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Unleash last year's strategy against Denver where we nearly got a win despite playing the likes of Jacques Vaughn and others for umpteen minutes.
Unleash last year's strategy against Denver where we nearly got a win despite playing the likes of Jacques Vaughn and others for umpteen minutes.
The Thunder are no longer pushovers.
I don't think you take any games off against potential playoff compe ion, esp one that the spurs really really need to "solve" and learn how to beat.
40 minutes for Blair and Mason and Hill please
not to play it safe but because they will have legs, and give us the best chance at a win
go into the game with our regular starting five, but limit timmy's minutes by giving mahinmi and theo some minutes.
same with tony. start him but let george, mase and manu play the majority of the game.
i think a win tonight would be some kind of statement and built their confidence, especially against some of the hyper athletic teams.
Nobody should sit. Use regular starting lineup. Manage/limit minutes of big 3's.
Sit TP/TD, Give Ian/Theo/Hill/Hairston decent minutes.
Pretty much this.
I don't think it's necessary (or even particularly wise at this juncture) to completely sit them. Tony's injury won't heal with a game or two off and Timmy isn't currently nursing an injury. Some light game time to keep in form and give more game-time play to the rotations they are still monkeying.
Then pull them and monkey with the rest. But you have to be willing to sit them at the cost of the game. Let the young'uns get some practice in staying ahead or digging out. It's not must-win or March. No need to burn them.
I think starting Tim and Tony and limiting their minutes would be my choice. Gets the team in it's 'normal' rhythm to start the game and then adjust with all the bench options later to rest the big guns.
I am normally a rest Tim and damn the season type guy, but the team could use a little consistency and another good win against a challenging team. Winning this game could really help out the overall team confidence for the rest of the nights where mainly the bench will probably be playing.
Side note: who the sets up these wacky schedules? I know every team does this, but it is brutal. Even though the Spurs have essentially two good teams to play, even they are going to struggle at the end of this week. How do the other teams do it without getting injuries or piling up the losses?
Potential playoff matchup? Its nothing but a regular season game. What good would it be to treat this as anything more if it turns into someone getting injuried or not being 100% for an ACTUAL playoff game.
Tony needs to be benched until the plantar fasciitis is cleared up. I know that would suck, but we'll need him come playoff time, and having had to deal with PF myself, the only thing that cures it is rest (and good orthopedic arch supports). As for Tim, I'd start him but substantially limit his minutes.
Ian, Slip and Malik need to see major floor time, but this shouldn't be a throw away. We need to makeup ground on Dallas.
Play (start) it like a normal game, with maybe a little more rest than usual to TP and TD. That's what I would do, but if Pop plans to rest Tim and/or Parker just in-active them (I wouldn't even make them travel), do anything except that bull he did in Toronto.
Yeah, that's the only thing I don't want to see him do.
I think he should start everything as normal and just pull Tim/Tony each quarter a bit early than normal. Hopefully by the third quarter, the Spurs will have the victory sewn up and the young guys can run the fourth.
The injury threat is overblown, just keep the big 3 around 25-30 mins each and there should be no problems.
Reasons to play for the win.
1. Spurs are #3 in the west right now, thunder #6, already very close to a 1st round matchup.
2. They have had problems with the thunder; the thunder already have a pyschological advantage vs the spurs, this needs to be squelched.
3. The spurs should try to keep the momentum going, because they have a chance at a higher than #3 seed. It's defenitely possible, especially with the lakers struggling w/ Gasol out. Home court advantage is a BIG advantage in the playoffs and worth making the extra effort.
4. Spurs lose this game, and it reinforces that they are having problems with
+.500 teams. This could be psychologically damaging as well.
5. There gonna be more B2B's, 10 more in all. You planning on losing those too?
Rest Duncan and start Hill but give Parker about 20 minutes to keep his rhythm. Rotate the bench (which isn't really as JV as it sounds) throughout the game and match our youth with theirs to measure how theyve developed.
ie. put Hairston on Durant. When he gets into foul trouble, use Bogans or RJ. Use this game to give RJ more shots and more confidence. Myabe have a lineup like this:
start
Hill*
RMJ*
Bogans
Jefferson
McDyess
sub
Hairston
Blair/Ratliff
Parker/Manu
*a deadly combination as we saw last season
ps how are Fin and Bonner doing?
Me too.Totally agree with you.
Then again I say go for it without parker playing much if any. I can see a pissed off la team beating dallas. 1 full game sounds good to me
I don't think shaking up the lineup to this extent is a wise idea. The spurs are a team that adapts to changes slowly, this would most certainly throw the team out of sync.
The one guy I'd like to see tonight is a little Haislip on Jeff Green off the bench.
Play it safe.
How many other teams have open discussions about resting their stars? Of course, I guess that's what you get when two of your three best players are at least 32 years of age.
I think it would be harder to play and run fast with a bad heel when my game depends on me to run fast (TP). I also think it is not as hard with a bad foot when all I have to do is jog back and forth and play half court ball close to the basket.
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