Spurs Fined For Resting Players

[The Brain]

I want to start off by saying I don’t have all the facts. Please feel free to educate me if I’m wrong about something. My opinion is from what little I was able to hear on the radio during my drive home from work today. Yesterday Gregg Popovich, head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, benched four of his starting players and actually sent them home from a road trip to allow them to have some extra rest. Because the Spurs were visiting the Miami Heat in a nationally televised game NBA Commissioner David Stern was none to happy about the star players being kept out of the game. Today he hit the Spurs with a $250,000 fine. To my surprise most of the callers to the local radio show I was listening to agreed with Stern’s decision. Forgive me if I’m missing something but this fine seems completely ridiculous.

Is there a rule in the NBA that dictates which players a coach uses in a game? Isn’t it the coach’s prerogative to use his team the best way he sees fit? I completely understand Stern being upset about this. San Antonio vs. Miami should have been a big game. Obviously he wanted the star players on national television. Of course I understand why TNT was upset. And I understand why the fans were upset. I’m not saying everyone should just happily agree with Popovich’s decision but it was his decision to make. What rule did he break to justify such a heavy fine? Is David Stern making up rules on the fly?

What if this game took place in Toronto and was not on national television? Would Stern have cared or even noticed? It seems that he is creating different rules for different teams. That’s not right. What if the Spurs won the game? They almost did. Could Stern justify a fine if Popovich’s decision led to a victory? How much power should the commissioner have in this situation?

I understand it’s the fans that buy the tickets. I understand national television deals are a critical part of the league’s success. Still, it doesn’t seem right that someone outside the organization should be able to dictate how a coach handles his team. Popovich is one of the best coaches the NBA has had over the past several years. His Coach of the Year awards and NBA titles prove that. He should have the right to do what he feels is best for his team even if it ends up being inconvenient for the networks. Imagine if Stern knew of Popovich’s plans ahead of time and forced him to play Tim Duncan and Duncan ended up getting hurt. What would Stern say then?

What’s your opinion on this? Was Stern right to fine the Spurs? What pieces of this story might I be missing that would change my mind?

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Stern said part of the reason for the fine was because the Spurs didn't tell the league, media, or the Heat that they were going to rest those players in a timely fashion. I can understand why Stern is upset because it was a nationally televised game, but I believe that's the only reason for this fine. If the Spurs did this in the previous game against Orlando, I highly doubt that he would have fined that. Popovich even said that he when he saw the schedule in the summer, he was going to rest players. There are going to be five or six other times in which a team will have to play four games (road ones, I believe) in five nights. I'm curious to see what happens if one of those teams decides to rest some of their players. I believe the Spurs would still have been fined even if Pop told everybody that his star players were going to sit. Pop did this last year and I heard no backlash from Stern about it. I don't know the timeframe in which to tell an opposing team, the league, and media that you're going to rest your players. I doubt that Pop wouldn't tell them at all.

 

[hatehabsforever]

We have actually been discussing this very thing in another thread over in the spam section. While I do believe that 250K is an excessive amount for the fine, I definitely think monetary punishment is indicated here. Fans pay a lot to attend NBA games, especially if they have to travel from far away to get there to see it. I think they have a reasonable expectation to see the elite players, and sitting players for such a trivial reason as they are too old and tired is silly. Duncan and company are older, but they are hardly decrepit, and unable to play four games in five days. They get paid a lot of money to play professional basketball, and I think they have a responsibility to suck it up and play for the fans.

I live in an area where there are no professional sports franchises and so if I want to see pro sports, I have to travel to do so. I can assure you that if I had flown from where I live to see the Heat/Spurs game, which would involve air fare, rental cars, hotels, not to mention a likely elevated ticket price, only to find four of their top players were not there, not because of injury or suspension, but simply because of a discretionary all by their coach, I'd be pissed.

It was a nationally televised game, a potential Finals preview and a great opportunity to market the game early in the season following last season's lockout shortened campaign. The top players should have been there. If they are tired, tough shit, suck it up and play. Reduce their court time if necessary, but at the very least they have to travel with the team, and ideally play some if not all of the game, not to mention being available for interviews, autographs, pictures, and other fan friendly things.

I think it sets a poor precedent for the future to let things like this go unpunished. If teams selectively decide who will play and why, with no apparent concern for the fans, I think we all know who suffers.

As I said, 250,000 is a bit steep, but financial punishment is definitely warranted.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

Going by what I heard on ESPN throughout the day, I understand Popovich's reasoning behind resting Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli, and I agree with his decision. It's an eighty-two game season, and you have to expect a lot of wear and tear. Duncan, Ginobli, and Parker aren't getting any younger, and they may not be the most exciting team to watch, but the Spurs still have a legit shot of being a serious contender in the Western Conference.

