Will Pop go against the accepted norm in the playoffs?

[SA210]

doesn't matter how many we play. Goal #1 in round 1 is to win it in 4. regardless wether we play 8, 10 or 12 deep

again, it's key we dispose of #8 in as few games as possible.

It would be awesome if we came out the gates with that killer instinct. All the way thru the playoffs.

[Spursmania]

Assistant Coach Brown confirmed on the radio after the game on Sunday that Pop will stick to using a 10 man rotation and will not shorten the rotation to 8 players like many teams do. He said this team brought the goods and Pop will stick with them.

[dunkman]

That's what has me worried tbh, however Duncan and Manu can't play +35 mpg and the second 5 best players have starter quality. After some playoff games it will be clear if the RS was fools gold.

[TJastal]

Spurs roatation is going to be this

PG-Parker/Neal
SG-Green/Ginobili
SF-Leonard/Jackson
PF-Diaw/Bonner
C-Duncan/Splitter

Thats a championship team there and also our second unit is probably better than at least half of the starting lineups in the nba.

fify

[timvp]

The mass concesus is that one must shorten the rotation in the playoffs to your best 6-9 players for best results (depending on the matchup) and sticking to those guns. Im not so sure thats the best way to go about it with this Spurs team and I have a feeling (hope) Pop wont go with the conventional 8 man rotation this year. We just have too many weapons to let go to waste on the bench during any given game.

Not only do the Spurs have a good chance at a le, they have a good chance at challenging the norm by going against the accepted belief of shortening the rotation for the playoffs. Winning the whole thing would be a feat in itself, no doubt, but imagine doing it with the same rotation we have had all season long (with a bit of cherry picking here and there).... It would be unprecidented in this era of basketball.

The Spurs have a chance to buck the trend of current NBA standards of setting up "super teams" with ty benches and the way the game is played in general. IF they make it that far and take it all, the implications could be league wide and I say the NBA would be better for it. The average fan might not like it, but it could be a new age for basketball purist.

What do you think Pop will do in the playoffs? Shorten the rotation or go with an onslaught of fresh legs throughout a series? Or will he mix up the linup depending on the matchup?

Great post and I agree that Pop should at least start with a ten-man rotation. If things go sour he can adjust but from the get-go, he should just try to continue this regular season dominance. Since it's unprecedented, who knows if it will end up working ... but it'd be unwise not to at least try.

I also think Pop should continue to somewhat limit minutes in the playoffs. In the perfect world, he'd bump the Big 3 up to 40 MPG ... but I don't think they'd survive the run.

I'm thinking something like:

C Duncan 34
C Splitter 15

PF Diaw 23
PF Bonner 20

SF Leonard 24
SF Jackson 21

SG Green 25
SG Ginobili 28

PG Parker 34
PG Neal 15



Of course we'd probably all like to believe Pop would transfer at least six of Bonner's minutes to Splitter ... but that is unlikely to happen.

[rjv]

usually at this time of the year, you'll see a coach narrowing the rotation and pop never seemed to do this. then again, pop also had to rest players. one would think that we will probably go deeper than eight though.

[sprrs]

If there was ever a time to try a 10-man rotation in the playoffs, it would be this year with the shortened season. Hopefully players are more tired than usual which means the Spurs bench will do even better against them.

[DesignatedT]

10 man for Spurs.

Tony/Neal
Green/Manu
Leonard/Jack
Diaw/Bonner
Duncan/Splitter

[therealtruth]

2. The Spurs are still mostly offensively oriented but have been playing better defense as of late. Wasn't there a thread showing that the D has been getting better since the trade and that it's actually been very solid these last few games?

Assuming the team's defensive efficiency makes it into the top 10 for the playoffs that wouldn't exactly disprove the old "defense wins championships" adage...

I think the question is going to come down to how well the Spurs can play against the very good defensive teams. The good defensive teams will focus on taking out the role players. That means there will be more pressure on the big 3 to step up. That's where the defense becomes much more important because the Spurs won't be able to score as easily.

[TD 21]

He can and he will. I'm not sure why so many are acting as if the playoff rotation is some great mystery. It's pretty straightforward.

Obviously, some of this is match-up dependent, as well as based on how well certain players are playing, but for the most part, in non blowout games, we're probably looking at something like this . . .

Diaw (28 mpg), Bonner (20 mpg)
Leonard (18 mpg), Jackson (24 mpg)
Duncan (34 mpg), Splitter (14 mpg)
Green (24 mpg), Ginobili (30 mpg)
Parker (38 mpg), Neal (10 mpg)

As far as the Spurs starting a trend, I don't see it. This is a near impossible situation to duplicate.

[spursince#99]

i think pop will use a 9-10 man rotation in the playoffs and coincidentally the spurs starting line up isn't built around their top 5 players. Gives pop the ability to make subs based on how the game unfolds. How are teams in the playoffs going to deal with the spurs bench when we sub in manu, sjax, neal, bonner, and splitter. In a way it forces other teams to play their top players extended minutes (fatigue sets in), while pop can use a balanced attack, especially if a series goes 6-7 games.

+1

[spursince#99]

Assistant Coach Brown confirmed on the radio after the game on Sunday that Pop will stick to using a 10 man rotation and will not shorten the rotation to 8 players like many teams do. He said this team brought the goods and Pop will stick with them.

This is true

[Splits]

Consensus in this thread seems to be Blair will not play, but I'm not so sure. Pop could very well use him extensively (he loves him) if there is a favorable matchup. Does anyone have Blair's career splits vs. Utah?

[Mugen]

Consensus in this thread seems to be Blair will not play, but I'm not so sure. Pop could very well use him extensively (he loves him) if there is a favorable matchup. Does anyone have Blair's career splits vs. Utah?

Pop doesn't love Blair. He's been spending the last two years finding any excuse to take him out of the SL.

I can't think of one playoff matchup where playing Blair would be considered a "favorable" option ahead of tiago, boris, and even Bon Bon.

[maverick1948]

Also, something not addressed by anyone. There will be back to back games according to DS. He said that early in the year when he was asked how the schedule going to the end of April would effect the playoffs. If this happens, b2b's, we are in the drivers seat there again. Rested players against teams with 8 man rotation will give us one clear and easy victory.

[Spurs4#5]

danny green wont get less minutes than khawi in the playoffs...especially if he's shooting the way he's been shooting

[phyzik]

looking good so far. Still a long way to go but IF the Spurs manage to win it all, I wonder what, if any, rammifications this will have on the league.

R.C. was a major contributor to the lockout trying to help out small-market teams and put a curb on the whole "super-team" craze that was starting to sweep the league... Now the Spurs have an excellent opportunity to emphatically back up Buffords point that large markets shouldnt be able to, and shouldnt try to, buy their way to a ring.

Go Spurs!

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

Until the Spurs' current winning streak comes to an end, I see no reason to change the current rotation which keeps the starters rested.

[therealtruth]

looking good so far. Still a long way to go but IF the Spurs manage to win it all, I wonder what, if any, rammifications this will have on the league.

R.C. was a major contributor to the lockout trying to help out small-market teams and put a curb on the whole "super-team" craze that was starting to sweep the league... Now the Spurs have an excellent opportunity to emphatically back up Buffords point that large markets shouldnt be able to, and shouldnt try to, buy their way to a ring.

Go Spurs!

Because of the CBA the Spurs likely won't be able to keep the same team without someone getting a huge paycut.