Official NBA 2012-2013 Season Thread

[duba169]

I'm sure the lost mystique is also part of just growing up. The lock outs in hockey are just :x

You just start seeing sports in a different perspective.

But I think basketball is one of the greatest sports and I'm tired of it looking like the WWF

 

[trynafeelmink]

Also does anybody think if it was announced from preseason that pop was going to bench his starters this would be a primetime game? Nobody cared for or wanted to see that. People want to see marquee matchups and the best talent available.

On top of it all if your a team aspiring for a Ring how do you find it suitable to bench your starters for THIS game. You only play the team twice a year could be a potential finals opponent and you don't want to give your best players an oppurtunity to beat them, Play against em and learn their tendencies?

Why not bench them against a scrub team when not on national tv

 

[Nawzlew]

Dunno if it's just me, but even without the Spurs core, I felt like I was watching any other Spurs game.

Honestly, whoever is on the court, as long as it's Pop at the helm I always feel like it's going to be a great game. Dude is a genius.



His interviews are awesome too.

 

[CP1708]

the NBA is officially more entertainment than sport. That is what I get out of this whole situation

and it's sad. I hope Adam silver comes in and puts an end to all of this. It is not pops job to worry about the sponsors, or the viewer count, it is his job to worry about the San Antonio Spurs and the San Antonio Spurs alone and to punish him for doing his job, and trying to hide behind the veil of the fans is despicable.

I get what you're saying, but imagine for a moment, EVERY team starts doin this. Every time they have a 4 in 5, they shut players down. November thru April, any game, any time. You think this is good for the league?

It won't happen, but Miami should send Bron, Wade, Bosh, and Ray home when they go into San Antonio so that their fans don't get to watch them play this season. It only happens once a year, so taking that chance away is what they deserve and Pop would be the reason for it. If they were unhealthy, or banged up, or even late in the season, maybe I could get with that, but I can't imagine MJ, Bird, Magic, etc sitting out games EARLY in the year for no reason other than "we're tired." And if it was a city that only gets to see them once a season.........That's bs man, and even tho I get what Pop is trying to do, and I do understand it, it's still a flat out cop out. All teams in the NBA deal with long road trips, 4 in 5's, 3 in 4's, etc etc.


Hey, in the end tho, Pop got his point across, he snubbed Stern, damn near won the game, rested his guys, and this is the most Spurs exposure since 07. And if it makes people hate Stern more, then I'm all for it.

 

[addict4sneakers]

Shaq finally got something right

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

You don't have to agree with something to understand why it is being done.


Pop knew he was sticking it to Stern with what he did by SENDING THE GUYS HOME! I don't think anyone can justify them not even coming to the arena. Really? Too much to ask them to put a damn suit on and sit on the bench for two hours? And Pop is a prick in the majority of his sideline interviews/post-game comments. Fine line between being funny/humorous and a straight up ****.


Stern let Pop get away with his casual dress code and his lack of a tie.....but he bought to chin check him on this one.



"Yeah this is your team alright......your team that plays in MY LEAGUE!"

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Stern is basically saying that entertainment is bigger than the players' health.

I know that you can argue how the Spurs' players didn't have any specific injuries or ailments otherwise they would've been on the injured list, but Popovich saw it better for their bodies to take off the fourth game in five nights and it was his call to make. He shouldn't need to tell his players that they need to play even though it could put them in a risky situation, if he or his players thinks such a risk exists.

 

[antidope]

the NBA is officially more entertainment than sport. That is what I get out of this whole situation

and it's sad. I hope Adam silver comes in and puts an end to all of this. It is not pops job to worry about the sponsors, or the viewer count, it is his job to worry about the San Antonio Spurs and the San Antonio Spurs alone and to punish him for doing his job, and trying to hide behind the veil of the fans is despicable.

I get what you're saying, but imagine for a moment, EVERY team starts doin this. Every time they have a 4 in 5, they shut players down. November thru April, any game, any time. You think this is good for the league?

