Comments on: Should the Spurs Be Sanctioned For Resting Their Four Top Scorers?

By: jon abbey

jon abbey — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 09:26:06 +0000

crazchino:
imo, stern did the right thing. customers paid for a product, and it was not delivered as advertised.

oh, horseshit. what about the fans who bought tickets to Boston’s last two games and didn’t get to see Rondo who was healthy but suspended? did Stern offer refunds to any of them?

as is almost always the case, Woj had the most thorough and insightful take on it:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–david-stern-stumbles-again-in-his-failed-culture-war-against-the-spurs-194828970.html

By: crazchino

crazchino — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 07:29:56 +0000

imo, stern did the right thing. customers paid for a product, and it was not delivered as advertised. pop did the right thing too tho. did what’s best for his team. can’t blame either for doing what they had to do. but to answer the poll question, here’s a +1 for stern.

By: Z-man

Z-man — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:48:22 +0000

BigBlueAL: It was kind of weak for the Spurs to be playing their 4th road game in 5 days while the Heat were playing their first game since Saturday.

BINGO! Stern did what he had to do, but I bet he got the message as well (or Silver did!)

By: jon abbey

jon abbey — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 23:06:58 +0000

THCJ, if you want a second game for your ‘sample’, when Popovich did the same thing last year, a mediocre at best Portland team beat them by 40.

By: TheRant

TheRant — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 22:37:04 +0000

I think the Miami Heat should be sanctioned.

Because I really do not like them at all.

By: deadrody

deadrody — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:12:56 +0000

What do you mean no ? What’s best for the team ? That isn’t the point. How about what’s best for the people who payed good money for tickets to watch the game ?

Or maybe we’ve forgotten that the NBA doesn’t actually exist without the people willing to pay to watch them play.

Yes, the Spurs should be heavily fined for that move. Heavily enough to dissuade them from even thinking of it again.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:49:38 +0000

Great points, Steveoh and iserp and Nick. If resting starters is such a concern regarding Spurs and nationally televised games, just don’t put the Spurs on TNT for the second night of a back to back.
Regarding those who say Pop should care about nationally televised games for the benefit of the league, do we really expect a coach to check the tv listings for his team before every game to see if they’re nationally televised. Should he have a list of those games in his notebook to consult before making a decision? I’m sure pop’s reaction to such a suggestion would be pretty hilarious.
Regarding those who say pop should play them a tiny bit less each game instead: he already plays Duncan and Ginobeli far less per game than any other coach plays his stars. I’m sure pop notices how resting his stars from back to backs helps more than playing them even less per game.

Finally, I remember one time last year when he didn’t play Duncan on the second night of a back to back. Pop called it dnp-old. Hilarious!

By: Jenny

Jenny — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:15:29 +0000

Basketball is a competitive sport, but at the end of the day, it has to be a business too. Stern has the right to protect the interest of the business’ bottom line. The Spurs are not the only team that goes through back-to-backs or four games in five nights, but the Spurs are the only team that regularly sits their guys just to rest them. If the practice was more widespread across the league, it would be as big of a problem a some people find flopping to be. Like I said, Pop shouldn’t be sanctioned, but I probably wouldn’t nationally televise their games to avoid this issue on the national stage.

By: Hubert Davis

Hubert Davis — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:07:43 +0000

This all speaks to Stern’s ego. He thinks we watch basketball because he and his executives “created” stars and without these stars they gave us no one would watch. He can’t fathom the idea that people would watch a bunch of non-stars playing their ass off because we just love basketball. Accepting that means he’s not as important that he thinks he is. TNT probably loved the attention Pop brought that game. I know I only watched because of what was happening.

Hell I’d recommend Woodson do it, too. Squad rotation is a heavy part of football (i.e. soccer) and it keeps teams fresh.

By: Nick C.

Nick C. — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 10:50:42 +0000

Maybe if the season didn’t run with playoffs from practically Halloween to the Fourth of July. Back in the day the finals were on by memorial day. With the Olympics in the summer is it any wonder. Stern needs to realize this is a competitive sports league not reality TV programming. I could go on and on about what a loathsome dictatorial smug cretin Stern is. Good riddance.