win that one anyway with LMA/Parker/Manu/Martin out there against their group of nobodies. Plus, Boban has proven very effective against them this season.

[spursistan]

I don't want Pop to punt home games until we lose a legitimate one at full strength..I want us to go 5-0 in that home-stand to shut up doubters about weak schedule..

[UNT Eagles 2016]

I don't want Pop to punt home games until we lose a legitimate one at full strength..I want us to go 5-0 in that home-stand to shut up doubters about weak schedule..
Yep. PATFO sitting out guys at home is a slap in the face to the average family in SA (say, family of 6 with a combined parent income of $35-40k) who pay big money (to them) to watch the guys play, not sit on the bench and collect tens of thousands of bucks anyway.

[Slomo]

Yep. PATFO sitting out guys at home is a slap in the face to the average family in SA (say, family of 6 with a combined parent income of $35-40k) who pay big money (to them) to watch the guys play, not sit on the bench and collect tens of thousands of bucks anyway.

- For this to be true you have to decide whether is the NBA is a show or a sport.
- SA lives for the Spurs and appreciate championships more than regular seasons appearances
- The Spurs are about team basketball - you get to see it regardless who's on the floor.
- As a fan of the sport you see/discover a lot of things during a game like this one.

So yes I do think it's disrespectful to buy tickets to a sport event and expect athletes to entertain you in any other way than by their effort to win the championship.

[Fireball]

Uh, if true, migraines are no joke. It's not your typical headache

agree ... this is nothing to joke about

[ceperez]

Let's be honest, migraines is a bull shit excuse.

Certainly migraines can be very difficult, however the condition doesn't last an entire day. It's just a couple of hours at worse and the common cure is sleep. Unless Aldridge has some form of severe migraines (which was never reported previously and he has never missed games as a consequence) then this story is total BS.

[Ice009]

Let's be honest, migraines is a bull shit excuse.

Certainly migraines can be very difficult, however the condition doesn't last an entire day. It's just a couple of hours at worse and the common cure is sleep. Unless Aldridge has some form of severe migraines (which was never reported previously and he has never missed games as a consequence) then this story is total BS.

Have you actually ever had a proper full on migraine? I have had a few and they fucked me up. I had to lay in a dark room as any light would make the pain of it worse. However, I have no idea if this one is legit or not.

[littlecoyotecoin]

- For this to be true you have to decide whether is the NBA is a show or a sport.
- SA lives for the Spurs and appreciate championships more than regular seasons appearances
- The Spurs are about team basketball - you get to see it regardless who's on the floor.
- As a fan of the sport you see/discover a lot of things during a game like this one.

So yes I do think it's disrespectful to buy tickets to a sport event and expect athletes to entertain you in any other way than by their effort to win the championship.

And, as a fan, I found this game to be a handful of the most entertaining of the season BECAUSE Pop was sitting three starters.

[ceperez]

And, as a fan, I found this game to be a handful of the most entertaining of the season BECAUSE Pop was sitting three starters.

I find entertainment watching the scrubs work and improve their game. Of course, I do also like seeing how Leonard keeps improving... it is obvious that he's still a work in progress!!

[houston spurs fan]

NBA is the weakest it has been in many years. If 2013 no way GS threatens the Bulls record or we flirt with 70 wins...

[hater]

You're just mad that Pop is making your SPAM thread look dumb AF now tbh....:lol

:lol

[hater]

Have you actually ever had a proper full on migraine? I have had a few and they fucked me up. I had to lay in a dark room as any light would make the pain of it worse. However, I have no idea if this one is legit or not.

Amen.

:lol ceperez

[EVAY]

Let's be honest, migraines is a bull shit excuse.

Certainly migraines can be very difficult, however the condition doesn't last an entire day. It's just a couple of hours at worse and the common cure is sleep. Unless Aldridge has some form of severe migraines (which was never reported previously and he has never missed games as a consequence) then this story is total BS.

wrong. migraines can last for a day or more.

[myhc]

Migraines can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

[K...]

No one logged on to call out op and several posters for predicting the "L"?

O.k., I'll do it. You sissies sucks. A team of kawhi 1on five would beat the kings, most non champ contenders, and the Taliban.

[ElNono]

No one logged on to call out op and several posters for predicting the "L"?

O.k., I'll do it. You sissies sucks. A team of kawhi 1on five would beat the kings, most non champ contenders, and the Taliban.

