Pop's bold move and Stern's harsh reaction

Oh, that zany Gregg Popovich.

In case you missed it, Pop sent Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Danny Green home before the Spur game in Miami for no reason other than to give them a night off to rest and recuperate at the end of a long road trip.

Good? Bad?

I’d say far more bad than good but I can certainly see his point.

It is disrespectful of the game, the opponent, the paying customers to pull such a prank.

There is a covenant between franchises and the people from whom they take money: You give us a lot of cash and we will entertain you; athletes are as much performers as athletes and I honestly think teams owe best efforts every night. It’s basically cheating the people to do otherwise.

But it’s not like Pop hasn’t done this before and, truth be told, I can see his point at some low level. He has to do what he thinks is best for his franchise and if we’ve come to learn anything about Popovich over the years, it’s that he doesn’t give a rat’s ass what people think.

Now, we can debate whether a night off in November will have any consequences in April, May or June – I’m quite dubious of that – and the Spurs did take the Heat to the final seconds before losing so the game turned out to be quite entertaining.

Was Popovich right to do what he did? I don’t think so. But there is a “plausible basketball rationale” for sitting four starters, I guess.

However, it was David Stern’s rather harsh rebuke – “I apologize to all NBA fans. This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming” – that got me.

While it is entirely within his purview to levy fines and if he’s ticked off there’s no reason not to let people know but I’m wondering why now?

Where was he when the Heat were taking “maintenance” days for their best players down the stretch of last season?

Where was he on other nights in other seasons when Pop gave his best players the night off for no reason? Remember the night in Toronto when Duncan didn’t play, a move chalked up to DNP-Old in the boxscore?

Where’s the commissioner late in every season when teams blatantly tank games, an egregious slap in the face of fans who paid money to see games.

But maybe that’s it?

Maybe, since there is no appetite to change the format for determining lottery odds, Stern is firing an early-season shot across the bow of all 30 teams, a very public warning that tanking games late in the season will not be tolerated.

I don’t know that to be true but I can see it being a small bit of the reasoning for all of a sudden coming out and publicly rebuking an organization that’s done almost exactly the same thing with no repercussions in the past.

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Now I find out this has been National Peanut Butter month?

We all know these salient facts about peanut butter, which is often the snack sandwich of choice around Casa Doug.

It should be smooth, not crunchy.

It shall be eaten on bread, not toast or crackers.

And it should be eaten on its own, not encumbered by jam or bananas or even butter or margarine on the bread.

I’m right, right?

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Yes, Mickael Pietrus (and I apologize now for the number of times I will type his first name incorrectly in the future) will officially sign his new deal with the Raptors today; the second that Dom McGuire clears waivers and there’s a roster spot for him.

I don’t know if he’ll be in uniform tonight – I would suspect yes – but no, he will not make a major difference. He is, however, an upgrade and teams should always be looking to upgrade their talent.

And, no, he’s not going to take minutes away from Terrence Ross so don’t sweat that. He is going to replace McGuire, who gave them nothing and it will allow Dwane Casey to use Ross where he’s best suited – at the other wing position, where he can guard shooting guards.

It’s a good move, not a great one, he’s not exactly the dynamic break-down three they’ve needed for, well, for ever, but he’s probably better than what they had.

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Even as I type this, I’m sure there are stock boys in grocery stores all over crazily putting out new supplies of razor blades.

And all I can say is: Thank whatever deity it is that you worship that this month is coming to close.

Yes, I understand entirely that the fund-raising for Movember is significant and we all know that every dollar counts.

But how about this:

Today, sometime, everyone who grew a moustache but shouldn’t have takes a picture of himself.

And on Halloween next year, he – or she – shows that picture to all their friends and loved ones and says: “If you donate the same amount as last year, I promise I won’t grow another one of these things?”

Sound like deal?

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Mail? Please.

Long flight to Denver tomorrow to work on stuff for Sunday so it’d be nice to have something to do.

Oh, and I don’t know who told me about Homeland other than Not Grace Kelly but thanks.

