spurs should go for number one seed overall or rest

[itsamanuthree]

Reasons to tank tonight's game vs. LA:

1. Rest the starters and avoid injuries
2. Don't want to chance LA dropping to the 4 seed
3. Bulls aren't winning the East, Miami is

Mail it in, Pop...give the Lakers their hollow victory against Quinn and company.

1. Sure, there's always the risk of injury, from game 1 to 82. But it doesn't get worse on game 81, so long as they don't overexert themselves, or the game gets too physical.
2. True, we can send Lakers to the 4th seed. But consider that if they fall there, they will have lost their last 7! 7!!! games of the regular season. And would be facing hard-working Denver in round 1. We are supposed to play them anyway at some point.
3. Bulls can definitely win the East.

Reasons to try and win:

1. Keep our healthy players in top basketball form.
2. Build confidence (always good 4 the team, but specially against the Lakers)
3. Add to the Lakers slump, even though "it's nothing", as they care to show (su ious how much they care, IMO).
4. Get LAL away from NOH, which would be a tailor made 1st round 4 them.
5. Send LAL the message "I don't fear you".
6. Get a bit closer to HCA against the best in the East so far.

Sure, we shouldn't take this as a playoff game, but I expect Pop not to tank it.

[dunkman]

I hated when the Spurs rested the big 3 against Denver last season. The Spurs were close to win that game anyway, but the Nuggets won. Later in the season, the Spurs fell too much in the standings. There would have been chances to avoid playing the Suns last season, that was important because it was the only bad matchup for the 2009-2010 Spurs.

The Spurs should play full strength the last two games, integrate Splitter and send an statement to the Lakers, secure HCA trough the playoffs and finals.

[The ADMIRAL 50]

On the contrary I thought Phoenix was gonna be an easy match up for us last year. Timmy going up against Amare and Collins? He shouldve dominated, but he was clearly a s of himself in that series. His knees just werent there. In addition to that, Tony vs Nash (much like Tony vs Fisher) means Tony couldve scored as much as he wanted, but he still wasnt back at 100% after that late season broken hand. We just fell apart at the wrong time last year, that was one of the hardest things I've had to watch as a Spurs fan in a long time, in terms of over the course of an entire series probably since the Shaq led Lakers were winning three in a row. Luckily we seem to be relatively healthy and fresh heading into the postseason this year (*knock on wood*) and that could make all the difference.

[DesignatedT]

1. Sure, there's always the risk of injury, from game 1 to 82. But it doesn't get worse on game 81, so long as they don't overexert themselves, or the game gets too physical.
2. True, we can send Lakers to the 4th seed. But consider that if they fall there, they will have lost their last 7! 7!!! games of the regular season. And would be facing hard-working Denver in round 1. We are supposed to play them anyway at some point.
3. Bulls can definitely win the East.

Reasons to try and win:

1. Keep our healthy players in top basketball form.
2. Build confidence (always good 4 the team, but specially against the Lakers)
3. Add to the Lakers slump, even though "it's nothing", as they care to show (su ious how much they care, IMO).
4. Get LAL away from NOH, which would be a tailor made 1st round 4 them.
5. Send LAL the message "I don't fear you".
6. Get a bit closer to HCA against the best in the East so far.

Sure, we shouldn't take this as a playoff game, but I expect Pop not to tank it.

He's going to tank it, and it's the right call.

[itsamanuthree]

Do you have a source or is just your shot?

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Spurs to win to lock in the #1 overall seed so if they get to the Finals, they'll have Homecourt advantage.

[DesignatedT]

Do you have a source or is just your shot?

Just a guess.

[stnick2261]

1. Sure, there's always the risk of injury, from game 1 to 82. But it doesn't get worse on game 81, so long as they don't overexert themselves, or the game gets too physical.
2. True, we can send Lakers to the 4th seed. But consider that if they fall there, they will have lost their last 7! 7!!! games of the regular season. And would be facing hard-working Denver in round 1. We are supposed to play them anyway at some point.
3. Bulls can definitely win the East.

Reasons to try and win:

1. Keep our healthy players in top basketball form.
2. Build confidence (always good 4 the team, but specially against the Lakers)
3. Add to the Lakers slump, even though "it's nothing", as they care to show (su ious how much they care, IMO).
4. Get LAL away from NOH, which would be a tailor made 1st round 4 them.
5. Send LAL the message "I don't fear you".
6. Get a bit closer to HCA against the best in the East so far.

Sure, we shouldn't take this as a playoff game, but I expect Pop not to tank it.

Yes, the risk of injury is the same for all 82 games, but it's still higher than zero which is the risk if they don't play. Does no one else see any middle ground? Play the starters enough to keep them in shape and keep chemistry up... but don't press the issue and give the bench plenty of minutes.

I hated when the Spurs rested the big 3 against Denver last season. The Spurs were close to win that game anyway, but the Nuggets won. Later in the season, the Spurs fell too much in the standings. There would have been chances to avoid playing the Suns last season, that was important because it was the only bad matchup for the 2009-2010 Spurs.

The Spurs should play full strength the last two games, integrate Splitter and send an statement to the Lakers, secure HCA trough the playoffs and finals.

there is no chance of us falling too far in the standings later in the season. The only difference between a win and a loss now is a 50% chance of an extra home game in the finals against one possible opponent.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Too many parentheses.

[beirmeistr]

I hope coach Pop is more conservative than some of the posters in this thread. Why risk a season-ending injury to the Big 4 when the odds are that La, playing in their place and with #2 or #3 on the line will play this game like a cornered wildcat and win it anyway?
The argument that they need to stay in shape does not hold water. They have a back-t0-back tomorrow. By going all out, they are risking losing the last two games
(very tired tomorrow) and losing home court advantage instead of tying for it.
If they tank, they guarantee not meeting the Lakers until the WCF. They keep their health and allow the non-experienced Spurs to get playoff experience.
A no-brainer.