You need to read the title again... it's reads "trying to" tank, not that he's going to pull it off, that's what this discussion is about.

And don't tell me we're not at a severe disadvantage without Tim/LMA/Green... if Manu doesn't have a miraculous recovery and drops 20+ last night, we get a big fat "L"...

[Mnky]

Yea last nights game was on manu coming up big. Don't see how anyone could miss that. I do believe pop wants a healthy team, but also we have a pretty wide awake of players. Getting each one time to see how they compete is necessary for the playoffs.

[SAGirl]

Bonner was surprising too.
Actually he created doubts in my mind about him being cut bc he still has his shooting skill. He can miss 40 games and you put him in and he will have chemistry and make shots.

Rasual hitting 31% from 3 for the season is what has made us overrate him. Energy guy and hustle guy he's been but he hasn't been shooting well enough for a designated shooter. Still, he's done right by us. POP using him so much in small ball lineups lately made me infer he didn't need to see him in this one.

Simmons cleaned up his game a lot, he's been much better in that regard the past two games but then came out with 0 points both times, uncharacteristic. It's almost like if you take his wild side, that is what was interesting about him. The fact he's cleaned up mistakes lately though I think he's kept, there is still development potential there.

Manu's surprising flashback he was great to see bc he still has it.

Boban was fun too. He got his, and his play with Manu was special.

Beside all if this, we saw Kauai and Slomo develop.

I bet Kawhi got a lot of footage of him going a bit Kawhobe, a reason why those playing with him didn't get many shots up. He was the beneficiary of many plays, but he wasn't necessarily setting others up well.

Sowmo' s most impactful quarter was the 3rd when him, Kawhi and Bonner! held the kings to 12 points, a good reason why we were finally able to get separation and pull out the win too. Several deflections and surprising rebounds he got in that quarter ended up in transition buckets by Kawhi. POP gave him props for his game in that quarter saying he started the 3rd bc he wanted to bring Boris up later off the bench and that he thought Kyle's good decision making would help them and he did a good job.

To watch developing young players is actually interesting in and of itself.

[Proxy]

- For this to be true you have to decide whether is the NBA is a show or a sport.
- SA lives for the Spurs and appreciate championships more than regular seasons appearances
- The Spurs are about team basketball - you get to see it regardless who's on the floor.
- As a fan of the sport you see/discover a lot of things during a game like this one.

So yes I do think it's disrespectful to buy tickets to a sport event and expect athletes to entertain you in any other way than by their effort to win the championship.

couldn't agree more

[HarlemHeat37]

:lol Sacramento has 1 good player on the entire roster, tbh..no coaching, no defense, 2 cancers getting 2/3 of the touches(Gay, Rondo)..

Spurs could have probably defeated them with an all-bench lineup..

[Ice009]

Yep, resting players sure if the way to go. Get them out of rhythm and lose the next game.

The only player that should be resting is TD or anyone else that has a legit injury, and that is only if rest will help heal that injury. TD is the only one I can buy the rest argument for as his knees can always use it.

LaMarcus didn't need to rest if his migraine wasn't legit (if it was, then OK) and Danny sure as fuck didn't need to rest last game for being overworked. It throws players out of rhythm and you get a poor start like the one against Indiana tonight.

[spurtech09]

Well by the looks of it....Tp is going to be resting.....Injured toe....LOL

[ElNono]

at least we still have our homecourt run intact, tbh

[DMC]

Pop is doing Pop things, and sometimes that "Pop" is the sound of his scheme backfiring.

[Thomas82]

- For this to be true you have to decide whether is the NBA is a show or a sport.
- SA lives for the Spurs and appreciate championships more than regular seasons appearances
- The Spurs are about team basketball - you get to see it regardless who's on the floor.
- As a fan of the sport you see/discover a lot of things during a game like this one.

So yes I do think it's disrespectful to buy tickets to a sport event and expect athletes to entertain you in any other way than by their effort to win the championship.

+1

[SAGirl]

Nah not tanking games, but the sense of urgency is declined bc:
1. we are not catching GSW
2. we are an old team,
3. we have old guys coming back from injury
4. at least TD will need to be rested during the brutal stretch coming up anyways
5. Pop is going to test out A.Miller and K.Mart

Don't be surprised if we drop a few more.