San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

[BlastX21]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Using the term substansial sanctions is a bit much but I can see why he is speaking against this. True you have to let a coach run his team but he is trying to send a message more than anything. Stern should have handled this differently though.

We all have to realize the true reasons behind this though. If Pop would have sat those guys out yesterday against Orlando this wouldn't have happened. But to do it tonight yes it will cause some extra tension. Yes Stern is mad for the fans, those who bought tickets are pissed, and all of that but Stern is more pissed about the TV part of things. Trust TNT is not happy with their big Thurday night game missing three healthy all stars. In turn the advertisers who paid for those TV spots aren't happy less people are watching. This hits pockets far deeper than the fans. The TV shedule is put out around the same time as the NBA shedule so it's not like nobody just found out this was a primetime national TV game.

Pop could have easliy sent those guys straight to Miami after Washington and sat them out last night. Then they play tonight, Saturday against the Grizz, and then take an extra day off since they don't play again after that until Tuesday. If that would have happened Stern doesn't really have to say anything, the big money guys are still happy, and Pop gets his guys the extra rest.

Its not Pop's responsibility to make sure a certain game gets high ratings or that the fans of an opposing team are happy. His responsibility is to have his team win the title, and if he feels like resting his players on any given night is conducive to that, thats his prerogative. For Stern to intervene in a coach's gameplan like this leads to a slippery slope. As someone else here said, if Stern can monitor who a team plays, the next step is for him to monitor minutes. From there you might as well say he can have a say in who a team drafts. Then he can decide whether a team can do a certain trade or not.

OH WAIT, he already did that!


But even moreso, lets assume Pop brought the Big 3 along, but only played them for 1 minute. Would that also warrant sanctions? How about 5 minutes? Ten? At what point do you draw the line?

[PrettyT11]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

He can sit his players out whenever he wants to. That's why he's paid to be the coach.

How about Stern not schedule them for a "prime time national TV game" against the defending champs at the tail end of a six game road trip?

I'm sure Pop knew he was going to sit them out before the season even started. He was probably thinking if Stern would ever schedule the Heat in the same way.

I don't blame Pop one bit.

I'm not putting any blame on Pop or anybody. I also say a coach can pretty much do what he wants. All i was saying was I can see why Stern made the statement he did and was saying it has more to do with than just the fans that bought tickets.

[PrettyT11]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Its not Pop's responsibility to make sure a certain game gets high ratings or that the fans of an opposing team are happy. His responsibility is to have his team win the title, and if he feels like resting his players on any given night is conducive to that, thats his prerogative. For Stern to intervene in a coach's gameplan like this leads to a slippery slope. As someone else here said, if Stern can monitor who a team plays, the next step is for him to monitor minutes. From there you might as well say he can have a say in who a team drafts. Then he can decide whether a team can do a certain trade or not.

OH WAIT, he already did that!


But even moreso, lets assume Pop brought the Big 3 along, but only played them for 1 minute. Would that also warrant sanctions? How about 5 minutes? Ten? At what point do you draw the line?

LOL you guys clearly aren't reading what I posted. I never said Pop was responsible for anything other than his team. My post was simply giving the bigger reasons why Stern said what he said. Nowhere did I ever say I agree with what either guy did.

Yes you and everybody else is completely right and i agree that Pop has to do what he feels is best for his team. BUT you guys also have to see that Stern said what he said because he has to look out for what is in the best intrest of the NBA in the big picture. That is why I said if he had a problem with it he should have handled it differently than using the terms that he did.

[BunnyHardaway]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

I'm sick of sports commissioners overstepping their boundaries and trying to act like they are the law. They need to get knocked down a peg.

[BlastX21]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

LOL you guys clearly aren't reading what I posted. I never said Pop was responsible for anything other than his team. My post was simply giving the bigger reasons why Stern said what he said. Nowhere did I ever say I agree with what either guy did.

Yes you and everybody else is completely right and i agree that Pop has to do what he feels is best for his team. BUT you guys also have to see that Stern said what he said because he has to look out for what is in the best intrest of the NBA in the big picture. That is why I said if he had a problem with it he should have handled it differently than using the terms that he did.