I’m about 30 minutes of the last episode before I’m finished season one – Brody was about confront Carrie at the police station when the flight attendant made me shut the iPad Mini down – and can’t wait to see what season two is like.

Click. Write. Send.

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Pretty busy day for David Stern, as it turns out.

Before lashing out at the Spurs, he hit Boston’s Rajon Rondo with a two-game suspension for his fight with Hump the night before and levied a handful of fines, too.

I think Rondo got off easy, too easy. I understand the heat of the moment nature of those scraps but the underlying facts in my contention that he should have been suspended for at least five games is that he wasn’t even involved in the original Hump on Garnett foul (I guess I could more easily accept Rondo’s reaction if he’d been fouled) and the recidivist nature of his behaviour.

Precedent would have suggested a longer suspension, too.

But when I first heard it, I though David had gone a bit soft; hours late the Spurs thing happened and I realized he hadn’t.

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Comments

[Drew]

Hey Doug, not sure if you saw it but there was a wonderful Feschuck article in the Star today about the Bhullar brothers and how they are already basically 'legends' in India. Have you ever seen these kids play? One of them is 7'5, plays on a March Madness team (New Mexico) - seems like the East Indian Yao Ming - or am I wayyy to ahead of myself?

Blogger's note: Have yet to see them play live; so cannot form an opinion

[Geoff Read]

Bush league move by the Spurs - a show of blatant disregard for the paying customers. Stern had to respond. It's one thing to rest one of your stars every so often to get them rested for the playoffs, it's another thing to run out your second stringers as though they're your starting 5.

I just wanted to respond to some of the posts yesterday, having just skimmed the thread. Look, I sometimes feel like Doug's a little too supportive of Raptors' management too - but he always tries to back up his perspective with a reasoned argument and evidence. The fact some of you/us don't agree with his reasoning doesn't give people the right to insult him or to write letters to his boss calling for him to be fired. Get a grip people - behave with some civility. Behave like grown-ups.

On another note, I see Rondo got two games, proving once again that the NBA has one set of rules for its stars and another for everyone else.

[SFJ]

Pop's move was clearly aimed not only to preserve his core guy's play time but more than that - to the very Stern's schedule team. If you can schedule a team that's on the 4th game in 5 nights - on the road - against a champion team with the core in their prime, at home and rested for FIVE days (Miami's last game was the previous Saturday) - then THIS is the most disrespect the NBA can show to the Spurs. Well done Pop. I LOVE it.

[PC]

I watched the Miami Spurs game last night and Lebron defended the pick n' roll a few times quite interestingly. He would be guarding the big and when the pick happens and the "show" takes place, he would not only "show" hard but almost full on sprint out at the dribbling guard. The few times he did this really scrambled up the dribbler. It was neat to see.

I wonder if we could be seeing a new development in the evolution of defending the pick n' roll. When we watch Big Val and Bargs "show" hard tonight on Dragic, I will be thinking of Lebron and what if they hang tight for the pick to set and then surprise "show" with a burst of speed.

[Rob]

David Stern needs to get his head straightened out. If he wants to force teams to compete and NOT tank games, then implement a system which does NOT reward teams that lose over the ones that are trying to win.

Case in point, the raptors: Had they lost the last game last season against the nets, and maybe one more late in season, we would probably have slipped 3 spots up the draft.

And sometimes, a top 2 pick can turn a deadbeat franchise into a dynasty for years, along with all the $$$ value that comes from it, for the owner, the businesses in the area, and the season ticket holders, future playoff revenue, etc etc.

To ignore this fact, and keep harping on teams "you must compete and try to win every game or else" is completely ridiculous......and frankly a bit insulting, we are not that stupid. We all know there is a giant elephant in the room, in the shape of a top 3 pick like Lebron James, Shaquille O neal, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Kevin Durant, Hakeem Olajuwon, Micheal Jordan.........and to lesson your chance to land one of these superstars for your team, and insist on winning a meaningless end of season game when you are already 21-60 is completely counter logical. Face facts David!

