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get rid of david stern already

Nymr83 Nov 30 2012 12:15 PM

The dictator of the NBA has now declared, retroactively of course, that teams can be sanctioned for choosing to rest their players during a primetime televised game! The nerve of popovich trying to keep his stars fresh! I know your tv sponsors aren't happy David, but its just not ok to tell teams who to play and when.

Kong76 Nov 30 2012 12:40 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Not a huge Stern fan, but this time he's right. You should field your best team for all 81 games or however many it is. If I was a Spurs fan and they came to my home town once a year, I want to see the whole team ... not 3/4's of it and no stars.

Frayed Knot Nov 30 2012 01:00 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

I'm with Kong on this one. It's not that a team can't rest their stars and such but SA sent four of their biggest stars home at once, a big difference from limiting minutes or even sitting a guy or two on the bench in street clothes for a night. I'd fine their asses too. The bigger problem which pits the bench coach against league mgmt is that this situation points out the utter meaninglessness of much of the NBA regular season. Coach Popovich's actions in this case all but admit that there's no reason for him to care about last night's non-conference game when the league's over-blown playoff system and wild gap between the haves and have-nots allows good teams like his to virtually clinch a playoff spot by Thanksgiving. Stern, on the other hand, has to take the stand that all regular season games are meaningful with the price they charge both their TV partners and the fans in attendance.

Nymr83 Nov 30 2012 01:05 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

I completely disagree. The goal is to win a championship, not beat a non-conference team on thursday night in November. If a team believes they are best served by sitting some guys on some nights that's their perogative. Guys get days off just to rest in baseball all the time, and baseball is FAR less physically taxing. They do this in the NFL too and to the same extent. Since the NFL only plays 16 games you won't see it until week 17 when a team has actually clinched, but there is no reason not to pick your games strategically like Popovich did. Edit- FK, teams shouldn't be forced to pretend games matter if they don't. The league needs to MAKE them matter (I know they won't reduce playoff team$ but give bigger advantages to higher seeds) I attended the last game of the Jets season a couple of years ago at home against Buffalo, staring Kellen Clemens and Joe McKnight! I wasn't bothered by it, despite what I paid for the seats. I was actually UPSET they had Sanchez in on the first series to handoff 3 times before hitting the bench! Why bother?

Edgy MD Nov 30 2012 01:10 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Frayed Knot wrote: Coach Popovich's actions in this case all but admit that there's no reason for him to care about last night's non-conference game when the league's over-blown playoff system and wild gap between the haves and have-nots allows good teams like his to virtually clinch a playoff spot by Thanksgiving. Which is GOOD! Go, Poppy!

metirish Nov 30 2012 01:11 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Stern is an asshole , but the NBA is just about unwatchable for me....how many here actually tuned in to that game? I just find it a complete bore. I remember when I first came here in '94, the NBA had been on Irish TV for several years, maybe late 80's.....wow, what a game to watch....great players and great defence too......MSG often show Knicks V Bulls games from back in the early 90's....I would rather re-watch that than watch the current stuff. Sorry for going off point.

metsmarathon Nov 30 2012 01:15 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

this happens all the time in baseball. got your struggling 5th starter going against an ace in the midst of a long stretch of games? sit your veterans and see what the young'uns can do.

Frayed Knot Nov 30 2012 01:19 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

I understand Popovich's reasoning and I agree that a season structure that encourages it is the real problem. But I also understand Stern's angle that playing 81 games at a reasonable effort needs to be a priority and sitting 4/5 of your starters (not even having them in the same time zone) for game 16 of the season is not reasonable effort.

Ceetar Nov 30 2012 01:20 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

metirish wrote: Stern is an asshole , but the NBA is just about unwatchable for me....how many here actually tuned in to that game? I just find it a complete bore. I remember when I first came here in '94, the NBA had been on Irish TV for several years, maybe late 80's.....wow, what a game to watch....great players and great defence too......MSG often show Knicks V Bulls games from back in the early 90's....I would rather re-watch that than watch the current stuff. Sorry for going off point. I don't really watching basketball, though I've considered occasionally flipping on the Nets. Not sure what's particularly unwatchable about it though besides that I'm so totally not invested in it and I certainly wouldn't watch a random game. The coach is about winning games. He can and should do whatever he wants towards that goal. if the organization and league want to make this happen less, they need to deal with the rules and format to make it so. The marketing of the league/team should be geared towards the players/game, not the other way around.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Nov 30 2012 01:30 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

See, I'm partial to Knicks-Bulls games from the '90s, but that's because I'm biased. Most fans with eyes would probably agree that today's game-- all else being equal-- is a much, much more entertaining game than the mid-1990s' hand-checking-and-intentional-hammering-loaded edition. Oh, and how the hell does Stern know what the best lineup is for a particular team at a particular time? Is he going to be checking every game's starting lineups from here on in with a PER chart in hand?

A Boy Named Seo Nov 30 2012 01:32 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

I get this move completely & it doesn't bug me at all. The Spurs are an old team playing their 4th road game in 5 nights and have arguably the best team in the West (Memphis) waiting for them Saturday. Pop's sent his dudes home before in similar situations and never caught so much shit. His quote was great: "We've done this before in hopes we're making a wiser decision and not a macho decision." I'd also add that even if you've got a playoff spot locked up early, homecourt in the Association is still HUGE. The regular season is anything but meaningless, especially for a quarter of the teams who are jockeying for that 8th spot. BTW- The Heat had been off 4 days straight. Stern - fine your schedule maker while you're at it.

