I wanted him to pad more stats but I realized they have a road game in less than 24 hrs.
Let me just address all the cliche losers that would post "but its al about the team" " he doesnt care" "I'd rather win a championship"
It's pretty darn clear playing at a level he is playing right now that Leonard clearly has individual award aspirations. David Robinson used to stat pad a lot, and Timmy averaged 39-40 mpgs in his mid 20's and would routinly play even when the game was WAY out of hand.
Those minutes timmy played is clear indication that he cared a lot about inidvidual accolades in his mid 20.....
Actually any player does. You would have to be an extreme a casual delusioneal to think otherwise..or you're too caught up with narrative BS that spurs Players dont care and that they are so humble and so team oriented they dont care about themselves at all. (70% of casual spursfans believe this)
Today was the perfect example of how Pop needs to get over himself. He's the best coach in the NBA, but the spurs have lost so many games.. the old man is so stubborn in so many way....Not playing Duncan in the OKC series, Benching Duncan etc.
Leonard again is on pace to average less than 31 mpg as a 25 year old. The blwouts are going to come and he's going to end up playing more 22-25mpg than he would be playing 35+....
This at ude of his is also refelctive with how He couls haved used splitter in 2011 but he was so stubborn and full of ego.
It just seems like he does so many things that soley benefits his reputation alone....
Promising Kyle Anderson a bigger role? Ouch.
I wanted him to pad more stats but I realized they have a road game in less than 24 hrs.
Didn't read your post. You have to limit Kawhi's minutes. I want him around for a long time.
I'll probably get bashed for it but I agree and have said this myself before. You've got to get the body used to playing 35-38 min a game throughout the season. It's a stamina you have to build over time. You've can't just flip that switch in the playoffs when the intensity goes up by 10 on every possession and just expect to tack on 8-10 more minutes per game. This is something that Phil Jackson understood.
They are definitely nights to take off, so it's not necessarily this game. It's just more so that Pop micro manages this stuff to a fault.
mainstream regular season fans tbh
Under pops guidance he has already won the finals MVP, 2 straight defensive player of the year awards and was first team all NBA. I think pop knows what he's doing. Is it really a big deal he did not get to score 25 tonight as opposed to 20? I don't think so.
He's really at a disadvantage against any other MVP candidate.... Kerr only saved Curry's legs towards the end of the season, Lebron is his own GM and coach...
Pop will say "he doesn't care about that stuff"... the kid that picked the Jordan brand? Yeah, ok.
I brought this exact topic up on the game thread. Pop does need to get over himself. Not even the potential injury excuse works, he can't control that.
It's elnono so im not sure if serious or half trolling
Nate Duncan, Zach Lowe and so many analyst in the OKC series
And I am paraphrasing ..Kawhi looked so gas playing 40mpg...Anyway, Pop's insistance on him playing him less than 32 minutes is really detrimental because he's never used to playing extended minutes.
All star players use to play big minutes.
Plus, as many analyst have mentioned after the OKC loss..ensuring he plays less than 32mpg really didnt prepare him well enough when they were desperate to play him 40mpg. He looked So Gassed...
A very important aspect that Pop continues to ignore....is he really just going to play him 32mpg the whole year and expect him to play at high level for 40 in the playoffs.
Also recall when everyone was pisses at POP for playing Lamarcus and Kawhi significantly less minutes than the other stars opting for the bench in OKC..only for OKC to manhandle the bench.
it matters to the matters to the MVP voters
and in turn matters to FA like Kevin Durant. You don't think he would have considered the Spurs if Kawhi had that MVP award?
Spurs have a home/away B2B, it would be pretty dumb to play the starters against the worst supporting cast in the league when the game has been decided.
what will we see 1st from the spurs again while Popovich is coaching? Someone averaging 30 a game or someone playing all 82 games?
A liberal like Pop shouldn't be so conservative.
I'm glad we didn't get Durant.
More than some previous years, the Spurs have some newcomers who really, really need some RS court time. We hadn't even seen Bertans or Lap in the first couple of games. He's clearly trying to give Simmons some room to improve his game. So do you cut Kyle's minutes to play Kawhi that much, or do you put him on the floor on nights when the W looks well in hand?
What matters to the MVP voters? This man was the first team all NBA last season. Stat padding? He is going to be a legit MVP candidate all season long without stat padding.
And in terms of the MVP Russell Westbrook is going to be taking an insane amount of shots all season long. He will win the scoring le easily. MVP voters hopefully aren't so stupid to only look at the man's scoring average.
Standard un-Spurs-like player-fan post. You are a kawhi fan, but your me-first at ude is more in line with Parker's ideology:
https://twitter.com/PaulGarciaPS/sta...69623027691520
"The nights I here it is when I come to the game, but I'll never try to win an award. I'm out there playing for my team"-Kawhi on MVP chants
Only player fans are concerned about minutes. True fans are looking for the W
It's not about the MVP. It's about being able to carry the big load 'in the playoffs'. You can't flip the minutes switch. Kawhi looked exhausted in the OKC series.
This. In general I agree that a 25-yo MVP frontrunner should be playing at least 36 mins/game...but they have another game tomorrow at 5 pm in Miami. I bet Leonard plays more in that game.
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