So instead of just harping, how about a solution to the yearly tankfest that is the NBA last 2 months of the season. I just spent, ohhh, less than 2 minutes thinking this one up. I am sure the bright minds in sterns office can think up something better if you give them a week and they actually tried to do something about it.

Make these changes:

- Still slot the teams into draft positions based on the overall records.

- for lottery balls however, award each non-playoff team from 10 balls to 23 balls based on record

- after that, award each non-playoff team a further 2-3 balls for every victory in the last 22 games, or post trade deadline.

- limit the lottery to top 2 spots, instead of 3, in order to only have bad teams slip at most 2 spots down the order.

This would encourage teams to win down the stretch, especially if there is a top notch lottery prize waiting. And the bad teams do also get help in that they will at least pick within 2 spots of their position.

Under this setup, the potential reward to win games down stretch is much bigger than the benefit to lose, and yet it still helps the bad teams by slotting them into reasonable draft positions.

My 2 cents.....

[Tom]

Peanut Butter, Nutella and banana wrap every morning with my coffee. Yummm!

[Steve]

"Pietrus will help. First off, he's I believe a .350 career 3 point shooter. This alone is huge for the Raptors at the 3 position."

Ahh yes, the 179th best career shooting percentage of all time. That will turn it around. I know you meant in comparison to the players we have (not saying much), but I just thought it was funny that was seen as a plus.

[Cluck Kent]

Movember? Good on all the guys who participated. It's great to see that some people are still thinking about people other than themselves. Not nearly enough people volunteer or contribute to the betterment of our society. Did I grow one myself? Nope. Would I make fun of those who tried? Nope.

Peanut butter? I love crunchy and I love it even more on toast than bread, and I do enjoy a little butter with it. But let's thank God we all like different things. Imagine if we all liked the same food and the same colour and the same characteristcs in a mate...might just as well move to Flatland and be done with it.

[S.R.]

After watching the Heat/Spurs game last night... I'm convinced Pop should be the MVP of the league. Who cares if he is a coach! For them to almost beat the Heat is remarkable.

Honestly though, would David Stern really have a issue with what San Anotonio did if it was against the Raptors or the Bobcats or someone like that? It's a big issue because it's a marquee game on TNT.

[511]

Reading the ESPN story on Popovich, at the end of the story it read "the Heat, like many teams, use a dynamic ticket-pricing system. Tickets for the game against the Spurs cost more than tickets against other lower-profile teams in the league."

Feel silly saying it but I did not know that this existed.
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Pop said his decision to send the four home was to have a better shot at winning the Memphis game on Saturday and I'm sure it was. But it's fun to think that maybe a part of the reason was to make a statement to Stern about the schedule.
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NBA deputy commissioner Adam Silver said, last April while a similar Popovich incident was in play: "The strategic resting of particular players on particular nights is within the discretion of the teams … Gregg Popovich in particular is probably the last coach that I would second guess."
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The more I know of Gregg Popovich, the more I like him.

[Steve]

Just for fun have a look at the starting line up for a Celtics V Heat game in April [1]:

Miami
=====

Mario Chalmers
Dexter Pittman
Mike Miller
Udonis Haslem
Shane Battier

Celtics
=====

Avery Bradley
Brandon Bass
Ryan Hollins
Sasha Pavlovic
Paul Pierce

Bosh, James, Wade, Rondo, Garnett, Allen didn't even dress for this game and as far as I know they were not injured. Where was the mock outrage from the commissioner then? Weren't the fans in Boston ripped off?

Seems to me like he's only huffing and puffing because Pop made this call earlier in the season than most coaches would. If they are going to open the can of worms that is fining teams for not playing starters I sure hope they are going to be consistent.

