Stern vs Popovich. Who ya got?

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Originally Posted by Mr Janny

You can make the argument that putting older guys like Duncan, Manu, and Parker out there when they're tired and risking injury has just as much of a chance to affect the NBA's health as sitting them for 1 game.

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If the player need rest, is there some reason why they can't play reduced minutes for a few games? This is the approach that most coaches take during the season. Everybody is happy...the fans get to see their stars, and the players get rest. Those coaches don't put the players who need rest on a plane during the middle of road trip on the night of a marquee TV game and send them home.

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Originally Posted by jbhtexas

If they need rest, is there some reason why they can't play reduced minutes for a few games? This is the approach that most coaches take during the season. They don't put them on a plane during the middle of road trip and send them home. Everybody is happy...the fans get to see their stars, and the players get rest.

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ok, so that goes back to my question from earlier. Do you think fans and David Stern would have been fine with Pop putting those four guys in for a token couple minutes, and then having them sit?

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Originally Posted by bringmagicback

Also, stern is the best commish in sports.

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I think I disagree with this more than anything I've ever read on Cyclone Fanatic. Including every Hawkeye fan post.

The NBA and basketball in general had a worldwide explosion due to the Dream Team and Jordan. Stern has surfed that wave far longer than he should have been allowed to. He's more like a league dictator than commissioner. His irrational application of discipline has already thrown a championship, nobody should be surprised at all the Emperor now wants to be in charge of coaching all the league's teams as well.

Playing 100+ games a season including preseason and playoffs, every team should do some of this. Last year in particular it was needed with back to back to backs. There's no comparison of an NBA game on the body to an MLB game on a position player's body.

If I am Pop, the next time I decide to do this I send them all home with the most asinine of excuses and dare the NBA to look into them.

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Originally Posted by jbhtexas

Announce the "rest games" when the schedule is released. This way the fans will know that the stars might not be playing that night, and they can decide the risk/reward benefit of buying a ticket on that night at whatever price is charged. Otherwise, apart from injury or family emergency, the best players (which are usually the stars) should be on the floor.

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So you are saying that announced "rest games" that (possibly) don't have LeBron, Wade, Bosch, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are going to sell out, even with reduced priced tickets? That place wouldnt be even half full. Having an arena half full with reduced priced tickets on top of it will hurt the bottom line of the NBA more than anything.

If there were announced "rest games" how deep would the discount have to go to get a 17,000-20,000 seat arena full? $10? $5? That sounds like tactics of a desperate college athletic department, not a professional sports organization.

Yes, I understand that this match-up between the Heat and Spurs would not be a "rest game," but even if it was, and the star power potential between the two teams were possible I still don't think that the game would have been sold out, which it was last night.

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Originally Posted by cyinne

So you are saying that announced "rest games" that (possibly) don't have LeBron, Wade, Bosch, Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili are going to sell out, even with reduced priced tickets? That place wouldnt be even half full. Having an arena half full with reduced priced tickets on top of it will hurt the bottom line of the NBA more than anything.

If there were announced "rest games" how deep would the discount have to go to get a 17,000-20,000 seat arena full? $10? $5? That sounds like tactics of a desperate college athletic department, not a professional sports organization.

Yes, I understand that this match-up between the Heat and Spurs would not be a "rest game," but even if it was, and the star power potential between the two teams were possible I still don't think that the game would have been sold out, which it was last night.

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Well, most arenas would be 1/2 "full" (sold) from the season ticket holders alone. "Bye weeks" or some solution where the the teams get two or three weeks throughout the season where they only have to play 1 game would be a better solution.

Then again, if this issue of rest and "tired players" was really as big of a deal as it is being made up to be, I'd think it would have been addressed in the last CBA that was negotiated last year.

http://i.imgur.com/9iZT6.gif

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Originally Posted by jbhtexas

Well, most arenas would be 1/2 "full" (sold) from the season ticket holders alone. "Bye weeks" or some solution where the the teams get two or three weeks throughout the season where they only have to play 1 game would be a better solution.

Then again, if this issue of rest and "tired players" was really as big of a deal as it is being made up to be, I'd think it would have been addressed in the last CBA that was negotiated last year.

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not necessarily. If players/coaches heard the deputy commissioner of the NBA say "The strategic resting of particular players on particular nights is within the discretion of the teams," why would they assume that letting some players take a 1 game rest would cause David Stern to go ape-****, and need to be addressed in the CBA? The word from the commissioner's office last year seems to be in direct contrast with the outrage expressed yesterday.

