This is you:
WAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
This is me. I don't get to see the team play too much, and when they're on national TV? Pop throws the game. FUUUUUUUUUUUUU.
This (and the fans in the arena), and cheating other teams by tossing a victory to Portland, are the two biggest to me.
This is you:
WAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Newbie that dont know what he's talking about. Love these misinformed puppies.
Gregg Popovich: Cheating the NBA, Part Two
Pretty funny/interesting article I came across....
The San Antonio Spurs owneed a game Thursday night. There is no better way to say it. The Spurs played a game and made sure they won.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich played his stars, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, in a game at Denver. San Antonio already was missing injured starters Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter, and Kawhi Leonard left early on. Didn't matter. Popovich still had a couple of handy guys off the bench, Gary Neal, Matt Bonner and Danny Green.
San Antonio led 31-15 after one quarter, 65-39 at halftime and 92-72 after three periods. The Spurs eventually won 114-99. No way could the Nuggets win, even in Denver with Duncan and Parker playing.
Popovich had justifiable reasons for winning the game in such a fashion. In this high-density season, 66 games played over 132 days, fatigue sets in. Popovich, one of the NBA’s greatest coaches ever, long has compromised regular-season results to make sure his team is playoff-ready. You have to take results where you can get them.
But Popovich cheated the game Thursday night. Not cheated as in rigged the game clock or bugged the Nuggets locker room. Cheated the game as in didn’t give a variety of elements their money’s worth. Cheated the game as in didn’t respect the compe ive side of a league that long has battled the perception that regular-season games don’t matter much.
* The Spurs cheated the ticket-buyers. Denver’s ticket prices are like Oklahoma City’s and everyone else’s. Unbelievably high. You pay $866, or $466, or $166, or $66, and you deserve the best show the teams can provide. This one SUCKED for the Denver fans. Like, really sucked.
* The Spurs cheated the national fans. Spurs-Nuggets isn’t like Knicks-Heat, or Celtics-Lakers. NBA fans across the nation don’t get to see San Antonio a ton and don’t get to see Denver much. And yet, here on a reasonably-high stage, we get a total mismatch, totally blown off by one of the teams.
* The Spurs cheated the networks. These networks pay huge money for these television rights, and when we have a bogus game like Denver-San Antonio, it lessens the quality of the overall product. The viewer is sufficiently told that the regular season has its hole. The regular season can be shaky. The regular season, feeding the stereotype, can be irrelevant. And that hurts the ratings. Not to mention the eventual rights fees.
* The Spurs cheated Denver, who are the Blazers’ chief compe ors. San Antonio played at Portland on Tuesday night and at Denver on Thursday night. The Jazz, Nuggets and Blazers are all wrangling for playoff positioning, perhaps even the eighth spot in the West, which is the last seat on the lifeboat. Popovich made the decision to rest his stars against Portland on Tuesday, and the Blazers won. But Pop heartlessly denied Denver a game. If the Blazers reach the playoffs by a game over Denver, the Nuggets should send Popovich a bucket of .
Mainly he cheated the fans who pay for everyone's salaries. Of course most Spurs fans won't mind, but if the Portland fans were told a week ago what the starting line up was going to be many wouldn't have bought tickets for that game.
Can't "win" for losing?
Well, the blazer fans at least got to see James Anderson go 2-12 missing easy dunks and airballing 20 footers. That has to at least have some comedic value if nothing else.
So who cheated the NBA fans last night, by keeping Kawhi Leonard out of the game? Was it Pop still? Or was it Kawhi himelf, since we all know he only played 43 minutes, and he's way younger than Tim and Tony?
I spent my hard-earned money to buy tickets and charter an airplane to that game, but when I found out Kawhi wouldn't be playing I decided to stay home and watch TV instead. Kawhi is just too young and healthy to sit out of a game like that. I'm starting to think there's a big conspiracy to cheat people like me.
You know who's really cheating the NBA..... these guys....
