Parker has done fairly well on b2b nights. We have a good shot at winning but it's going to depend a lot on how hot Portland is in the 1st half because Pop probably isn't going to chase it for long in the 3rd.
I think you play the first half straight up and see what happens. If the team is getting blown out or Duncan just doesn't have it, then you sit him the second half. Aldridge isn't a low post player, he's a high post guy, so it won't be as hard on Tim as it was today, with Jefferson taking him down low. Less wear and tear, less banging tomorrow for Tim.
We will need big games from Leonard and Green to have a chance tomorrow though. I think Blazers will use small ball and we need Leonard to hold Wallace in check.
You can't put FOR GOOD the Blazers away in the 1st half on their homecourt, even a 20 pts deficit means nothing in their arena (such as our).
If they start waking up, it'll end like in Miami this year...
I'd like them to stay close until the halftime and start strong the 3rd, the same way they did in LA.
Well, it's just a wish/dream, even if I'm an optimistic guy, I can't see us win tonight, even more after the blazers lost to LA and can redeem themselves in from of their fans...
I agree with this.
There's the notion around this board and in the media that closely follows the Spurs that the less mpg the BIG 3 are aveaging every year, the better form they will be on the playoffs, and I've never seen anything that proves that theory right.
In fact I think that if players don't use the regular season to build endurance by playing extend minutes it will be harder for them to do so in the playoffs. It's like that in any kind of sports or physical activity tbh.
That's why I was never a big fan of rationing minutes like Pop does, at least not in a way that a certain player never plays more than a certain amount of minutes.
I'm fine if he decides to rest them the whole game, but either rest them completely or play them the right way, not that in between thing that never leads to nowhere.
Conserving minutes I'm all in favor of. Not playing at all I am not. Gotta ride what brought you but you don't have to ride it to the ground.
Understand the concern and in a condensed season when athletes are forced to play more games per week than physically trained to do...(which is not the same as mpg)...there's not enough evidence to speculate playing the same amount of mpg more times per week is a higher risk for injury than in a normal season. But it would seem a logical conclusion that it might.
I think it was JVG who pointed out that shaving off a few minutes here and there on most nights really won't play that large of a role in keeping a player fresh for the playoffs. You're probably better off just giving guys entire nights off (which Pop will do) when the schedule gets rough.
I'm not sure that Pop would agree with the first part of that statement, but it's another school of thought.
Pop and the Spurs can't be happy with the heavy minutes they've played. I predict Eric Dawson, James Anderson, and CJ to play significant minutes tonight even if the game is compe ive
No offense to you K-State. And I mean that - I always appreciate hearing a different perspective. But JVG is an amazing dumb - especially when he's in a commentator's chair.
Here's the problem with that theory. In a normal season, a guy getting 35 minutes per game is no big deal. But a guy getting 40 minutes per game is an iron man. In those 5 little minutes lies the difference between "starter" and "stud". Regardless of what JVG says, shaving a few minutes on most nights adds up. Maybe there's some question of how many, and how often. But it adds up. And I would also suggest that with Tim's knees, and the minutes Tony has been putting in most nights, some rest would be an especially good thing.
In my OP, I suggested 20 minutes playing time, and not a night off. A night off would be better, but that would be pretty much like a forfeit unless we got some real heroics from everyone else. I was thinking that 20 would be just enough to get a little burn, and hopefully enough to either give the other guys a solid lead, or to know that it just isn't our night anyway.
You have to look at schedule.
After the RRT, Spurs will have 7 games in 20 days all at home. That's a very light stretch of game that will allow the team to refuel their tanks.
Playing Duncan a lot of minutes to finish the RRT isn't that a big deal because he will have that stretch to rest after it. Parker will have a little less rest because of the ASG but he is younger and he seems to handle well the heavy minutes he is playing.
I don't see Pop really limiting players minutes against Portland. However, if Spurs are down by a lot, he won't hesitate to throw away the game. Spurs are in a comfortable situation where they can give up a game that is likely lost.
Hmmm... I hadn't looked at that part of the schedule. Thanks. I was thinking in terms of leveraging the AS break, and getting them as much extended rest as possible. I would hate to see them get into another couple of nail-biters and keep playing Tim and Tony 40 minutes per game, rather than let a close one go.
You're right though, that light(er) schedule at home, after the break, should help a lot. I just want to see the break be about resting, rather than recovering. I guess I'm hoping that tonight will be either a blowout win, or a blowout loss. With Tiago and Manu both out, these close ones are going to take a toll on Tim and Tony.
Well - that, plus I'd like to see Anderson and Dawson get enough minutes to tell us something.
yeah but we finish the season with a stretch of 16 games in 23 days. Brutal. Our guys might be dead tired when playoffs start
Stern
Spurs schedule in April is indeed brutal but I fully expect Pop to counter it by giving some nights off to the main players. It will be doable if Spurs aren't fighting to make the playoffs which seems likely given their current great record.yeah but we finish the season with a stretch of 16 games in 23 days. Brutal. Our guys might be dead tired when playoffs start
Stern
I agree with this.
In years past, I suspect that Pop would have given Parker and Duncan the night off in Denver, functionally getting them about a week off in the middle of a grueling season. While I wouldn't be surprised if he did that this year (or even if he gave them the night off tonight), I think it's less likely -- at least for Duncan -- given Splitter's injury. I also think that with the long All-Star break for the Spurs (they don't play until the 2nd night back from the break), the long stretch of time at home (with the opportunities to practice that come with it), and the absence of back-to-backs in the near future (the next back-to-back isn't until 3/16-3/17 -- almost a month from now; though it is an @OKC, @DAL set), it makes sense to try to go get both of these games. That's particularly true because both Portland and Denver will be playing the 2nd night of their own back-to-backs this week.
I also agree that there's likely to be a quick hook from Pop if either game gets out of hand.
I don't mind Pop sitting Tim or Tony when the bench has things in hand. But I don't like the idea of just giving away games. One game now might not matter, but it might in the long run. Especially to a team in our conference.
I'm also having trouble seeing us win the portland game. Id be okay with tanking this one and going for the win in denver.
agree I think tonight's is a L.
but I also said that about the Dallas game and it went to OT
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