I can see both sides. Kind of silly for Stern to say there are sanctions coming, in my opinion. Then again, if Pop had this planned since the schedule came out, he could have made his intentions known in order to give consumers a fighting chance at not wasting money on a nothing game.
So much for a nothing game... 71-70 Miami with 1 minute left in the third. Heat look pretty lackluster right now
Anyone else see Paul Soliai sitting right next to the Heat bench with his lady friend tonight? Kinda hard to miss him courtside.
Refs were awful. Not that our intensity was great anyway but it was like SA got pity calls and non-calls. That was almost horribly embarrassing.
Wallace kind the warning for flopping vs the Knicks he deserved. Guy is like a jellyfish out the with all the flopping he does. And then he got fined later for his role in the fracas last night vs Boston. Good for him...never really been a fan. Good for Pop. Not saying its right or "in the competitive nature of the game" but he has a right to do as he pleases. The league has NO RIGHT to tell a coach what he has to do as far as playing his players as long as its not tanking a season. Plus it fits with what Pop normally does anyway.
The Heat carried that team tonight. It ruined a game, what pop did. He should get fined. The Heat didn't even try to play tonight, then won the game when they saw they could lose.
All I am saying is that the Heat have been saddled with the Denver death trip each year, and they actually play the game, and won it this year. That was disgraceful. If you watched the game, you know what I mean.
I didnt see the game and Im not saying I agree with it. I believe you fight for everything you can possibly get. But it does fit with the same things Pop has done for the last 3-5 years. Whether he picked this game because it was a game theyd probably lose anyway is probably irrelevant imo. Stern shouldnt be telling coaches he has to play players. Sets a bad precedent
Letting a team send their players home in protest of the way a schedule is drawn up would be setting an even worse precedent. They should have dressed all their healthy players and played them as he saw fit and when he was asked why such and such didn't play, then he can make something up or say he was totally worn out....
Sounds like 6 of one half a dozen of another to me. Either way he wasnt playing his 3 studs. So whats the difference? Being tactful?
Anyway I enjoyed this read..pretty good idea of what us Knick fans are watching: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/...llaround-game-with-the-knicks-but-can-it-last
the heat are playing these close games because there trying to get wade going every game and its not working wade seems like hes really fallen off
The difference is who might watch it on TV . That's what the NBA relies on. You tell the public that your star players won't be playing a few hours before tip off and the viewers make plans to watch something else
I get that. But if the coach of a team decides to rest players on the 4th game in 5 nights thats still his call whether we like it or not. I dont really agree with it but its still not our decision.
Can this just end already? They will play again and there will be a crapload more great matchups. Get over it.
If we meet them in the Finals I think we show them up by holding Dexter Pittman out the whole series. Yeah, that'll show them.
So now at the end of the year when the Heat rest Lebron or Wade or OKC rests Durant those teams should be fined as well correct?
Because fans already think teams coast through the regular season. What kind of message does it send when a coach basically says a game isn't important in the early stages of the season?
No. I don't think you're allowing yourself to grasp the context of the situation because you hate Miami.
It wasnt a jab at Miami, it was a compliment. Whether I hate them or not I expect they will have the 1 seed. So if with say 2 games left in the regular season they rest Lebron or Wade they should be fined just like the Spurs correct? Just like OKC if they rest Durant correct? Or if LAL rests Kobe? Or if the NYK rest Melo?
No, because in that situation you are talking about teams with their seeds clinched and not much to play for. In this situation we were 13 games into the season and without any health issues and an off day before their next game. Honestly the part that bothers me is that he didn't even keep the players on the bench. They basically said "This game doesn't matter at all, go home and rest" which sends a terrible message to fans who as I said before already believe top teams coast. Not to mention the Spurs have done this before and been warned that there would be sanctions.
Let the coaches coach the team, if the owner has a problem with the benching then he should say something, if not, coach can do what he wants, and the NBA should not get involved. No other league would ever do anything like this Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Actually the no health issues part isnt really true. Green and Ginobli were battling injuries. Next time Pop should just lie I guess and say they had a 101 fever. - Hes got an older team and he should rest them - The purpose was to minimize the negative outcome. he could have rested Duncan 1 game, Parker the next, Ginobli the one after and finally Green but that would affect 4 games. - If the owner who signs the paycheck has no problem with it, Stern needs to back to his corner and stop being a baby. And the top teams do coast. He wants to add meaning to the regular season? Give them something more to play for. Or shorten the regular season so each game matters more. The reason you never see it happen in the NFL is cause its only 16 games. Baseball players get days off all the time and no one complains.
Sure, but no other league relies on individual players as much as the NBA. I certainly would be pissed if I paid to go to that game.
That is an inherent aspect to late-season games. People buy tickets knowing that the game could be meaningless, or very meaningful. Nobody buys a ticket for a November game and considers that one of the teams essentially forfeit. The NBA has always made it clear they put fan experience over almost anything. I dont always agree with it, but at least they are consistent.
K so when baseball players get a game off in late april or early may that are equally meaningless I should know that is ok then.
I don't watch baseball anymore, so I don't really know. I'm not sure how a player sitting out would affect a fan's experience.