Pop is looking at the bigger picture. Keeping San Antonio's version of "the big three" healthy is crucial, if they want to make a run towards the title next year. So in the grand scheme of things, a win over the Heat in November isn't going to secure a playoff spot.

 

[The Brain]

Stern said part of the reason for the fine was because the Spurs didn't tell the league, media, or the Heat that they were going to rest those players in a timely fashion.

Are they required to do so? I wasn't aware that a coach had to inform the league, media, and especially their opponent of their intentions ahead of time. There are twelve guys on the active roster so all that should be expected is that any five of those twelve are on the floor.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Popovich is just looking out for the best interest of his team. He knows his players better than anyone. Duncan's been injured in the past and Ginobili seems to get injured almost every year. He's looking at the long-term picture. He played them reduced minutes due to the shortened season last year and it worked out pretty well. He'll probably do it this year and I have no problem with it. Really, the only people who would be mad by this are the few Spurs fans in Miami and the few who traveled from San Antonio to Miami.

 

[Nate DaMac]

What if Pop were to have said that he didn't play his starters because he thought that the Heat would play down to the competition and he'd have a better shot with his backups? It's plausible, hell, it happened. San Antonio almost won.

It's not the commissioner's job to weigh in on a coach's decisions.

 

[Alastor]

It is ridiculous. What if a bench player performs better than a regular starter and the coaches make line up changes? Will the organization get fined for not playing the 'star'? A team that built a deep bench should have the option to start whoever they want.

The message I get from this fine is it is OK to play players to their limits and then have them miss games due to injuries but it is wrong to not take preventive measures and let them miss a game or two to avoid them getting hurt due to playing with fatigue. Same net result of stars missing a few games.

Stern is just throwing a hissy fit because Pop decide to tell him how unfair the schedule is towards Spurs this season in a very public manner. We all know how Stern react to people that disagree with him.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

Are they required to do so? I wasn't aware that a coach had to inform the league, media, and especially their opponent of their intentions ahead of time. There are twelve guys on the active roster so all that should be expected is that any five of those twelve are on the floor.

Judging by what the reason Stern gave, there probably is a rule of some sort that the coach has to inform everybody else what players they are sitting or playing. I'm curious to know when Stern would have expected Popovich to tell him. It also says something that the Spurs B-team almost pulled off a win against the Heat. Shows how great a coach he is.

 

[The Brain]

Fans pay a lot to attend NBA games, especially if they have to travel from far away to get there to see it. I think they have a reasonable expectation to see the elite players, and sitting players for such a trivial reason as they are too old and tired is silly.

They can have a reasonable expectation to see elite players and have the right to be upset if they don't but I think it's understood that on any given day any given player could be benched. I understand being upset as the situation was not ideal but I don't think a punishment was necessary.

Duncan and company are older, but they are hardly decrepit, and unable to play four games in five days. They get paid a lot of money to play professional basketball, and I think they have a responsibility to suck it up and play for the fans.

That's up to the coach. I'm sure the players were more than willing to play. I understand your point of view but let's be realistic. I highly doubt many (if any) people spent a lot of money flying across the country to see an NBA game in November. The Heat fans got to see their guys and the Spurs fans will get to see theirs.

I live in an area where there are no professional sports franchises and so if I want to see pro sports, I have to travel to do so. I can assure you that if I had flown from where I live to see the Heat/Spurs game, which would involve air fare, rental cars, hotels, not to mention a likely elevated ticket price, only to find four of their top players were not there, not because of injury or suspension, but simply because of a discretionary all by their coach, I'd be pissed.

But would you make such elaborate travel arrangements for a random game in November? Probably not. Maybe for a playoff game in May. The stars would be in that game.

It was a nationally televised game, a potential Finals preview and a great opportunity to market the game early in the season following last season's lockout shortened campaign. The top players should have been there. If they are tired, tough shit, suck it up and play. Reduce their court time if necessary, but at the very least they have to travel with the team, and ideally play some if not all of the game, not to mention being available for interviews, autographs, pictures, and other fan friendly things.

I get it. It wasn't ideal. Was a rule broken? I honestly don't know so if a rule was broken please inform me. If a rule was not broken there should not have been a punishment.

I think it sets a poor precedent for the future to let things like this go unpunished. If teams selectively decide who will play and why, with no apparent concern for the fans, I think we all know who suffers.

I think the punishment sets the poor precedent. Now coaches are going to have to worry about how the league my punish them for how they want to run their team. Popovich shouldn't have to be concerned with variables such as a national television audience when trying to decide what's best for his team. The rules should be the same for a national game against the Heat or a random game against the Raptors.

 

[Richard Blonoff]

They did break a rule. I mentioned it in the spam section, it basically says that no one who is associated with the league may make a decision that does the league and the fan base a disservice. My issue is that if this rule were strictly enforced, Stern would have to fine himself multiple times over.