[1] http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201204240BOS.html

[DC]

great inforgraphic in the sports section of the star today, comparing the raptors historical record after the first 16 games and where they finished at the end of regular season. This season stands out as the second worst start in franchise history (twice they started 1-15 and did not turn it around dramatically) and the statistics clearly place this squad in the bottom five of the league. Time to panic? that was soooo two weeks ago. just enjoy the slide into oblivion the rest of the winter, sports fans. This is, after all, about diversion and entertainment. If you are interested in star-powered athletic competition, teamwork and a commitment to professional excellence, maybe you should become a fan of the spurs. Toronto basketball fans should be content with bobble-heads and cheese pizza slices.

[james]

As someone (Shaq?) pointed out on the broadcast, Popovich plays chess while the rest of the league plays checkers. Aside from any comment he was making on the schedule (as nicely detailed by SFJ), I agree with Rob.V that he was strategically demystifying Miami for the rest of his roster ("see, you can play with these guys").

Around here, the spouse of the house prefers crunchy with celery stalks or apple wedges, but she seems determined to live forever. Smooth on toast for me, so we have two jars at all times.

[kathyt]

Peanut Butter & Raspberry Jam ... yummy
Peanut Butter & Honey ... yummy
Peanut Butter & Nutella ... yummy
Peanut Butter & Banana ... yummy

However, I must say that I've never ever heard of anyone adding butter or margarine onto their sandwich... that's just plain wrong & yucky.

Crossing my fingers for a Raptors win tonight.

[Gerry Tanner]

Actually the two best additions to peanut butter and bread with butter is
1. a pure milk chocolate bar. and
2. slices of raw spanish onion.
It doesn't get any better than that.

[Mike D.]

@PC, what you're describing is actually what Andrea did against the Spurs' final pick-and-roll to force last Sunday's game into its first OT. And yes, it shocked Tony Parker into almost bobbling the ball out of bounds (might have been even more shocking coming from Bargs).

@David in Oakville, I think you're directionally accurate with your proposed disclaimer but I suggest a slight modification to "Warning: reader comments may contain nuts."

@Lorie, I think your PB recommendations are excellent but now I'm going to spend the rest of the work day thinking of peanut butter on ice cream and it's all your fault.

Doug, I agree entirely with the smooth PB and plain bread. On reflection, though, I really don't agree with Stern (or you) on this issue for the simple reason that I think the league already waaay overemphasizes stars instead of good basketball, and Stern has now taken that bias one step further. As @Lorie correctly points out, fans watching that game were treated to an outstanding contest in which a well-coached but star-free team narrowly lost to the fabled Three Kings (all of whom played starters' minutes). If Pop had sent Duncan etc home and the Spurs had lost (say) 105-30, I might see the need for sanctions.

One more word on the PB front: one of my local constituents developed an early taste for PB and cheddar sandwiches.....sounds terrible but it's actually surprisingly good. But it's prepared using smooth PB on plain bread, of course.

[DMcG]

If Pop is making a statement about the schedule, what can the Raptors organization do about theirs? Pop is shouting about 4 games in 5? HAHA In this early season, the Raptors are the only team that has dealt with that TWICE already, and are now dealing with 3 in 4 prior to a 5 game in 8 day West road trip! Could they possibly have made that schedule uglier? That freaking schedule belongs in the insanity of last year's compressed schedule fiasco.

[Rob.V]

After that, award each non-playoff team a further 2-3 balls for every victory in the last 22 games, or post trade deadline.
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Rob, Interesting suggestions and the league needs to look at it however what if a team like the Raptors loses their best player (like a Chris Bosh) by breaking his face with only a few weeks left in the season. They surely will lose games... and unfairly lose balls because the chances of winning are slim.
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Peanut Butter, Nutella and banana wrap every morning with my coffee. Yummm!
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Tom, Dude! forget Prostate Cancer!!!. I'm gonna wear my Daniel Day Lewis special for you to bring some light to the fact that you've got some major!! clogged arteries on the way and most likely only have 3 months to go brother. lol!.
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Ahh yes, the 179th best career shooting percentage of all time. That will turn it around. I know you meant in comparison to the players we have (not saying much), but I just thought it was funny that was seen as a plus.
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Steve. That is kind of funny isn't it. We've just picked up the 8000th best 3 point shooter in league history and I'm jumping up and down!... only a silly Raptors fan like me would be this optimistic.
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On the BB side though (and nothing against Mcguire) however he hadn't scored a point since 2010-2011, I'm not sure he has made a 3 point shot in his entire career... and I'm not sure Fields had made a 3 this year either (which is even more disappointing).
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Pietrus looks like the 2nd coming of Larry Bird in the 3 point contest to me right now compared to what we've seen this season. Hey, it cant get any worse (we'll get drilled by 40 tonight).