It won't happen, but Miami should send Bron, Wade, Bosh, and Ray home when they go into San Antonio so that their fans don't get to watch them play this season. It only happens once a year, so taking that chance away is what they deserve and Pop would be the reason for it. If they were unhealthy, or banged up, or even late in the season, maybe I could get with that, but I can't imagine MJ, Bird, Magic, etc sitting out games EARLY in the year for no reason other than "we're tired." And if it was a city that only gets to see them once a season.........That's bs man, and even tho I get what Pop is trying to do, and I do understand it, it's still a flat out cop out. All teams in the NBA deal with long road trips, 4 in 5's, 3 in 4's, etc etc.


Hey, in the end tho, Pop got his point across, he snubbed Stern, damn near won the game, rested his guys, and this is the most Spurs exposure since 07. And if it makes people hate Stern more, then I'm all for it.

It definitely wouldnt be good for the league, but if it got to that point I would have no problem with him intervening. But to come down this hard on an isolated incident for the one guy who has been doing this for years is extreme, and unlike most teams we have a very valid reason for doing so, we're old.

I definitely see the other side of the argument for this one, it really is an up in the air issue, I'm just not on the side of the league for this one at all.

Stern is basically saying that entertainment is bigger than the players' health.

I know that you can argue how the Spurs' players didn't have any specific injuries or ailments otherwise they would've been on the injured list, but Popovich saw it better for their bodies to take off the fourth game in five nights and it was his call to make. He shouldn't need to tell his players that they need to play even though it could put them in a risky situation, if he or his players thinks such a risk exists.

Exactly.

You don't have to agree with something to understand why it is being done.


Pop knew he was sticking it to Stern with what he did by SENDING THE GUYS HOME! I don't think anyone can justify them not even coming to the arena. Really? Too much to ask them to put a damn suit on and sit on the bench for two hours? And Pop is a prick in the majority of his sideline interviews/post-game comments. Fine line between being funny/humorous and a straight up ****.


Stern let Pop get away with his casual dress code and his lack of a tie.....but he bought to chin check him on this one.



"Yeah this is your team alright......your team that plays in MY LEAGUE!"

This is understood by me and I hope the same is understood by everyone else, the real issue is whether or not people agree with it which I do not.

Your character assesments of Popp are off IMO, I havent heard chin check in years

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

Let's be serious. Pop could have easily rested his starters against the winless (at the time)Wizards, but he chose the Miami game to attempt to prove a point and send a message to Stern.


Stern got the message and will send one back.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Wasn't in here all day so I don't know if the news about Bynum's dispute with his neighbors in LA has been posted.
http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201211/nba-star-ugly-lawsuit-battle-neighbors
This dude is a mess man. The Sixers have waited for YEARS to get another franchise player, and this is what they end up with. That's not fair for such a passionate fanbase and city. I don't think anybody is going to know what the hell to offer this guy in the summer if he doesn't even play this season. So dissapointing that this happened with Bynum though. Him playing on the Sixers could have made things a lot more interesting in the East.

I feel for you, mainly because as a Lakers fan, I didn't see anything of his level. So to see him act like this once he finds his way to another fanbase is fairly sickening. There was a weird decision (Playmates on his shoulders after knee surgery) or questionable quote (about banks in every city) every now and then, but nothing that made me say **** this guy as a fan. Most of the stories were just blown out of proportion, like his three-pointer, which was more funny than infuriating (how many equally questionable shots does Kobe take?).

 

[jjs07]

Let's be serious. Pop could have easily rested his starters against the winless (at the time)Wizards, but he chose the Miami game to attempt to prove a point and send a message to Stern.
Stern got the message and will send one back.

Between Duncan/Manu/Parker, none of them played over 23 min vs. the Wizards. They were COASTING.

 

[CP1708]

^
Exactly, Pop could have staggered the games, chose another one, etc, he wanted to make it against the Heat, national game. I think that is Stern's biggest issue. If this was the Orlando game, Stern never says a word imo.

 

[jjs07]

Game 66 last year...