I totally understand where he is upset, but I can't escape the feeling that he is upset because four name players were out of a prime time game, so he issued to fine to made sure he still got his money.

 

[hatehabsforever]

They can have a reasonable expectation to see elite players and have the right to be upset if they don't but I think it's understood that on any given day any given player could be benched. I understand being upset as the situation was not ideal but I don't think a punishment was necessary.

Sure, on any given day, any player can be benched. But not pretty much the entire starting core! Four of the top guys, all withheld from the game at the coach's discretion, with no advance notice to the fans. And not just benched. Totally absent. Not even traveling with the team. No potential for entry into the game if their services were required (which in this nail biter of a game, would have been beneficial to the team). No warm up session for the fans to observe. No autograph or photo opportunity. No pre or post game interview. Just total absence from the entire game. And just because they are old and tired? Jesus, they've only played 17 games so far this season, how tired can they be? I could see it if it was late in the season and they wanted to rest their guys a little prior to the playoff stretch. But in November? Unacceptable. I hope when this season is over, they lose out on home court advantage by one game. Lets see how meaningless this game is then, and how astute a coaching decision it was.

That's up to the coach. I'm sure the players were more than willing to play. I understand your point of view but let's be realistic. I highly doubt many (if any) people spent a lot of money flying across the country to see an NBA game in November. The Heat fans got to see their guys and the Spurs fans will get to see theirs.

I would say that fans do travel from great distances to see professional sports, I've done it personally. Last year I took my son to Boston in October to see a Patriots/Jets game and a Bruins/Lightning game. Less than mid season for football, game two of the season for the NHL. I specifically chose those dates because I wanted to see the Patriots play against a quality opponent in a meaningful game (in retrospect, the Jets aren't a great example of this ). I would have been very disappointed if Brady and Welker didn't play because they were old and tired. Especially if I didn't have advance knowledge that they weren't playing.

But would you make such elaborate travel arrangements for a random game in November? Probably not. Maybe for a playoff game in May. The stars would be in that game.

See above.

I get it. It wasn't ideal. Was a rule broken? I honestly don't know so if a rule was broken please inform me. If a rule was not broken there should not have been a punishment.

According to Yazloz, a rule was indeed broken. Sure, I imagine this rule has been broken before. Doesn't make it right though.

I think the punishment sets the poor precedent. Now coaches are going to have to worry about how the league my punish them for how they want to run their team. Popovich shouldn't have to be concerned with variables such as a national television audience when trying to decide what's best for his team. The rules should be the same for a national game against the Heat or a random game against the Raptors.

No one is questioning the way a team is coached per se, and no one is advocating taking coaching decisions out of the hands of the head coach. They shouldn't have to worry about the league micromanaging how they run the team. Just don't sit your entire starting core for a suspect reason, and preclude them from traveling with the team, and there should be no problem at all. Look, if Duncan had sat out, and sat on the bench in street clothes, while the other guys played restricted minutes to minimize fatigue, I'd have no problem whatsoever. But concerns about age and fatigue for the entire starting unit, in November, 17 games into the season, I think that's absurd.

I'm shocked no one else sees it this way. I fully expected to be in the minority here, but I can't be the only one with this viewpoint, can I?

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I am sure Turner and Disney love having the NBA on it's networks. I am sure they would love to find an excuse to find a way to have the NBA on it's networks at a cheaper rate. That time the Spurs pulled all their stars against the best team in basketball might give the networks ammunition to not pay ask for as much in their net contract.

I am also sure the advertisers were not happy and will remember this.

Stern had to make a statement. $250,000 is nothing for a basketball organization, teams pay more than that to have a guy sit on the bench all year. The Spurs should just be thankful the NBA didn't suspend Popovitch or take away draft picks.

The fact that it is just Habs and I on the same side of this argument against the world scares me. Please convince me to jump to the other side of this argument.

 

[Megatron]

Stern overstepped his boundaries and simply did it because it was a prime-time game against the NBA champs. If it was against Orlando he wouldn't have fined them a dime. And if he's gonna fine the Spurs for doing this, he should do it to all older teams that rest their stars even late into the year before the playoffs start (Boston, LA, etc.) otherwise Stern looks like a complete hypocrite. Although that's not a surprise he's being a hypocrite.

And a suspension/fine on Pop for resting their players in ONE marquee game in an 82 game season? C'mon, GSB. You're better than that.

 

[DirtyD79]

I fail to see just what the big deal here is. So what should he do whenever he decides when the game is pretty much a squash and they've already got it won to put in some backups? Should he hollar up to the commentators' booth "HEY EVERYBODY! I"MMA PUTTIN' IN MAH BACKUPS!!! IF YAWW CAME TO SEE JUST THIS GUY IT'S SAFE TO GO HOME NOW!"?