Agree or Disagree: (On 11 Game WS) Popovich benches Tony Parker and Tim Duncan @ POR

[TMT]

The Spurs are sitting atop the Western Conference, going into tonight only 2 games behind the West leading Thunder and 2.5 ahead of the defending champ Mavs. Not only are the Spurs on an 11 game win streak, they are 7-0 on the annual rodeo roadtrip... Until tonight.

Greg Popovich make the bold decision entering tonight's game to sit future Hall of Fame forward Tim Duncan and current All-Star Tony Parker in the midst of the confidence riding run the Spurs have been able to put together mostly without the help of Manu Ginobili.

The Spurs backups and scrubs just took a whooping at the Rose Garden by a Portland team who took the honor of not holding back the entire game.

Popovich's decision tonight angered the Spurs community greatly for "killing the momentum" so to speak. So ISH, was this a smart tactic by the great coach to get in some extra rest or a dumb move for killing this energetic run that could have led to bigger better things?

[DRose1899]

You guys will suck his dick again when another winning streak coming.

[Qwyjibo]

Smart move.

The main goal for the Spurs should be to get a fully healthy team into the playoffs. Having home court would be good too but I honestly think that if that team is healthy, they have a shot to take a series from any other team.

Trust your talent to keep winning when everyone is rested and if you give up a couple gimme games like tonight, so be it. This season is a strange one with the condensed schedule so I would trust in Pop and his staff to know the limits of their players.

[Scholar]

I think it was a smart idea. What's a regular season win compared to a Playoff win? Nothing.
Poppovich wanted to rest his two stars, and so he did. A well-deserved rest at that, by the way.

[imnew09]

dude its Popovich !!!! don't doubt any of his decisions....

[alwaysunny]

I've seen Pop with a similar unorthodox approach last year by benching all starters in the 4th quarter against the Knicks because they were playing so poorly. It was really baffling because the Spurs had plenty of time for the comeback, but in the end they lost as if they've given up the game.

It seems to me he does a lot of questionable things but it's obvious he believes the decision will pay off in the long run. While I can't disagree with a coach of his caliber, if this was done by an average coach it would have taken a lot of heat.

[AMISTILLILL]

Who cares about winning streaks and momentum going into All Star weekend? Worry about momentum going into the post-season. Your starters are old and need rest now.

[cteach111]

last time i checked, the Spurs didnt get out the first round..

[kingBynum]

Stupid move...You can rest them during the ALL STAR BREAK...lol not a smart move. This team was on a roll winning 11 games

[Myth]

Who cares about winning streaks and momentum going into All Star weekend? Worry about momentum going into the post-season. Your starters are old and need rest now.

This is a very good point. The momentum will be gone anyway after all star weekend, so the momentum lost now would just be lost in a few days anyway, so the momentum stuff is a moot point. In the end, this is just sacrificing 1 game in hopes of keeping a team with aging stars healthy.

[linZoMourning]

last time i checked, the Spurs didnt get out the first round..

[RazorBaLade]

if im pop i want to separate this year from last year as best i can.

fall out of the 1st seed. doesnt matter. be SUPER well rested and healthy. nothing else matters.

team is going to get hyped if they continue to go on this winning streak and they might try a little too hard in a game that doesnt mean much .. not worth it. end the streak, start a new one, end it, etc.

[Myth]

last time i checked, the Spurs didnt get out the first round..

They also had a bunch of health issues just before the playoffs, which seemingly killed their momentum.

Last year: Top record but health issues = failed in first round

Last few championship years: Not the top record in West, but no health issues = win


If Pop wants to use past experiences to guide his current choices, then sacrificing 1 game to help his team stay healthy is a wise move.

[alwaysunny]

if im pop i want to separate this year from last year as best i can.

fall out of the 1st seed. doesnt matter. be SUPER well rested and healthy. nothing else matters.

team is going to get hyped if they continue to go on this winning streak and they might try a little too hard in a game that doesnt mean much .. not worth it. end the streak, start a new one, end it, etc.

Yeah, let's lose the game on purpose everytime we develop a winning streak

[RazorBaLade]

Yeah, let's lose the game on purpose everytime we develop a winning streak

yes. show the team and the fans that the regular season doesnt mean SHIT and they need to be rested for the playoffs