Then he's a smart dude.

Sure. It's a business. Popovich has the right to set the lineup as he sees fit.

And so does TNT. They can simply say, "**** you, Spurs. We're not televising your regular season shit anymore."

Because that's a business, too, and they have to make money just as much as the Spurs have to win in the playoffs.

Mill took 3 straight terrible 3s.


But without stars, you likely won't close out a lot of close games.

It's a perfect analogy. You watch the heat to watch lebron, you don't go to watch them to see Norris cole. Lebron, right now, just took over the game. I'd like to have seen parker or ginobli counter, but am treated to Patty Mills.

The funny thing is this was probably better for "business" than anything else they could've done. There's an NFL game going on tonight between two good teams and now everyone's talking about the NBA.

Unless somewhere on the tickets or game program "All star players are guaranteed to play", there's no case.

Yea, unfortunately he said it before the game. Since I know you're watching it, you shouldn't pretend it was an original thought.

5 of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter are about the NBA, including David Stern. Zero about the NFL.

Yes, the heat are clearly a terrible team. It couldn't possibly be that they didn't take the spurs seriously for the entire game and then just decide to turn it on in the last few minutes.

The Spurs have never been TNT darlings (small market blues). Pop and Buford could give a **** less about being on TNT.

So? If one of those players had been traded or released a week or so ago, would this still be a big deal?

"The ad promo 2 months ago said that ____ was going to play! How dare they trade him!"

Like I said, just because the promos have the stars on their doesn't mean it's a guarantee they'll play.

Did I say they were terrible? It's hilarious that the best team in the East gets taken to the wire by our bench.

I didn't see/hear what CWebb said. Tonight is crazy w/ sports so I'm constantly flipping between NBA/NFL/NCAAB.

Injuries/trades/illness happen. The fact is all four of these guys are healthy and on the team and they didn't even travel to Miami. Conjecture about trades/injuries/etc. aren't applicable here.

And resting older veterans happens.

Danny Green is 25 years old and has started less than 100 career NBA games.

So your issue is with just Danny Green?

The heat ended the game on like an 18-6 run? My problem is they weren't trying for the great majority of the game because they didn't need to.

As a fan, that means watching shitty basketball. I might as well as just stop watching until the playoffs.

The NBA: where dictator commissioners veto otherwise fair trades and unjustly sanction coaches for resting players.

If Stern does anything to Popovich for doing what countless teams (including and perhaps especially the Spurs) have done over the years, it's a load of horse shit.

Because the Heat haven't rested LeBron and Wade before? They've done it several times over the last three seasons. The only reason this is an issue to Stern is because it's Popovich and he's doing it blatantly during a national primetime game.

ROFL Keep grasping for straws.

No, the problem is that they're putting out a clearly inferior product. This is a nationally televised, hyped game, between two very good teams. The spurs are part of the NBA. If they put out an inferior product, the NBA is putting out an inferior product. If you need to rest your players, do it at a better time. Don't do it when the world's watching.

If you're a restaurant and your chef is overworked, you give him a day or two off before the day when the food critic is scheduled to come, not that day.

A regular season game where an NBA team wasn't trying for most of it? That's unprecedented!

At least tonight you got to see one team give a full effort instead of neither of them.

At the end of the season, no one will give a **** about this game. It's the 2nd or 3rd week of the season. These games don't matter. Pop is managing for his team's benefit for the entire season. Cry some more that Pop doesn't give a **** what you think and will continue to manage how he wants.

Wait, I'm confused, what straws am I reaching for? Are you saying that was a playoff quality game?

Your name is apt.

You dumbass. That's the point. The NBA's trying to convince folks the regular season matters. Those precious playoffs don't exist if nobody watches the regular season. The spurs just took one of the few things to look forward to in the regular season and just shit on it.

People still watch. Not every game is a thriller or playoff quality. You are absurd.

Exactly! This was supposed to be a highlight of the regular season. One of those rare games where both teams do try hard, because it's a big game. Popovich has just set a precedent that none of the regular season matters at all.

This is the only game I'm going to get to see for the next few weeks because of my work schedule. And because of pop, what I got to see was patty mills pull a cassel.

Remind me to hire you as my marketing manager.

I just wasted my time watching Patty Mills pull a Cassel. You're a cruel man, my friend, if you don't see how that's a horrible fate for anybody.

Analogy fail. Patty Mills is a back up. Castle is/was a starter (well until SOC got organized).

Cassel is an insult to the word quarterback much less the word starter. So basically, what Pop did was play his starting qb in practice then sit him for gameday.

And all this time I liked Pop, but it turns out he's just the Romeo Crennel of the NBA

:LOL:LMAO

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/faqXUw2uYRg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Pop has 4 NBA rings as a result of being the Coach of the team. He wasnt the assistant coach, he wasnt a specialist coach. He is the man.

So no, Pop isnt like Romeo, not even ****ing close. Im a Lakers fan and **** the Spurs, but dude is a great ****ing coach.

Dang, was hoping the Nuggets would pull it out. At least it looks like they finally found a closer with Iggy.

Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, and Shabazz Muhammad should be a nice trio next year.

From Pop: I don't see how anyone can argue with this. It's not Pops job to make fans happy with lineups. That's probably #59586 on his priorities list.

Easily argued with. This is what I would've written back.

Ok, so it's just tough luck for me that you're knowingly going to put out an inferior product and still expect me to support you later on? Thank you mr. hunt/coach popovich. You are correct sir, I am a fan, and thus I should go f*** myself.

Perhaps the schedulers should do a better job. The Spurs had a shitty schedule and Pop dealt with it. Maybe if Stern wasn't so busy sucking la's, boston's, and miami's dicks then Pop wouldn't have had to do this so early in the season.

