San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

[kingkilla56]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

im with Stern on this one.

if u wanna sit your guys do it against a crappy team and/or when its not on national tv. most people dont even watch those games anyway. the fact that your doing it against a team that is a championship contender (or in this case the NBA Champion) on national tv is an issue because these are games people actually want to watch and even worse the fans that go to the game.

i hate the 4 games in 5 nights just like everyone else but the Spurs are not the only team that has to deal with it. EVERY team does. if u keep letting this go whats from stopping every team from doing the same thing. so then there is no reason for me to watch the other teams in league and no reason for people the buy the league pass because all the Star players are sitting every 5-6 games or sitting out the marquee match-ups because its on the 2nd half of a back-to-back.

these dudes on ESPN keep saying what is the difference between now and at the end of season. BIG difference. we (the fans) give u that leeway because we know because we know its a long season and that since you have played well enough to make the playoffs we want u to put the best team on the floor for the playoff run. so instead of buying a ticket to see my Lakers play OKC during the last week of season when i know most likely Westbrook and Durant will not be playing, ill just try and get a playoff ticket instead. and if i purchase that ticket early i still have a chance to sell it and get my money back.

EDIT: and if he is gonna sit all of the big 3 for a game, he should alert the league and the opponent beforehand. if he is only sitting 1 of them then he shouldnt have to.

Im totally puzzled on if you are serious or not with this.

You'd be fine if he did this against a, what you judge, is a scrub team? What does that matter? What makes the Heat better than the Hornets? Why does national TV matter to you as a fan, to you as a coach? Are you a commissioner Rawdeal?

Just because every team doesnt do it doesnt make it wrong. His team is old, and he as their coach wants them to rest when he deems in necessary. What would you tell Pop to convince him what he did was wrong in that situation? What if from now on every team in the league did it? Why does what other teams in the league do matter to the Spurs organization? A majority of the teams in the league play terrible team ball, are you upset that the Spurs dont follow this trend?

I dont understand your point about ESPN and buying tickets at the end of the season versus the playoffs. I just couldnt follow the point. Believe it or not, the small number of outraged fans will get over it. It was one game. The Spurs didnt cancel a months worth of games. The hyperbole on this front has been remarkable.

And why would he have to alert the league and the Heat before hand? What does the league or the Heat have to do with the Spurs starting lineup? But to this point, how did the entire NBA world know that they were going to miss the game well before hand and the League and Heat are gonna pretend they didnt know? Common man. Thats a reach by Stern.

What advantage would the Heat, and the league for that matter, have if the Spurs told them they would rest these guys months in advance? Oh right, then they could flex the game out of the national spotlight. Makes sense. Agenda exposed. Stern is too transparent.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

The only problem that I think is a legit problem is that it was a nationally televised game and TNT probably got screwed as far as ratings and advertising dollars. Quarter-mil seems damn excessive for a fine, but whatever. I don't understand why the Spurs have to divulge their lineup to their ****ing competitor?

[SteelersFreak]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

im with Stern on this one.

if u wanna sit your guys do it against a crappy team and/or when its not on national tv. most people dont even watch those games anyway. the fact that your doing it against a team that is a championship contender (or in this case the NBA Champion) on national tv is an issue because these are games people actually want to watch and even worse the fans that go to the game.

i hate the 4 games in 5 nights just like everyone else but the Spurs are not the only team that has to deal with it. EVERY team does. if u keep letting this go whats from stopping every team from doing the same thing. so then there is no reason for me to watch the other teams in league and no reason for people the buy the league pass because all the Star players are sitting every 5-6 games or sitting out the marquee match-ups because its on the 2nd half of a back-to-back.

these dudes on ESPN keep saying what is the difference between now and at the end of season. BIG difference. we (the fans) give u that leeway because we know because we know its a long season and that since you have played well enough to make the playoffs we want u to put the best team on the floor for the playoff run. so instead of buying a ticket to see my Lakers play OKC during the last week of season when i know most likely Westbrook and Durant will not be playing, ill just try and get a playoff ticket instead. and if i purchase that ticket early i still have a chance to sell it and get my money back.

EDIT: and if he is gonna sit all of the big 3 for a game, he should alert the league and the opponent beforehand. if he is only sitting 1 of them then he shouldnt have to.

Can we stop with the everybody has the 4 games in 5 nights argument? That's pretty irrelevant considering most teams probably don't have their last game televised and against a rested Heat team on the road. If the Spurs had've been playing the Bobcats nobody would've cared but because the game was on TNT and against the Heat it becomes a big deal. The only reason Stern gives two ****s is because it affected ratings.

[iLLosophy]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

2 things...and I make these comments from a business standpoint...