Charlotte Bobcats
Dasagana Diop; Started 9 games. Shooting 29% from the field and 16% from the line for the season. Avg 3.3 rebounds per game
Corey Maggette; Started 12 games. 2nd leading scorer for the cats. Shooting 34% from the field and 24% from the 3pt line.
Tyrus Thomas; Started 18 games. averaging 6pts and 4.5 reb / games. shooting 34% from the field.
N.O. Hornets
Who, this year, have featured a starting lineup of
Jarett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Dejuan Summers, Jason Smith, Emeka Okafor
and
Greivis Vasquez, Trevor Ariza, Dejuan Summers, Jason Smith, Emeka Okafor
and
Greivis Vasquez, Marco Belinelli, Trevor Ariza, Gustavo Ayon, Emeka Okafor
and
Greivis Vasquez, Marco Belinelli, Trevor Ariza, Gustavo Ayon, Chris Kaman
Sacto Kings
Who have started John Salmons 28 times, shooting 36-fg%, 27-3pt% and 65-ft% on the season, averaging 7pts, 3reb and 2 ast in 28mpg
Toronto Raptors
Aaron Gray started 13 games (It's Aaron Gray)
Rasual Butler started 14 games shooting 30-fg%, 27% 3pt, and 58-ft% on the season.
New Jersey Nets... Relying on players like
Johan Petro, 6 starts, Shelden Williams, 16 starts
Shawne Williams 6 starts, 20mpg, shooting 28 FG%, and 24% 3pt
Deshawn Stevenson, 16 starts 19mpg, shooting 26 fg% and 26-3pt%
Honestly, how could someone from the media say Gregg Popovich cheated the NBA and its fans when his team rides an 11 game win streak (longest in the NBA this season) and the first time you hear about it is when he decides to punt it in.
I just see this criticism as a tad hypocritical and unwarranted.
It's like saying, we're bored with these guys, it's the same-old-same-old thing they've done for ages, lets not cover them or give them any media attention... and then, when it's all over, these same people are complaining they didn't get a chance to see the very act they deemed old and tired a week ago. Make up your mind people. One way or another. Are the Spurs news worthy, or not! Are they interesting or dismissible. Fun to watch, or dull.
Valid point about the bobcats especially. It appears Jordan deliberately destroyed that team in short order so he will have the best chances to get the next few year's #1 picks. The bobcats are essentially tanking all 82 games. Put into perspective, that makes tanking 1 game look very trivial.
If the nba was to fine Pop 100k for this 1 game then I think Jordan should be fined 6.6 million for the 66 games he tanked this year.
^ now you put it like that, I'm all FOR fining Pop.....
And that is a key point. Chance. We dont know who if any players coming out will be superstars. Charlotte may not even get a shot at them. So his gamble could fall flat on its face and get Charlotte moved out of his beloved North Carolina.Jordan could end up losing as much money as he does on the Golf course getting hustled due to his ego.
*Yawn* One of the most pointless articles I've ever read. Apparently the writer of it can't stop ing about that blowout.
You know, I didn't see the outrage when Dirk sat out an entire week because, as he put it in his own words, he was out of shape and not ready for the season. So.....where are the columns and blogs blasting Dirk and Carlise for depriving opposing fans the chance to see Dirk play? It's stupid. And the Spurs kicked ass then next night, so who cares.
Pop is regarded as the top coach (or near the top) by all the national media.
who honestly would think pop would play all of his starters at the end of the rodeo road trip? youre an idiot for buying a ticket to that game in the first place.
lol at coyote boner
I love pop for doing this. All of the teams in the western conf. Should get together,and tank a game a week or every two weeks. The only person to blame for this rotten basketball is the nba owners and players who agreed to this crappymschedule. If anyone is cheating the paying fan, it's the nba, not pop.
And I lost $220 on Spurs +7.5 points, because I did not know that Pop was going to tank game.
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If the Spurs are so boring, even when all the stars are healthy, then who outside of SA would care to watch them anyway? Nationally, the Spurs have never drawn the attention of big market teams, so who really cares?
If perception is that the Spurs gave the finger to everyone else, so be it. Fits right in with Pop's mentality, and it's a good mentatlity to have as a team.
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