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Originally Posted by jbhtexas

Well, most arenas would be 1/2 "full" (sold) from the season ticket holders alone. "Bye weeks" or some solution where the the teams get two or three weeks throughout the season where they only have to play 1 game would be a better solution.

Then again, if this issue of rest and "tired players" was really as big of a deal as it is being made up to be, I'd think it would have been addressed in the last CBA that was negotiated last year.

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Yes, maybe Stern should have got that clause in the CBA last year, but there wasnt so this should be a non issue. Looks like he is the one with egg on his face.

If anything, this being the first time this "action" has gone to this length- why doesn't Stern say to the entire league, "Ok- you did it this time, don't ever do it again, consider this your warning, next time there will be consequences."

Edit:
jbh-
I'm not sure that you ever said what your stance was on those 4 players suiting up, playing a few minutes to start the game, and then shut it down for the rest of the game. Would this appease the masses?

Would this be a similar situation where you know in 5 days that your favorite starting (superstar) pitcher is in town and is going to be taking the mound? Say, one hour before the game starts it is determined that he is not going to pitch because of fatigue. (Pretty sure this happens, not regularly, but it does happen) Does the people that are coming to the game to watch this certain pitcher start deserve seeing a typical non rotational starter come out to pitch?

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Originally Posted by HFCS

I think I disagree with this more than anything I've ever read on Cyclone Fanatic. Including every Hawkeye fan post.

The NBA and basketball in general had a worldwide explosion due to the Dream Team and Jordan. Stern has surfed that wave far longer than he should have been allowed to. He's more like a league dictator than commissioner. His irrational application of discipline has already thrown a championship, nobody should be surprised at all the Emperor now wants to be in charge of coaching all the league's teams as well.

Playing 100+ games a season including preseason and playoffs, every team should do some of this. Last year in particular it was needed with back to back to backs. There's no comparison of an NBA game on the body to an MLB game on a position player's body.

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It may seem like Stern is acting like an Emperor, but he is really an employee of the league that is governed by the owners of the teams. He can only do what he wants as long as he has the favor of the team owners.

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Originally Posted by Cycsk

It may seem like Stern is acting like an Emperor, but he is really an employee of the league that is governed by the owners of the teams. He can only do what he wants as long as he has the favor of the team owners.

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Precisely. I always have to chuckle at the "Comissioner X is being a dictator" posts. The professional sports league commissioners are nothing more than an extension of the team owners. If the owners don't like what a particular commissioner is doing, said commissioner will be replaced. It's not like these guys are autonomous and have powers beyond what the league owners afford them.

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Originally Posted by jbhtexas

Precisely. I always have to chuckle at the "Comissioner X is being a dictator" posts. The professional sports league commissioners are nothing more than an extension of the team owners. If the owners don't like what a particular commissioner is doing, said commissioner will be replaced. It's not like these guys are autonomous and have powers beyond what the league owners afford them.

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I notice you've conveniently avoided discussing the quote on the resting of players from Adam Silver, NBA deputy commissioner or answered my question about whether or not playing Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker for a token 2-3 minutes would have been acceptable in your eyes.

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Originally Posted by jbhtexas

Precisely. I always have to chuckle at the "Comissioner X is being a dictator" posts. The professional sports league commissioners are nothing more than an extension of the team owners. If the owners don't like what a particular commissioner is doing, said commissioner will be replaced. It's not like these guys are autonomous and have powers beyond what the league owners afford them.

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Which is exactly why Stern's "significant sanctions" will end up being nothing more than a small fine and the this will all go away quickly. None of the owners want Stern to start punishing teams for resting players since every team does it.

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Originally Posted by Mr Janny

I notice you've conveniently avoided discussing the quote on the resting of players from Adam Silver, NBA deputy commissioner or answered my question about whether or not playing Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker for a token 2-3 minutes would have been acceptable in your eyes.

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Playing those guys for a token 2-3 minutes would not have been acceptable in my eyes.

As for what Adam Silver said, if you had bothered to check the context in which his remark was given, you would realize that it is irrelevant to this year's situation. Silver's comments were made last year in April while the NBA was playing a very compressed schedule (because of the lockout) with much less downtime between games (i.e. teams playing 4-5 games per week instead of the normal 2-3). The NBA is playing a normal schedule this year, not a compressed schedule with minimal downtime between games.

Stern + NBA =

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