You are a fan, and you should live with the gameday decisions that a hall of fame coach makes.

I agree with Pops decision. He knows his team better anyone. However, i see Sterns and the NBAs side of things as well. Pop should have probably not made it so obvious he was throwing the game. He should have had his players start, then pull them after a period or two. Actually the game turned out to be better and close than many expected.

J.A. Adande ‏@jadande

The hammer: NBA announces $250,000 fine for Spurs, for...well, you know

Would they have gotten this fine if they won?

Makes no ****ing sense at all and is based on no established precedent. David Stern is a jackass.

This has to be the most questionable decision a major league commissioner has ever made.

.

The jackass thing was to send four high profile players home all at once during a national game.

The networks pay good money for those superstars to play.

Four games in five nights? Sit one each game.
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A better comparison would be sitting Kobe, pau, Dwight, AND Nash while all were healthy on Christmas day.

I don't think there would be any issue if any one of those guys had sat last night, it's all four that caused the problem
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Can't pop play whoever the **** he wants to play? It's his team. The team he had on the court was up on the heat in the final minutes. Should every team that loses to the heat be fined 250 grand?

Pop actually does this 2 or 3 times a season with the Spurs. It's nothing new. The problem was this time it was a nationally televised game between two powerhouses. If it had been a Monday night game against the Washington Wizards, nobody would have noticed or cared. I'll bet TNT bitched loudly to Stern and he was forced to act.
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I bet that must have pissed off the 3 people that decided to watch an NBA regular season game over the college and pro football games that were on last night. Don't really see how the commisioner can fine a team for who they play when the NFL doesn't fine the Chiefs for starting Matt Cassel every week for 4 years.

Absolute ****ing horse shit. The schedulers who put a marquee game at the end of 5500 mile road trip with 4 games in 5 nights should be paying this. The Heat had 4 consecutive nights off before the game. **** stern and his big market cocksucking.

You college basketball > NBA people are so cute.

I don't really watch much of either. When it's not football season, I might watch basketball if I'm really bored.

http://i.imgur.com/fgq97.jpg

Photoshopped?

Damn, Jodie Meeks went 5-5 from 3 in the first half. he's on fire

yeah, thats funny shit. Its not even close. College hoops is just ok. tournament is awesome ill give it that.

The Chiefs have made me lost interest in football as a whole. I never ever though that would happen, but i guess being eliminated from the play offs 4 games into the season can do that to people.

I love me football, but basketball has slowly been better to watch and cheer for lately.

The ruling is bullshit plain and simple. When the NBA decides who people can play the are overstepping bounds. **** Stern! I can't wait until he's gone.

Maybe the dumbest statement I've ever seen. Good job!

No, that was a rational coaching decision in the attempt to improve his team's chances in the long run. It is no different than what coaches do at the end of every season when they bench superstars for the playoffs (and yes, this occurs even on national games). Popovich has done this plenty of times before.

Not the San Antionio Spurs' priority.


It should be up to the coach how to run a specific team, not a jackass dictator commissioner.

again, stting them out is fine, but they SHOULD be with the team not apart. Thats the only thing i think is wrong. They should be there with their team.

The fun thing will be to see the different ways Pop will **** with the NBA for the rest of the year.

I can't believe they did this. I have a feeling the NBA knew it was coming, asked him not to do it, and he told them to get ****ed. They never did anything in the past. Just don't see how they can tell a team what lineup they can throw out there.

Can they start fining Scott Brooks for playing Perkins too many minutes?

Damn, Antone Jamison has 31 off the bench

Good game :)

Bought time this team started showing signs of life

Really? WTF is that? Popovich should be ble to do whatever he wanted. I don't get that at all.

Stern and his big market cocksucking what? That was WAY out there.

eh, they should be with the team. I dont get why they didnt travel, there are only 13 players dressed and 2 that cant dress and you send 4 of them home for no apparent reason. If they didnt play fine, but at least be there with your team.


Anyways, its over and Stern did what he did. lol So happy his time is coming up very soon. Next we need Selig and Goodell (Godell is a ****ing idiot)

Stern can't leave fast enough.

Can they sanction Bryan Colangelo for throwing shit player after shit player onto the court for a period of seven years?

Heat beat the Nets tonight in the battle for the Top 2 teams in the East

Wow. This Cavs game has been pretty entertaining. This team is going to be excellent next year if Kyrie can stay healthy.

Yep the Cavs are going to be a fun team to watch. They need to keep Varejao though

There is good talent ALL OVER the NBA. Even shitty teams have up and coming players that have a chance to be great players.

Its a good thing for the NBA right now.

I agree. Most of these games are going to down to the wire or OT you don't see many blowouts. Which suggests to me there is alot of parity now in the NBA.

The Thunder are playing the best team basketball I've seen them play the last 3 weeks. I'm not saying Kevin Martin is better than James Harden, but he's the off the ball scorer we've lacked. Sefalosha is filling it up from 3. Just like when Jeff Green left and Harden stepped up, the same has been true of Ibaka this year. Russ has really done a great job of finding him in the pick and roll. Westbrook is averaging 3 more assists a game. Perk has even put 2 games in a row together. I've been a Scott Brooks critic, but he's doing a pretty solid job this year. 14-4 after the trade looks pretty ****ing good.

Horseshit all the good talent was in the 80s /idiot who thinks NBA sucks

The NBA is great right now. Anyone who thinks otherwise isn't watching or isn't a basketball fan.

I can't believe I am saying this but Jeff Green has really been a savior for the Celtics of late

That is a ****ing crock of shit. Bucks getting some home cooking reffing