You guys are missing the bigger picture. Tony Parker was the only player on my fantasy basketball team with a game last night, and because pop is only thinking of himself and not me I didn't get any stats yesterday. Unacceptable.
Pops wanted to make a point and he did. He thinks the schedule is too crazy. If he was really interested in resting his players he would have made them stay but only played them 5-10 minutes.
There is a huge difference in them sitting on the bench and sending the home on a plane. Pops wanted this to be a big deal and he probably knew he would get in trouble. He knews exactly what he was doing.
I dont agree with it, but he was trying to make a point. It was a protest.
I disagree with everything you've said here, including the fact that working at McDonalds isn't as hard as the NBA.
Now I've never worked at McDonalds, but I've worked with the public for years.
These guys are gifted athletes, and are expected to perform unless their bodies are not able to.
Just like working anywhere, you are expected to be there unless you're completely ill. Those athletes could never work at McDonalds for the kind of wage that that industry pays. Most of them would say "f this" and go home.
Nore should they have to work in that industry, because they're gifted athletes.
This is why they're NBA players in the first place, because they're supposed to be gifted and mentally tough.
I guess I'll just go ahead and send my cashiers home at my job today. I think at least one of them is getting a little old and tired.
Then he needs to change his roster to players that can actually be counted on.
It isn't just about the Spurs. He has a responsibility to the league as well. Every game played matters. Even if the Spurs will still make the playoffs, some other team might have their draft position altered. Or maybe Miami finishes 1 game ahead of the Jazz (or whoever) and gets home court in the finals.
It's not all about the Spurs. The league itself cannot exist if there is no integrity in the games. This is much more important, and much bigger, than the responsibility Pop has to try to win championships. Without a league, there are no championships.
I wish I could tell my job "I'm getting old, me and the rest of the crew are taking today off. We've worked a lot this month. Please ignore the fact that I take 6 months off every year anyway, and only work for 3 hours per day when I work at all. I'm taking today off."
I dont see either one of you address the fact that they damn near beat the champs on their own home court. Maybe Pop felt he had a better chance with rested legs than tired legs. What the hell is a 12 man roster for if you never use it?
Enough with the, you wouldn't sit out a game crap. You arent even athletic enough to play one game in the NBA, let alone play the grind of an NBA schedule when you are in your 30's. And this isnt the same thing as going to your job at Mcdonalds. Do you guys have to guard Lebron at Mcdonalds? So stop with that B.S. about how you cant take the day off. Its not the same thing.
I've never worked at McDonald's. I did work at burger king when I was a teenager though.
Getting past that and addressing your point...
If San Antonio almost won the game with all of their best players out, they probably would have won the gave if their best players actually played. That means if Miami finishes tied with some other team, but wins the tie breaker, they can thank San Antonio for giving them a higher playoff seed.
If San Antonio finishes tied with some other team and wins the coin flip, that other team can look back at this game and point to it as costing them draft position.
Ya and, if Pop plays his guys like you want him to, and Tim Duncan ends up with a season ending stress fracture in his foot, the seeding will be different to.
Its not Pop's job to beat the Heat or whoever so that some team has it easier or harder to make the playoffs. Its on those other teams to take care of their own business.
Sorry to interject into another one of those private argument things.
But can anyone remember, didn't the spurs get the big fundamental because the spurs decided to sit Robinson and Elliot for the rest of the season even though both could have come back to play?
If he breaks his foot, that means he took the same chance every other player takes when they step onto the court.
It absolutely IS Pop's job to beat the Heat. He has a responsibility to uphold the integrity of the game, and that supersedes his responsibility to win championships.
In all seriousness, I am curious.. have you ever made yourself a student of the Roman Empire? I only ask because I did and I named my company (one that I sold in '05) after that era. I collected Roman Empire era artifacts that were awesome. I became fascinated with that time period.
(That was probably weird, so ..)