Back-to-Back Games;Maybe Pop should...

[pineflatt]

go ahead and rest Tim. It is obvious that he just does not "have it" on the second night of a back-to-back. He should play the other Bigs and give Tim the night off. We cant do any worse than we have been.

The advantage is Tim has a change for his foot to heal a little. Secondly we give Oberto/Marks/Rasho/Nazar/Horry a chance to win the game. If they win, its a plus. If they loose we are no worse of than what we are doing right now.

This change needs to be made.

[Leetonidas]

I would be for resting Tim on B2B nights if PF was actually cureable in a couple weeks.

[pineflatt]

I would be for resting Tim on B2B nights if PF was actually cureable in a couple weeks.

Agree that the rest will not cure Tim's problem. But, he has been literally useless on the second night of back-to-back games and the other bigs could not be any worse. Give Tim will some needed rest and we just might win the game.

[Leetonidas]

Well, Tim had a 34 point game in a loss to Milwaukee at the end of a back to back. I guess it all depends on how his foot feels when he wakes up.

[biggerspursfanthanu]

It sucks that Tim is hurting, but i think at the end of the day its his decision if he wants to play or not. Your gonna dance with who brung you. If Tim feels he can compete, Hes gonna play. He is still our best player, and i would rather have him out there laying everything on the floor than on the bench.

[baseline bum]

That's ridiculous, but I wish Pop would kill the 4-guard lineups that couldn't grab a defensive board to save their lives after stops tonight.

[biggerspursfanthanu]

That's ridiculous, but I wish Pop would kill the 4-guard lineups that couldn't grab a defensive board to save their lives after stops tonight.
Why is that ridiculous?

[boutons_]

I think a crippled Tim playing is worse that Tim sitting on the bench. If Tim were benched, the other bigs would feel a responsibility to step into the gap. With Tim playing like shit, he takes the responsibilty and minutes from the others, but doesn't deliver the results.

Tim is fucked this season by his PF, meaning the Spurs are fucked.
.

[biggerspursfanthanu]

Tim is gonna be fucked cause of his PF for the rest of his career. Regardless of playing or not. Hes not anymore succeptible to any other kind of injury because of it. His only option is to play through it, unless he wants to retire. I dont think hes quite ready to retire. So all he can do is keep playing at this point.

[biggerspursfanthanu]

Im not ready to give up on timmy if he wants to play, let him friggin play.

[boutons_]

"PF for the rest of his career"

Not true. PF can and does last many months, but it is not necessarily always chronic, isn't a permanent injury.

Since PF pain causes the victim to avoid using the foot normally, PF can cause a weakening of the calf and other leg muscles do to under use. Weak muscles can lead to knock-on injuries.

[biggerspursfanthanu]

ok im not gonna call u a liar cause i dont honestly know too much about it, but i feel that tim knows himself better than anyone, and if he feels he can play then i dont think its up to anyone else to stop him. And in all seriousness what would have the spurs do if timmy is sittin out? How u gonna make up for his absence?

[2Cleva]

The problem SA is having is the same thing LA had at the end of their run. Everything goes through the big man and we can bring it on B2B, the team will struggle. While Shaq's problems was self-inflicted from him not being in top shape, Duncan's is becaue of the PF. Also, the Spurs as a whole aren't getting any younger. Their core outside of Parker is middle-aged to old (in NBA terms) and there years of long playoff runs take a toll on the body.

With no B2B in the playoffs, SA should be OK, but with the schedule condensed of having a game every other day - there won't be a lot of rest either.

SA had this problem before and did the best job ever of rebuilding a championship team from old to young on the fly. Soon they will have to try and do it again.

But Duncan is the key. If what he's done this season continues, there won't be any new rings in SA for a long time.

[JamStone]

And in all seriousness what would have the spurs do if timmy is sittin out? How u gonna make up for his absence?


Start both Nazr AND Rasho, and just run a little more. Have the halfcourt sets run through Manu, and pound the offensive glass.

I was not a proponent of resting Tim because of the plantar fasciitis, but the problem now is that the PF is wearing down other parts of his body, more specifically his legs and back. When you overcompensate for an injury, you overwork other muscles to do that. I'm sure part of Tim's fatigue and injury is in large part due to that overcompensation. Try playing basketball in heals or on your tip toes for three months. Calf and back strains will result much more quickly.

Tim definitely needs to take some games off here and there. He just has to, even if he wants to tough it out. And, I don't agree that Tim knows his body better than anyone else. Pro athletes don't always make the best decisions with respect to their bodies. Just because Tim feels like he can play doesn't mean he won't be risking more problems.

[boutons_]

On second of B2B, the 04/05 Champions had a losing record last year, 8 - 9.

So far this season, the Spurs are 4 - 8, with 3 B2B remaining.

There is another 2-B2B-in-5-day stretch, starting next Friday.
Those second games are @Rockets and @Nuggets. ouch!

This season, the Pistons are 10-6 on second of B2B.
Last season, the Pistons were 12 - 9.