[Gary Mugford]

Doug, Doug, Doug,

I don't know what terrible thing happened to you in your childhood that caused you to deny yourself of peanut butter and toast, but go to a professional and get it talked out. One of the GREATEST late night snacks ever, is arranging for a mug direct from the freezer, filled with milk, the rime of almost ice forming on the top, combined with two slices of white (was it the horribility of whole wheat?) bread toasted nicely to firmness, slathered with a good covering of Kraft Smooth Peanut Butter, waiting ten seconds after the toasting is done to avoid total meltdown on the peanut butter, but liquifying just enough that you avoid stick-to-the-roof complications ... I pause to clear my impending drooliness.

Talk to a professional Doug. This is clearly stunting your snacking growth. It's Friday. So, after the game tonight, and before I turn in, I'll be enjoying the heaven-sent snack I've described above. Then, once my lactose intolerance has kicked in, I'll pay for it all weekend. But that moment of nirvana tonight will be worth it.

[GM]

I don't think there's any precedent for what Pop did last night. Sure, teams have rested stars before but never four out of the top five scorers and never just sent them home. They had to at least be sitting there on the bench with their teammates. It made me wonder what those that didn't get a day off felt like, particularly the one top five scorer who had to stay and play. I wonder if that will build resentment on the team. Pop could easily have given those four players heavily reduced minutes like he would in an exhibition game, and maybe sat Duncan completely. He was clearly making a statement. And it was a statement I agree with! Look at me, I'm all over the map. If this makes the league do something about the frequency of games, I'm all for it. But for now, I still think the Spurs should be fined heavily and maybe even suspend Pop.

I'm about to blow some of your minds here, but try it: peanut butter and mandarin orange sandwich. I know, when I first heard of it from a family friend when I was a kid, I was repulsed. And then I tried it. I've been eating them ever since. And I don't add margarine! But when I eat just a plain peanut butter sandwich, I do. The "butter" in peanut butter isn't actually butter. It's the process of mashing up the peanuts, turning it into butter. Plain peanut butter without margarine (or butter) needs a lubricant or it's too hard to swallow.

[Steve]

"I don't think there's any precedent for what Pop did last night. "

Well, except when he did exactly the same thing last year.

Blogger's note: No one's ever sent four starters home before the end of a road trip

[D-Mac Ottawa]

No coach wants his/her GM telling him/her how to best strategize, manage minutes, rotations, injuries, discipline, etc., etc. To have a commissioner do so is nothing more than high-handed meddling.
Had a very strong feeling that if things started going south early on this season, all the eager trolls would come crawling out of the woodwork and have a field day turning the moiling masses on each other... and here we are... I'm still watching and reading from a distance, but I'm not big on cannibalism. Hope everyone's getting their rabies shots... the frothing and ankle nipping is getting pretty fierce.
Cheers. Have fun. And try bread-and-butter pickles with your peanut butter sometime when you're feeling frisky. Go Raps!

[Mario]

One item this article didn't consider was the intensity of the schedule. Since 11/17 San Antonio played 7 games leading into the game at Miami. The Heat played 3 in the same time period.
By no means this is the Heat's problem, clearly the NBA schedule needs work.

[jwss]

Doug,

Kenny Smith made a good point last night about the slippery slope David Stern is embarking on. Kenny asked what's next? Will the league start mandating how many games star players must play, or how many minutes they have to be on the floor?

[m chan]

Doug - now you have really gone too far with your opinions - Crunchy Peanut Butter on already buttered toast is better than the Raps making the playoffs!