1) People complaining about double standard of this only being because of ratings. OF COURSE it's because of the ratings, everyone knows there are games on the schedule that have way more weight than others. Opening day? Banner raising games? Christmas day? You think if Scott Brooks decides to let Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, KMart go home because he felt they should spend Christmas with their families, David Stern is going to sit back and shrug his shoulders? Don't be naive, everybody knows there are games on the schedule that are hand-picked and people have circled on their calendar games. Pop knows this too, he either doesn't give a **** or has an ulterior motive. If Pop's sole reason to keep them out was so they could get rest, then he could've did it against an underdog like Wizards or the Magic earlier in the week. And he didn't just sit a couple of players, he sat FOUR players all at once. Why not sit duncan out Game 1, Manu Game 2, Parker Game 3....etc.

2) Dude actually said he decided to do this in July when the Schedule was announced, and he waited until hours before the game to tell anybody. Whether or not he actually did decide back in July doesn't matter, but the fact that he SAID he decide when the schedule was announced....just adds injury to insult. If Jay-Z (or whoever you like) was touring, and one night he stops in a major market and hours before the show he says "i'm taking the night off, but I'm still gonna let my band play my instrumentals - oh yeah I decided i wasn't going to perform 5 months ago." Not only that, but he made a deal with youtube to film select dates, and this was one of them? The NBA is a business and that is just bad business practice. Plus that's just a **** move to anyone who has money vested in this.


This fine was ultimately because Pop doesn't conform and play ball like everyone else. Is Stern being consistent? Not really. But all NBA Players and coaches that signed those agreements know part of their job is to "go fetch" when they are told to for the "interest" of the NBA and their partners. I don't necessarily agree with it - but if all your other grunts are falling in line, except one of them refuses to conform and even gives you the finger from time to time, Coach Of the Year awards only carry so much clout....from an NBA standpoint as a whole, and as a business standpoint, that's something you just can't tolerate.


With that said, I think the Spurs are one of the best run orgs in the league, so as long as Peter Holt doesn't care about the fines, I hope Greg Pop keeps raising his middle finger....they are probably drinking beers laughing about it now....

[lilbiggio]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

2 things...and I make these comments from a business

This fine was ultimately because Pop doesn't conform and play ball like everyone else. Is Stern being consistent? Not really. But all NBA Players and coaches that signed those agreements know part of their job is to "go fetch" when they are told to for the "interest" of the NBA and their partners.

And the NBA wonders why people think games get fixed from time to time. That Kings/Lakers series probably wasn't in the best interest of the league for the Lakers to not be in the Finals.

There's really no justification for this type of move. Either let the coaches coach, or if we're going to play the what's in the best interest of entertainment and money card, expect people to not take the NBA credible when suspect stuff like this which happens almost every year comes up. Stern likes to have it both ways and this decision set a pretty bad precedent.

[23]

He cant retire fast enough

Screw competitive basketball, its clear David stern doesn't give a rats butt about basketball

He has no real basis so he runs behind his lawyer ratpack to create some legal jargon to fine the team who almost beat the heat even with no Duncan whom he also doesn't give a crap about.



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[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Ya'll may have to excuse me if I don't have any pity for those who spent money and didn't get to see (insert player) play.

That's like me buying Week 17 Packers Tickets, knowing they're already in the playoffs and knowing they're likely to not play key players(I know this because this is nothing new that they do and what Pop did(holding certain players out)is nothing new at all, if you've followed him since he's been in the NBA)and then getting upset because those players didn't play.

This fine was ultimately because Pop doesn't conform and play ball like everyone else. Is Stern being consistent? Not really.

Except everyone else doesn't necessarily "play ball" all the time. And we've seen how Stern handles those teams. By not doing a damn thing.

If he enforces this rule for EVERY team and not just his primary money makers, then Kudos to him for finally putting his foot down. And I mean every single game, for every single team including the ones who don't/won't have anything to play for by March/April.

[J_Posse]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

He's sat all three regularly? What other games?

Stern needs to answer for the fact that he took no action in that Portland game.

He's done it during the end of seasons, even last year when Patty Mills and the bench helped continue the winning streak, and did it last year against Portland - I already posted the date - and Utah last season. The Utah players claimed that they felt "disrespected" then proceeded to be swept out of the playoffs. He does what he thinks is in the best interest of his team not the corporate sponsors, the fans (read: ratings/money) or "league" (read: money).

His team is old, and he as their coach wants them to rest when he deems in
necessary.

Actually, the Spurs are not the oldest team in the league. That dubious distiction belongs to the Knicks followed by the Heat, Lakers and Celtics. Two of the three best players are "old," while Parker is still in his prime at 30. I really wish people would stop repeating that misconception.

And if this is the precedent set then the league needs to begin fining teams for holding players out that are (possibly) healthy enough to play (Marcus Camby & Andrew Bogut) and for tanking at the end of the season (likely suspects Washington, Sacramento and Cleveland) by sitting players out to get more ping-pong balls. The Golden State Warriors intentionally sat out players last year to try in keep the draft pick they had included in a trade (lottery protected), yet no comment from Emperor Stern or fine from the league was levied.

