Quote:
Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501
The problem is that now Stern has created a ridiculous blurred line between when a coach is doing this because a player has a legit injury, and when he's doing it to give his players just a little more rest. I get that Pop didn't help his matter by being so transparent about why his players were sitting.
But to the Spo example. What if LeBron really was hurt and he was forced to play then pulled his hammy in the game? What if Wade was at 80% -- what is the acceptable "percentage" for a coach to sit his player? What if Pop decided he was going to play all his guys, but the starters would only play 5 minutes. Is that acceptable?
This is what happens when the commish oversteps his boundaries. Now he sets a standard and people are always going to complain about why one team got punished and another did not.
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I agree, but I don't see what choice he had. Pop hurt the NBA product - if he doesn't get punished there, other coaches will do the same thing. Ultimately it hurts the fan's confidence that they're going to get a high quality product when they buy expensive tickets.
The 5 minute deal actually is acceptable - though shitty. At the very least, you give the fans the opportunity to voice their displeasure. Really, though, if you're pop, you sit your core players the night before against Orlando or whichever low ranking team they played NOT on national television. It's not like he didn't know what the schedule was months in advance.