If you exert yourself for five or fifty minutes, 24 hours just isn't enough time to recover, especially as you get older. Having four days off previously doesn't really matter to me. It's still 5 games in 7 nights, and an 82 game schedule. It may seem stupid to some at the beginning of the season, but resting now shortens the season, whereas resting them later gives them more recovery.
Personally, I love Pop's methodology, and I'll bet it's hard for him to stick to it with pressures from all sides to play them more.
I have been calling for him for the last year or two for him to do the same with Parker. He plays too much, ends up on the ground too much, gets injured too much, and is generally worn down a lot of the time at the end of the season.
But, whether you agree with it or not, it still shouldn't be a shock to OP that Duncan and Ginobili didn't play on a road game on a back-to-back. It is well-publicized that Pop does this with his older players, at least.
And, we might not have either of them if he wasn't so aggressive and disciplined with this rest, even at the beginning of the season.

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that escalated quickly