[superjames1992]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Honestly, Pop was just trying to make it a competitive game. If the Spurs' Big Three and Danny Green played, the game wouldn't have even been close. The Spurs almost were good enough to beat the Heat without six of their top seven players!


















I know you can't make that claim because the Heat would have came out more fired up and it would have changed the entire dynamic of the game, though.

[superjames1992]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Got this from Spurstalk from Manu Ginobili (translation):

http://canchallena.lanacion.com.ar/1532394-me-sorprendio-un-poco-el-revuelo-que-se-armo

I was a little surprised the commotion that ensued, it is not the first time we do this to rest when we have so much work.As do other competitors. We know that no team begins fully fit, but for us it was particularly unusual November 1. We are the most games in this case we dispute and we played four games in five nights away from home. In my case, particularly, Pop had asked me if I wanted to rest on Monday in Washington, but I said I preferred to try how I felt with two straight, so I put off the rest until Miami.

It's something that always happens. The coach wants to go dosing forces. Tim is 36, I 35. We were going to stop and took advantage to rest together with Tony and Danny Green. Pop always takes us a little, is very cautious and more with those who went to the Olympics. It was that simple, why did.

Looks like Stern should fine Manu.

[coogrfan]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Lost in all of this is the fact that the Spurs almost won the game. If they had would Stern still be levying a fine?

The NBA's obsession with marketing individuals over teams is the reason I've all but given up on the sport.

[23]

Lost in all of this is the fact that the Spurs almost won the game. If they had would Stern still be levying a fine?

The NBA's obsession with marketing individuals over teams is the reason I've all but given up on the sport.

This was never about basketball though....its not lost, dollar bill David is concerned about corporate dollars only

Do that, but don't front and start thumping your chest like its about the fans

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[Sportsforever]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

You would never see a team in Baseball rest their top 4 players unless they were playoff bound or way out of the race at the end of the season and wanted to give their young players a shot. Usually, one or two top players may rest at the same time.

Not so. Teams often rest the majority of their lineups at some point in the week. The Braves, for example, will run out almost their entire backups on Sunday, leaving only 1 or 2 starters in the lineup.

[kingkilla56]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

Actually, the Spurs are middle of the pack as far as average age. Two of the three best players are "old," while Parker is still in his prime at 30. I really wish people would stop repeating that misconception.

Semantics are great arent they?

[Sportsforever]

Re: San Antonio Spurs to Receive Sanctions for Resting Players

2 things...and I make these comments from a business standpoint...

1) People complaining about double standard of this only being because of ratings. OF COURSE it's because of the ratings, everyone knows there are games on the schedule that have way more weight than others. Opening day? Banner raising games? Christmas day? You think if Scott Brooks decides to let Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, KMart go home because he felt they should spend Christmas with their families, David Stern is going to sit back and shrug his shoulders? Don't be naive, everybody knows there are games on the schedule that are hand-picked and people have circled on their calendar games. Pop knows this too, he either doesn't give a **** or has an ulterior motive. If Pop's sole reason to keep them out was so they could get rest, then he could've did it against an underdog like Wizards or the Magic earlier in the week. And he didn't just sit a couple of players, he sat FOUR players all at once. Why not sit duncan out Game 1, Manu Game 2, Parker Game 3....etc.

2) Dude actually said he decided to do this in July when the Schedule was announced, and he waited until hours before the game to tell anybody. Whether or not he actually did decide back in July doesn't matter, but the fact that he SAID he decide when the schedule was announced....just adds injury to insult. If Jay-Z (or whoever you like) was touring, and one night he stops in a major market and hours before the show he says "i'm taking the night off, but I'm still gonna let my band play my instrumentals - oh yeah I decided i wasn't going to perform 5 months ago." Not only that, but he made a deal with youtube to film select dates, and this was one of them? The NBA is a business and that is just bad business practice. Plus that's just a **** move to anyone who has money vested in this.


This fine was ultimately because Pop doesn't conform and play ball like everyone else. Is Stern being consistent? Not really. But all NBA Players and coaches that signed those agreements know part of their job is to "go fetch" when they are told to for the "interest" of the NBA and their partners. I don't necessarily agree with it - but if all your other grunts are falling in line, except one of them refuses to conform and even gives you the finger from time to time, Coach Of the Year awards only carry so much clout....from an NBA standpoint as a whole, and as a business standpoint, that's something you just can't tolerate.


With that said, I think the Spurs are one of the best run orgs in the league, so as long as Peter Holt doesn't care about the fines, I hope Greg Pop keeps raising his middle finger....they are probably drinking beers laughing about it now....

Your JayZ example is a bad one, IMO, because when I buy a ticket to see JayZ, that is who I expect to see. If I buy a ticket to see the Spurs, all I can expect is to see the Spurs play whoever is on the schedule. As far as I can tell, everyone who went to that game saw the Spurs play the Heat, and saw a good game to boot.