Now what were people claiming about only an 8 player rotation??
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rose from his sideline chair halfway through Saturday's first quarter, looked down at the mix of former All-Stars, sharpshooters and Slovenians sitting on the bench and called for Michael Finley.
Less than a minute later, Popovich sent Robert Horry to the scorer's table. Nick Van Exel joined Finley and Horry on the floor for the start of the second quarter. Brent Barry followed. Then came Rasho Nesterovic.
The second quarter was barely four minutes old, and Popovich already had used 10 players.
At a time when many teams shorten their rotations, the Spurs used their playoff-opening victory over Sacramento to show off their depth. The bench accounted for 52 of the team's 122 points while no starter played more than 25 minutes.
"They've got guys who have been proven scorers in this league," Kings guard Bonzi Wells said. "Nick Van Exel has a history in this league of making big baskets. Michael Finley is a career playoff guy who has made big baskets. Brent Barry, too.
"Those guys can all play, and they do a great job of putting them in spots where they can be effective. And I didn't even mention Horry. How crazy is that?"
The Spurs' reserves have left more than a few opponents scratching their heads in frustration. In the three-game winning streak to end the regular season, the bench averaged 60.7 points.
Popovich's decision to play reserves heavily down the stretch, Horry thinks, allowed them to be better prepared Saturday. Van Exel scored 11 points in his first seven minutes. In the first half, Van Exel, Finley, Horry and Barry combined to make 6 of 8 3-pointers.
"It's a lot easier to get in a rhythm if you're playing minutes," Horry said.
A few of the Spurs' reserves also needed the extra time to loosen their creaky joints. The average age of the seven players who made up the team's bench Saturday was 31.3 years.
While younger, athletic teams have given the Spurs problems, owning a pension-eligible bench does provide some advantages — namely, 420 games of playoff experience the reserves brought with them Saturday.
"You can just tell, even the guys who have been starters their whole career, none of those guys care who scores," Sacramento coach Rick Adelman said. "It's just a matter of them winning. It's a great thing to have, and it's even better when their skills haven't diminished to the point where they can't do anything, and obviously they haven't.
"It's tough because they have tremendous experience off the bench, and we have very little."
Adelman primarily has used three reserves the past few weeks: swingman Kevin Martin, power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim and point guard Jason Hart. Of the three, only Hart had any previous playoff experience before Saturday, and his was limited to seven games with the Spurs two years ago.
By the end of last season's NBA Finals, Popovich had pared the Spurs' rotation to seven players, using only Horry and Barry off the bench. As a result, the team made it a priority to find a veteran backup for Tony Parker (Van Exel) and a more dependable scorer (Finley).
While the Spurs' bench has only one pair of young legs (Beno Udrih's) this season, the group is versatile. And Popovich's longtime "Pop-a-sub" method to handling reserves means the rotation sometimes will change game by game according to matchups.
"That's the one thing about (Popovich)," Hart said. "He will use the players on his bench, at any time in the game."
Finley, Horry and Van Exel have fairly defined roles. Barry also has carved out some minutes the second half of the season. Popovich even included Nesterovic in his big-man rotation Saturday.
"If we need instant scoring, Nick can get in the game," Barry said. "If you want to space the floor and there's a physical guard out there, Michael can play. If they're playing a little bit small, Beno and I can get minutes. If they go big, Rasho is over there, a guy who started a lot of games for this ball club and can mix it up.
"It's a great problem to have. There are a lot of coaches in this league who would love to try and deal with that if they could."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...n.140a269.html
Here but Spurs have played with an 8 man rotation, check the first quarter.
Entering in the game in the second quarter when your team is up by 14 doesn't mean you are in the rotation. Against a strongest team in a closest game, I'm quite sure that Rasho and Brent won't get playtine.
For the record, you're the one who should hide himself :
http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/show...9&postcount=26
I was off by 4 minutes! I was a whole lot closer than the people who said he would never play but in garbage time.
And again for the record, when Rasho entered the game the lead was 14. When he left less than 8 minutes later, the lead was 34!!
by 4 minutes, a blowout and the rest of your post who was wrong.
You tease in your first post people who said pop will use a 8 man rotation not people who said that Rasho will only play garbage time, it's not the same thing and not the same people.
And ?
Was Rasho the reason of the +20 ? No he was one of the reason.
Rasho has well played, Nazr has well played : enjoy !
Our entire team rocks! No matter who we put out there, the other team is gonna die. Pick your poison!
This pretty much sums it up about Pop. ^That's the one thing about (Popovich)," Hart said. "He will use the players on his bench, at any time in the game."
Finley, Horry and Van Exel have fairly defined roles. Barry also has carved out some minutes the second half of the season. Popovich even included Nesterovic in his big-man rotation Saturday.
"If we need instant scoring, Nick can get in the game," Barry said. "If you want to space the floor and there's a physical guard out there, Michael can play. If they're playing a little bit small, Beno and I can get minutes. If they go big, Rasho is over there, a guy who started a lot of games for this ball club and can mix it up.
It's nice to see Brent Barry playing with so much more confidence and energy. The Spurs did not have that in last year's playoffs. Since the trade that didn't happen, Brent has been a major asset for the Spurs. He's got some swagger to him.
I said from the gitgo that Pop would use a 9, maybe 10 man rotation.
If you think about the guns he has on the bench, it only makes sense.
Fin, VanX, Barry, Horry can all equal instant offense. And at least 3 of those guys can slam dunk ... in your face...to provide instant excitement and energy.
I see no need in having a great bench and not using them. That's what they got these guys for. The Playoffs.
em high...leave em out to dry.
Nevertheless, it was interesting combination Duncan, Bowen, Rasho, Van X and Barry (+12 in few minutes)
I do.
Well, there is still no proof he is stuck on an 8 man rotation, Say all you want but when the bench started subbing, the Spurs were only up by 4. While there was a nice lead after the first quarter the game blew open in the second quarter with the bench doing a lot of the work. I still believe we will see alot more of Barry and Rasho than peole think, especially given how well they have played as of late.
I think the Kings first 5 are compe ive with the Spurs first 5. I think the ultimate difference between the teams will be that for the Kings to win, guys like Bibby, Artest, and Wells are going to have to play 40+ minutes, while the Spurs can sustain with Finley, Van Exel, and Barry on the floor, affording rest to Parker, Ginobili, and Bowen.
Sacramento is pretty thin, depth-wise up front, too, which makes guys like Horry and Rasho potentially key players here. If they play well, they can force Adelman to keep Miller and Thomas on the floor for big minutes.
^^ No way!
It was King's starting five which was finally blown in the middle of Q2. Three bench players (Rasho, Van X and Barry) together with Timmy and Bruce were outplayed King's starting 5.
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