David Stern Doesn’t Have A Problem With ty Basketball Games; He Has A Problem With Honesty
When Gregg Popovich decided to rest four of the Spurs' best players last night—a decision made well in advance of their game against the Heat last night, if Pop is to believed—he took all the air out of a hotly anticipated, nationally televised contest. In the kindest light, it was a savvy move by Popovich designed to keep his aging stars fresh through the end of the season. It was also unquestionably a " you" to the NBA and, collaterally, its fans. Why did he have to rest his guys en masse? Why did he have to rest them against the Heat last night and not against, say, the Wizards on Monday?
David Stern, with his usual showboating heavyhandedness, promised "substantial sanctions" before the game. This is what Pop does, though. He reductios all the absurdums. If there's a hole in the rules, he doesn't just walk through it; he throws a parade and marches through it, beating a drum with one hand and twirling a baton with the other. This latest was a variation on the same theme that brought us Hack-a-Shaq and "DNP-Old." He is as cynical as the rules allow him to be. If you don't like it, Popovich says in effect, then change the rules.
(And let's not shed too many tears for the fans here: I, and at least two of my fellow Deadspinners, turned on the game in its final minutes solely in the hopes of seeing the Spurs' scrubs dunk David Stern and his prerogative through the hoop, which they very nearly did.)
The hypocrisy in Stern's statement is easy to spot. After all, he presides over a league in whichbad teams lose on purpose in order to secure a better spot in the draft lottery. But Stern isn't coming down on the Spurs because they purposely diminished the quality of the NBA's product; he's coming down on them because they did it so openly. If you're going to undermine the integrity of David Stern's NBA, you better keep your goddamn voice down while you do it.
Last night was a good encapsulation of the Stern era. Popovich's move laid bare a structural issue with the NBA—the regular season is a long slog through a minefield to get to the long slog of the playoffs; anyone taking the former too seriously jeopardizes the prospect for success in the latter—to which Stern responded with some theatrically angry PR. Because this is what Sterndoes: He tries to fine and fulminate his way out of his problems. Whether it's tanking or Tim Donaghy, everything is treated foremost as an image problem requiring only superficial solutions. Pop will get his penalty and his lecture, because Stern would rather punish the people who lift the curtain on the puppet show than address the tangles in the strings.
http://deadspin.com/5964496/david-st...m-with-honesty
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Sorry I felt so compelled to give this article it's own thread, but It's short and to the point, and I couldn't agree more...the last paragraph is pure gold. So true.
The funny thing is that the Heat did this last year against the Wizards with a sold out crowd, right before the game without notifying anybody they decided to sit their stars, instead of putting up a fight the Heat got demolished. No double standard there tbh.
Pop did this last season and why is Stern only complaining NOW? Is it because the game was on national TV (SA @ GSW was also on national TV) or was it becauseit involved the Miami Heat
Stern is bull jew, who cares about money. He wont fine Bobcats for being sucky team. He fines Spurs for theri bench playing best game they ever could.
He wont fine refs for screwing team with calls. He fines coach/organistian, which said - your schedule is bull .
him
I'm really starting to think it's because it was against his beloved, Miami heat. That's all there is to it.
Nail on head, tbh
Why didn't Stern fine the Dubs for making sure they got Harrison Barnes? Why didn't Stern fine the Lolcats for not giving a f*ck about last season?
Your contribution will likely be added to Stern's Golden Handshake. Is that what you really want?
tbh there are no fans in miami
and especially no spurs fans in miami
washington was actually a majority spur fan game
people keep saying rest the spurs for a team like washington but they actually had fans who payed to come see SA
As I posted on the other boards that I do routinely. If this were a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, there would have been no issue. As I'm sure up to know here and anywhere else this sanction or fine is baseless and has no precedent. The NBA cannot defend its own action when it has no right to comment on a teams roster decisions as far as facilitating to line up changes. Sure, it's a slap to the face of the Miami Heat fans that showed up but this has been done by the Spurs consistently over the last two years. Stern will be gone this year, good riddance.
Speaking of Washington, they should be fined 250k every day they put that BS team on the court.
Last edited by johnnySpurs; 11-30-2012 at 09:50 PM.
There are Miami Heat fans?
At least it isn't the Bobcats
The problem was that the game was on national TV. The tv sponsors probably asked for a pay cut, maybe the broadcaster too. Maybe some international broadcasters declined to buy the game. They paid for one product, and all of sudden received other. I guess Stern doesn't care much for the Miami fans that went to the arena.
Bobcats should have been fined last year. , the Cavs should have been fined the year Lebron left. Now when stars are kept out of games for rest, the Spurs will forever be referenced. Good job Stern, you made the Spurs popular
Thats funny!!
all of a sudden the jew gives a , hey its his assembled cheat team...the team that was struggling to fill its stadium for the cheat assembled. doesnt fine the usual teams who continue to appear in the lottery that continues to put a product on the floor...how about teams that tank 60 games each year lol bobcats, wizs
Whats funny is the spurs almost beat the Heat without manu, tony, tim and danny.....and sjax and leonard out.
If the spurs don't win the le. the league is definitely COMPLETE BULL .
STERN.
I would say this is 100% correct.
Amen. All these years Stern has been denigrating the spurs organization he really should have been on his hands and knees worshipping and thanking them for their tireless effort to continuously imbue the league with class, integrity, responsibility, and sacrifice. In a league that has become (thanks to him) increasingly and utterly bereft of such values.
If Stern had any moral compass whatsoever he would have immediately issued a public apology upon the completion of that very close, compe ive, and entertaining game. And admit that he was way out of line with his remarks and "sanctions".
Since we all know what type of person David Stern is we know this is the last thing that will ever happen. So may he and all his shills in the media sizzle for all of eternity in the worst imaginable.
Think about this:
Pop creates a culture of long-term success and team basketball, not unlike the Celtics of old (if there's any guy who deserves to be called team patriarch apart from Red Auerbach, it's Pop).
Said culture results in winning championships, but since Pop's culture does not fit Stern's individualistic, celebrity bent to the game, the Spurs are not promoted and therefore gain the boring epithet.
Since the Spurs are unheralded and are "boring" they therefore draw low ratings.
Nevertheless the Spurs refuse to go out riding in the sunset, and whilst Tim Duncan is in the stage of his career where Ewing was in Seattle and Olajuwon was in Toronto yet nevertheless performs at an MVP level, Stern is infuriated at this long-term success story that simply refuses to stand aside for the anointed new rulers of the league in James and Durant.
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