I don't know, I guess when you give supportive reasons for Stern doing what he did and imply that Pop should have rested his guys another night, its easily to confuse it for saying that Stern is justified. But ok, fair enough.

Edit: what I'm hoping for is that Stern, in light of hearing he might lose some bucks, said that he would sanction the team on a furious whim, and that in light of how the game turned out, he'll take a deep breath and back down.

[23]

He jumped the gun

Also thats what he gets for not marketing whole teams

The spurs are one of the most disrespected teams by the NBA

They epitomize what a team is yet when they prove it yet again tonight this guy jumps in the forefront threatening them in public

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

[da ThRONe]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

I can't even begin to explain how wrong Stern is on this as usually(other than saving basketball in NOLA and the CP3 veto).

This is why I always say the season is far too long. When the schedule is consistently a main factor in winning and losing there's a huge problem there.

To the point though it is absolutely ridiculous of Stern to tell a team how to run itself when it's clearly not breaking any rules.

[lilbiggio]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

But even moreso, lets assume Pop brought the Big 3 along, but only played them for 1 minute. Would that also warrant sanctions? How about 5 minutes? Ten? At what point do you draw the line?

This is the part that is bringing in the sanctions.

Pop caught Stern in a chess match and one up'ed him. Sending the players home was a FU to Stern in my eyes. Had he left them on the bench and just not played them, it wouldn't have achieved the same type of message.

I rather have the game that we had with guys that wanted to be out there, than a 105-77 mopup match because the players on the court had their minds on what was going to be for dinner that evening.

[PrettyT11]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

I don't know, I guess when you give supportive reasons for Stern doing what he did and imply that Pop should have rested his guys another night, its easily to confuse it for saying that Stern is justified. But ok, fair enough.

Edit: what I'm hoping for is that Stern, in light of hearing he might lose some bucks, said that he would sanction the team on a furious whim, and that in light of how the game turned out, he'll take a deep breath and back down.

It wasn't supportive reasons I was just stating the real major reasons why he did it and used the for the fans with tickets as the forefront reason.

As far as the edit part goes that is most likely what will happen. Of course we know he wasn't happy with the big money boys calling him about what was going to happen so he reacted. Plus we know him and Pop have had words about this before. At the end of the day he will probably hit Pop with a fine that the owner of the Spurs or somebody else will pay, he will ask Pop privately not to do it for national TV games, and everybody will move on.

[da ThRONe]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

I'm just thinking of the PR nightmare if Stern was to ever force a coach to play his older vets and one of them sustains an significant injury that game.

What the hell would Stern do then.

[BearClaw]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

He jumped the gun

Also thats what he gets for not marketing whole teams

The spurs are one of the most disrespected teams by the NBA

They epitomize what a team is yet when they prove it yet again tonight this guy jumps in the forefront threatening them in public

Sent from my A500 using Tapatalk 2

The Spurs are a model for every sports organization in the world. And I fail to see how fans can be disappointing? A real fan of the sport should have enjoyed this game just as much if not more than any game played so far. They got to see a hard fought game from players that now have been given a huge chip on their shoulder thanks to the media. Fans paid to the watch San Antonio Spurs play the Miami Heat, and that's what they got. If it wasn't for David Stern trying to make every game seem like a red carpet event for some awards show the average person would know more than 5 players per conference.

[bigfnjoe96]

Vince McStern at his best.... R U kidding me with this crap

Sent from my Nexus running Jellybean

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

I think I enjoyed the game more simply because Spurs were playing "scrubs" and Miami, "focused" or not, kept them in the game.

[superjames1992]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

If the Spurs would have won that game, that probably would have been my favorite regular season game ever. It was awesome. So much passion and effort by the guys out there.

Even a guy like Bonner who normally can't rebound to save his life was being aggressive rebounding the basketball tonight. Splitter almost had a double-double. Nando made some big shots and made some spectacular steals. A great game.

[lilbiggio]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Hypothetical question that we already know the answer to but is starting to make me wonder a bit:

If Spo had rested LeBron,Wade, and Bosh... are we defending this move so adamantly as we are now?

Just wondering... I could see the media destroying the Heat for pulling this move had the game been at AT&T. Yes Pop has the precedent, but if you were to say LeBron, Wade, and Bosh were all taking the night off with the reason being: Rest. This would be ugly.