Edgy MD Nov 30 2012 01:43 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

"Sports leagues have an implicit waiver against anti-competitive behavior. (Except baseball, which has an explicit waiver.) We need you to pretend to act more competitively!"

Vic Sage Nov 30 2012 02:21 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Nymr83 wrote: I completely disagree. The goal is to win a championship, not beat a non-conference team on thursday night in November. If a team believes they are best served by sitting some guys on some nights that's their perogative. Guys get days off just to rest in baseball all the time, and baseball is FAR less physically taxing. They do this in the NFL too and to the same extent. Since the NFL only plays 16 games you won't see it until week 17 when a team has actually clinched, but there is no reason not to pick your games strategically like Popovich did. Edit- FK, teams shouldn't be forced to pretend games matter if they don't. The league needs to MAKE them matter (I know they won't reduce playoff team$ but give bigger advantages to higher seeds) I attended the last game of the Jets season a couple of years ago at home against Buffalo, staring Kellen Clemens and Joe McKnight! I wasn't bothered by it, despite what I paid for the seats. I was actually UPSET they had Sanchez in on the first series to handoff 3 times before hitting the bench! Why bother? This. Completely and utterly this. WOW, i totally agree with Nymr over FK... the end must be near.

A Boy Named Seo Nov 30 2012 05:00 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

$250K fine. That's some bullshit, yall. http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/86958 ... ng-players

Kong76 Nov 30 2012 05:40 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

The whole thing really wasn't all that big a story ... until the quarter million dollar fine was handed down. That's f'n absurd!!

Gwreck Nov 30 2012 08:23 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

This is unconscionable behavior...by the league. A team must be allowed to make its own strategic decisions with respect to roster management. If they think this is going to help them win a championship, good for them.

metsmarathon Dec 01 2012 01:20 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

when a team tanks a year in the hopes of freeing up cap space or snagging a sweet lottery position, that's fine and dandy, but heaven forbid a team give up on a game they were likely to lose anyways. bullshit.

Kong76 Dec 01 2012 02:52 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

The fine is over-the-top, but still can't believe how outraged some people are at the commish over this. "You play to win the game." Taking a knee before tip-off is lame. Guess that's just me. Maybe Stern got some Heat from the mob. I'm sure sitting four stars in a 'marquee' game without telling anyone in advance was not a good thing for the bookmakers.

A Boy Named Seo Dec 01 2012 09:38 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Hey, Spurs had some gas in the tank down the stretch! Blow past a great Grizzlies team in the 4th & beat 'em in OT. Pop knows a thing or two about a thing or two.

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr Dec 01 2012 09:52 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Kong76 wrote: The fine is over-the-top, but still can't believe how outraged some people are at the commish over this. "You play to win the game." Taking a knee before tip-off is lame. Guess that's just me. So... starting catchers and left fielders with balky knees should never sit during Sunday matinees, right?

A Boy Named Seo Dec 01 2012 11:04 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

In the end I'm more annoyed at Stern's sanctimony in acting on behalf of the poor, gypped fans. He cared about the fans (AKA nat'l TV audience) insomuch that he didn't want them to change the channel during that game, affecting ratings and maybe some jersey sales, and that's really the $um of it to me. Tall order to beat Miami on the road and if you do, so what. You still want/need home court in the West on the way to probably playing Miami again in the Finals anyway. Still think Pop was 100% right on this & they got a key, in-conference win tonight against one of their biggest challengers.

Ceetar Dec 02 2012 07:50 AM Re: get rid of david stern already

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Kong76 wrote: The fine is over-the-top, but still can't believe how outraged some people are at the commish over this. "You play to win the game." Taking a knee before tip-off is lame. Guess that's just me. So... starting catchers and left fielders with balky knees should never sit during Sunday matinees, right? they can sit during Sunday matinees, just not if it's a Sunday Night ESPN game.

Kong76 Dec 02 2012 07:54 AM Re: get rid of david stern already

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Kong76 wrote: The fine is over-the-top, but still can't believe how outraged some people are at the commish over this. "You play to win the game." Taking a knee before tip-off is lame. Guess that's just me. So... starting catchers and left fielders with balky knees should never sit during Sunday matinees, right? Likening it to that is a bit of a stretch. No?

Nymr83 Dec 02 2012 09:13 AM Re: get rid of david stern already

Hey, Spurs had some gas in the tank down the stretch! Blow past a great Grizzlies team in the 4th & beat 'em in OT. Pop knows a thing or two about a thing or two. This win is dedicated to you Stern! I loved sportscenter pointing out how the guys who sat out in Miami all played more than their season avg minutes (before OT), stick it to Stern.

Kong76 Dec 02 2012 11:21 AM Re: get rid of david stern already

Another stretch, the end doesn't justify the means.

Vic Sage Dec 02 2012 09:26 PM Re: get rid of david stern already

Likening it to that is a bit of a stretch. No? no.