This is who the Heat put out on the floor last year vs. the Wizards (who the Wizards beat by 34)

Basic Box Score Stats
Starters MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS +/-
Eddy Curry 24:08 3 7 .429 0 0 4 6 .667 1 3 4 0 0 1 4 2 10 -20
Udonis Haslem 19:08 2 5 .400 0 0 2 2 1.000 2 2 4 1 1 1 0 0 6 -11
Shane Battier 18:46 1 4 .250 1 2 .500 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 0 1 1 3 -11
Mario Chalmers 17:05 3 9 .333 0 4 .000 2 2 1.000 0 1 1 2 0 0 3 0 8 -11
Mike Miller 16:53 3 4 .750 1 2 .500 1 2 .500 0 3 3 1 0 1 3 2 8 -9
Reserves MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS +/-
Terrel Harris 31:07 1 9 .111 1 5 .200 3 4 .750 2 3 5 3 0 0 3 2 6 -25
Norris Cole 30:55 6 10 .600 0 0 2 2 1.000 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 1 14 -23
James Jones 29:14 3 9 .333 1 5 .200 1 2 .500 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 2 8 -23
Juwan Howard 28:52 1 7 .143 0 0 0 0 1 4 5 0 0 1 2 2 2 -23
Ronny Turiaf 17:56 1 2 .500 0 0 3 4 .750 1 4 5 1 3 1 1 3 5 -10
Joel Anthony 5:56 0 1 .000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 -4
Team Totals 240 24 67 .358 4 18 .222 18 24 .750 7 24 31 11 7 5 22 16 70

Where was the outrage from Stern? Oh, that's right...it wasn't on TNT.

Stern's agenda on this is as transparent as that Marques Houston suit.

 

[senorroboto2k5]

Let's be serious. Pop could have easily rested his starters against the winless (at the time)Wizards, but he chose the Miami game to attempt to prove a point and send a message to Stern.
Stern got the message and will send one back.

You could say that he should've rested his players against the Wiz and it's a pretty legit argument. But we don't really know why he chose the Heat game to rest his starters; maybe they showed fatigue after the Wizards game, maybe he chose to play his best players in a surefire win rather than "waste" their bodies on a possible loss against the champs in their gym, and maybe he presented the players with a choice of which game to take off and Miami was their answer. If any of those were the case, they'd be valid reasons why he chose Miami of all games. It's possible he just wanted to be a **** to Stern like you said - and my arguments why Pop had every right to do this would go out the window - but that would be guesswork.

 

[CP1708]

J's, that game don't count cuz it was the end of the season, just before the playoffs. If Pop did this April 14th, that's not a big issue.

It's NOVEMBER 29th. How the **** his team "tired" after 15 games? (I get the 4 in 5, every team goes thru those each year)


Here's the best part, Tony Parker leads the Spurs in minutes per game, 31.7!!!!
Duncan is at 30.7
Manu 23.8
Green 30.9

And they went home after 15-16 games? Parker now has already missed 2 games, Manu his 3rd. Tim and Green their first.


Pop ain't foolin nobody, he was sendin a message as well as resting his core. Again, if he did this same thing but kept the guys in uni, just DNP's, non issue. If they was on the bench in a suit, non issue. If they sat out the game before on local tv, non issue. Pop chose a national televised game, and TNT games are HUGE to the NBA and everyone in this thread knows that. We all watch every single Thursday.

 

[duba169]

He could have played them because the heat are known for playing down to their competition. Maybe he thought he could steal one that way?

Who is stern to say he is wrong? It almost worked!

I don't remember stern being mad when the Knicks through away two years to go after the 2010 free agent class. I was pissed when Marburg was thrown away like trash for a player who isn't as good as him. Where was stern? You think I wanted to see doo doo instead of starbury?

 

[al3xis]

J's, that game don't count cuz it was the end of the season, just before the playoffs. If Pop did this April 14th, that's not a big issue.
.

right, because this was on National TV the game before

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AvslqBFSPZaNC69xzzRy58LJPKB4?gid=2012042402

 

[solarius49]

He could have played them because the heat are known for playing down to their competition. Maybe he thought he could steal one that way?

Who is stern to say he is wrong? It almost worked!

I don't remember stern being mad when the Knicks through away two years to go after the 2010 free agent class. I was pissed when Marburg was thrown away like trash for a player who isn't as good as him. Where was stern? You think I wanted to see doo doo instead of starbury?

dog I almost cried reading this

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

Between Duncan/Manu/Parker, none of them played over 23 min vs. the Wizards. They were COASTING.

