Stern: "Substantial sanctions" for Spurs

[JonLP24]

MIAMI -- The NBA's most powerful man and its most respected and iron-willed coach plunged into an unexpected battle of wills Thursday over a basic tenet: A coach can decide what is best for his team.

San Antonio's Gregg Popovich sent stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, plus key role player Danny Green, on a commercial flight home instead of playing them in a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat so they could rest ahead of the Spurs' Saturday home game against the league-leading Memphis Grizzlies.

NBA commissioner David Stern issued a statement before the game started apologizing to fans and saying, "This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming."

<snip>

The Spurs were playing their fourth game in five nights, their sixth game of a road trip and their 11th road game in November. Popovich, as he's done in the past in such situations, decided it was best to rest his front-line players. In addition, the Spurs were without key players Stephen Jackson and Kawhi Leonard because of injury, leaving them with just nine players in uniform.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8692304/san-antonio-spurs-sit-4-top-5-scorers-vs-miami-heat

I think this is more BS from Stern.

[joeybee12]

1. If Popovich has done it before without sanctions, Stern has no ground

to stand on doing it now.

[JonLP24]

2. Stern only cares

is because he sat them for a Nationally Televised game against the Heat. He's done this lots of times, especially last season, which I believe helped them get the best record in the league.

[joeybee12]

3. That's what it seems like...the revenue of the nationally televised game...

What a tool Stern is.

[bluedigger]

4. He was protecting his product.

I don't have too much problem with it - Popovich basically threw a game on national TV. Basketball isn't the same as football or baseball, with their larger rosters, and in the case of baseball, longer season. The impact of sitting players is completely different, particularly when you sit multiple starters at the same time. I retain my ability to shift my position depending on what "substantial sanctions" are forthcoming, however.

[madinmaryland]

7. They almost won!

[RockaFowler]

5. Stern should stay out of this

What's gonna happen at the end of the season?? Plenty of teams that are already in the playoffs rest their players before the end of the season.

And as for Popovich - it was silly of him to do it. Why waste an opportunity to get a game up even on the Eastern Conference. Yes home court didn't help last year for the Thunder, but it may help his OLD team if they have to meet the Heat in the Finals. Why not rest 1 guy each night of this 4 game period?? It is the only time that the Miami Heat fans get to see the team live . . .

[bluedigger]

8. You are correct in all.

The worst part of it was cheating the fans.

[madinmaryland]

6. Too Funny: Lebron and Company almost lost to San Antonio's second string AT HOME!!

[trumad]

10. almost

Grenades and horseshoes.

[Broken_Hero]

9. Hmm...

Damn Stern...you are almost making me dislike you more than Selig...god, what a total non-issue. Shit like this happens all the time, I went to a M's game expecting Hernadez to pitch, but because of "shit happens" I got Vargas instead, I didn't moan about it, I enjoyed the game and moved the fuck on.

[trumad]

11. Good for Stern

Fans paid really good money to see the A product.

Imagine if the Heat sent LeBron, Wade an Bosh home before a game in San Antonio.

Fine them big time in MHO.

[madinmaryland]

12. Popovich just wanted to make a statement to Stern and the scheduling. You can be sure next

time it will be more covert, but probably a whole lot more effective.

Edited to add: There are fans that go to sporting events in Miami?? I thought they were all on the beach watching the game on the iPhone.

[trumad]

13. it was a bullshit move by Popovich.

[JonLP24]

14. You're not familiar w/ Popovich

He rests players when they have many games at a time, especially during road trips. Someone up-thread emphasized that they were old while criticizing him for sitting the players, he had two choices the way I look at it. Rest them against the Heat or rest them against Memphis. He choose the Memphis game as the more important match-up. While getting games up on Eastern Conference foes is important, that is just one match-up w/o home court. It is far more preferable to have home court over your Western Conference opponents.

Popovich was doing what he though gave his best team the best chance this season. He wasn't interested in any message, he never is.

[JonLP24]

15. That would set a horrible precedant

You can't rest your own players during a long road trip? Miami's players aren't nearly as old but if they were, the coach would save them for the more important match-ups and to keep them fresh for the entire season. No sense to burn your players out in November.

I don't feel any amount of money I spend should change the way a coach coaches his team.

[madinmaryland]

16. Good move by Popovich. They won in OT tonight against the Grizzlies.

[JonLP24]

17. Yep

Having their best, but aging players well rested for the Memphis was the goal and it proved just enough to pull ahead.

Now they're back 1/2 a game from Memphis in the division as well as tacking on a divisional and conference loss for them which we'll help if they're tied at the end of the season.