Should NBA commissioner David Stern have kept his mouth shut instead of popping off pregame against “Pop”?
Or were the “substantial sanctions” he alluded to nothing more than a precursor to a public re-assessment of the relative strength of the Miami Heat?
Where does this thing go next?
Gregg Popovich basically threw an egg at Stern’s face Thursday night, sitting his best three players (four, if you think Danny Green qualifies) in a nationally televised showcase against the Miami Heat. Stern went ballistic, and then a strange thing happened. The Spurs nearly won the game, reminding everyone in the process why you need good players late in fourth quarters as Miami closed the game with a 16-6 run in the final 3 1/2 minutes for a 105-100 victory.
Unwittingly, Stern provided some of the best must-see TV – and must-participate debate – of the month-old NBA season.
The clash of ideals:
- Stern wants his fans to see Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Green in a matchup of two of the NBA’s top-tier teams.
- Popovich could give a flip what Stern thinks. He has 15 players on his roster, and they are all NBA players. It is his right to coach his team however he wants, regardless of which network is televising the game.
But what we also have here is a clash of egos.
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I have never been more upset with David Stern. I can no longer take his rule as dictator and him being under the allusion that he always knows best. If Popovich feels that resting his players give his team the best shot at a title he is entitled to do that. Doesn’t matter that fans bought tickets to see the Spurs, doesn’t matter that it might have hurt TV ratings, doesn’t matter that the Spurs basically gave themselves a loss before the game started. It isn’t like the Spurs are trying to tank to get a higher draft pick or avoid a playoff match up, they are thinking what will help us win a championship. I will admit, I was looking forward to this game beforehand as well, and when I found out Parker, Duncan, Ginobli, and Green would be resting it took a little excitement away; but 2 minutes later I remembered Pop did this last year, and they almost made it to the Finals doing exactly this. If anything, after Dictator Stern’s comments, I was more interested in the game, and I became a cheerleader for the Spurs last night.
And as a Bulls fan I think of all of the games Rose played last year not being 100%. He would play a few games, then sit a few games because he wasn’t healed yet from his injury, or a new injury would pop up. I’m not saying this is why he tore is ACL, but it couldn’t have helped. As long as you put yourself in position of being a top 4 playoff seed it doesn’t matter who you rest and when you rest them. And maybe more teams should help out their aging vets this way, and help out their players who are not quite 100% yet. I think every Bulls game about Derrick Rose and about every possible factor that lead to his injury. I would have gladly given up seeing him in 5-10 more regular season games last year if it meant him being 100% going into the playoffs, which every close observer to the Bulls knows he wasn’t last year. I love Coach Thibs, and I know Rose wanted to play, but maybe if Popovich is coaching the Bulls last year Rose never tears his ACL.
Yes, Rose’s situation and the Spurs last night are apples and oranges, but Pop’s thinking shows he sees the Endgame, he realizes one regular season game forfeit is similar to sacrificing a pawn. Popovich has his mind set on capturing the King in the long-run, and the King was not going to be dethroned last night.
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Slate has a great article about this: “Pageview juicing is a myopic strategy. In the long run, unfriendly design isn’t going to help websites win new adherents, and winning new readers is the whole point of being a website.”