But they still showed up to the game and fans were able to see them.




I'm not even sure what folks are arguing or debating in here.


There are two guys here (Stern and Pop) who did/said things under a thinly veiled disguise.....and while things cannot be proven, I think the majority of folks know why things were said and done.



Stern is causing an uproar of course because this was a nationally televised game. The NBA is a business (one in which he is a predominant face of running). He cares about marketing his product to the utmost capacity each timee it takes center stage.





Great points by all, I just think the stances need to be clarified.


I'm not cool on Stern flexing his muscle and fining Pop (Tony Kornheiser suggested Stern fine Pop $1,000,000 today on his radio show), but I UNDERSTAND why he feels the need to.

I understand why Pop felt he should rest his guys for his team for his organization, but I am not cool with the way he did it.


Can anyone honsetly defend not having 6 of your studs on the bench in suits? Come on man.

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

You could say that he should've rested his players against the Wiz and it's a pretty legit argument. But we don't really know why he chose the Heat game to rest his starters; maybe they showed fatigue after the Wizards game, maybe he chose to play his best players in a surefire win rather than "waste" their bodies on a possible loss against the champs in their gym, and maybe he presented the players with a choice of which game to take off and Miami was their answer. If any of those were the case, they'd be valid reasons why he chose Miami of all games. It's possible he just wanted to be a **** to Stern like you said - and my arguments why Pop had every right to do this would go out the window - but that would be guesswork.

You have common sense and logic. I like that. Someone else who can comprehend and fathom all possible scenarios without dismissing anything outright.




I think everyone can agree that it could have been handled better. It just seemed like two old guys with egos power tripping and having a pissing contest.



Hate to break it to you Pop......Stern has the bigger d*** in this scenario.

 

[duba169]

I'm defending it on principle. The commish just shouldn't have the power to tell a coach who to play. Especially when his happened many times and teams tank consistently just for a shot at a star

I guess I cannot argue that they should show up if healthy. But how does that help? Who cares of they are sitting there?

I haven't even talked about the NBA this much since the off season. So any press is good press. This got way more attention than if Duncan and Parker played

 

[clyde the glide]

can we stop acting like it just so happened to be the heat they were playing.  its quite obvious that pop used the scheduling and national audience as an excuse to stick to the league while perhaps attempting to expose the heat.  its crazy cause he almost pulled it off if it werent for ray allen.  dude just reminded everyone who the best coach is by nearly beating the world champs with a bunch of no names.  the rest excuse is legitimate but by resting all 4 of them i think he made his real intentions quite clear. it was a power move and i think that is what bothers stern the most about it.  i think this is much more about pop vs. stern than it is about resting players vs. satisfying fans. 

 

[pmatic]

Pop has four rings and fifteen straight winning seasons. Why should anyone question his coaching tactics?

 

[CP1708]

I'm not defending either side, they're both right.

Pop has every right to run his squad his way.

Stern has his right to protect the league, more importantly, his league sponsors that pay a TON of money for games like last night. (ironically everyone got what they wanted, I bet more people watched last night because of the drama than would have without it)


It goes both ways, for each of them. I don't think Stern can, or should do anything, but I assume he's going to be making some calls to all teams and addressing this in some manner at a later time. Sort of a, this is your freebie, next time, keep the players in uniform at least, etc etc. Something like that.

 

[jesusshuttlesworth34]

I'm defending it on principle. The commish just shouldn't have the power to tell a coach who to play. Especially when his happened many times and teams tank consistently just for a shot at a star
I guess I cannot argue that they should show up if healthy. But how does that help? Who cares of they are sitting there?
I haven't even talked about the NBA this much since the off season. So any press is good press. This got way more attention than if Duncan and Parker played

Trying using that excuse or rationale on your wife/significant other. Sometimes they just want you present or in the picture, even if you truly don't give a f*** what's going on.


I have to make an appearance at her work functions even though I know I don't give a damn about those folks for the most part.



Clyde get's it. This wasn't just about "rest." Message was sent......message was received and message was not liked by Stern.


Subliminals all over the place.