Doc Should Follow Pop's Example

[Snakehead]

The Spurs were playing their third game in four nights, were down 18 at half to a younger Rockets team, and Duncan clearly didn't have it (1-8 from the field with 1 rebound in the first half) and Popovich decided to not play Duncan at all in the second and instead let his young legs get experience and eat up the minutes.

Fran Blinebury wrote up a great piece about the decision on NBA.com:

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/12/29/pops-surrender-right-move-for-spurs/?ls=iref:nbahpt1


This is a great example of why Popovich is such a great coach.  Doc is too, but in the Hornets game he should have followed this same exact plan with KG, who was struggling just like Duncan was.  The Spurs compare with us probably better than any other team in the NBA and this season with the way games are crammed in you are going to have nights where the old guys are just tired and you can't force it.

Even if you wanted to play KG or the other older players in the second half, there is just no reason to have KG in half way through the 4th when we are getting blown out.  Give the young guys minutes.  How was JJJ not hitting the floor earlier?

Hopefully Doc watched this move and follows a similar plan.  Health and fresh legs are what is going to let our team make noise in the post season.

[33-00-32]

I don't really understand Doc's methods. I know he will say 'they're just not ready'. Of course they're not ready, no summer league, no preseason, no practice...! Why not let them learn on the job? Most people say that's the best way to learn anyway. It's not like we're going to be having a lot of practices in the future. I really hope that once we can get that first win Doc will ease up a little and play everyone he has available to him.

[Fafnir]

I agree, KG might need games off completely to stay healthy in this compressed schedule.

[Eja117]

He needs to sit JON too, and even Ray and Rondo when getting blown out

[Snakehead]

He needs to sit JON too, and even Ray and Rondo when getting blown out

I didn't address Rondo but you're definitely right including him.  The guy put in so much effort against New York and Miami and played huge minutes.  He is young but you can't run him into the ground like that.  I think Rondo's drop off last year was dude to nagging injuries and fatigue, and the injuries very possibly were fatigue related from playing so many minutes.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't know about playing time, but I don't see why he kept the starters on the floor until the 3 minute mark in a blowout in all honesty.

He's always relying on our starters to bring us back into games, and if by some miracle they get into striking distance, he keeps them on the floor, but usually for a loss.

What you do is let the bench play. If they get you in striking distance, then sure go back to your starters if needed be to see if you can steal the game. But this thing about putting them early in the 4th quarter really stinks, particularly when Doc has no notion when enough is enough.

I've been a Doc appologizer for years, but some things about his style really bugs me. What's funny is that he seems to be aware of the problems, but it's all talk. Never seems to deliver.

[j804]

I've been saying this which is why I started the thread, Doc is not going to our bench enough.

[FatjohnReturns]

Doc should follow lenny wilkens example and just retire.
We are outcoached by almost every other coach in the
league every single night.

[Inside-Out]

I love Pop, but agree with Doc on this one.  They just had quite a bit of time off; more time off won't fix the problem.

Instead, he should follow Red Auerbach's example.  Russell asked for a practice off because he was tired, and Red gave it to him.  The guy was playing 46 minutes every night, and needed and deserved it.  Then, next practice, Red rode Russ' ass for the entire session.

These guys are professional athletes, after all, the closest mortal thing to Superman.

[BballTim]

I don't know about playing time, but I don't see why he kept the starters on the floor until the 3 minute mark in a blowout in all honesty.

He's always relying on our starters to bring us back into games, and if by some miracle they get into striking distance, he keeps them on the floor, but usually for a loss.

What you do is let the bench play. If they get you in striking distance, then sure go back to your starters if needed be to see if you can steal the game. But this thing about putting them early in the 4th quarter really stinks, particularly when Doc has no notion when enough is enough.

I've been a Doc appologizer for years, but some things about his style really bugs me. What's funny is that he seems to be aware of the problems, but it's all talk. Never seems to deliver.

  The Miami game was purgatory in the 3rd quarter, not getting very close but not getting down far enough to give up on the game. That killed us in the NO game.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I don't know about playing time, but I don't see why he kept the starters on the floor until the 3 minute mark in a blowout in all honesty.

He's always relying on our starters to bring us back into games, and if by some miracle they get into striking distance, he keeps them on the floor, but usually for a loss.

What you do is let the bench play. If they get you in striking distance, then sure go back to your starters if needed be to see if you can steal the game. But this thing about putting them early in the 4th quarter really stinks, particularly when Doc has no notion when enough is enough.

I've been a Doc appologizer for years, but some things about his style really bugs me. What's funny is that he seems to be aware of the problems, but it's all talk. Never seems to deliver.

  The Miami game was purgatory in the 3rd quarter, not getting very close but not getting down far enough to give up on the game. That killed us in the NO game.

I don't have a problem on how he handled Miami to tell the truth. I have a problem with how he handled the team against NO. You're in striking distance, you go for the win.

In New York, for example, he put KG at the 10 minute mark in the 4th quarter, by the 5 minute mark he had nothing left for us, yet we kept playing through him and depending on him defensively. It's just an unwise use of your players.

He also needs to learn on how to use dead ball moments to optimize rest for our stars. These are players who are playing lots of minutes, they're getting their rest by recently going to the bench, then we get a foul called in the final seconds of a quarter, and then he puts them back on the game for a final play. That's just idiotic to me, particularly if you're going to have them playing lots of minutes throughout the game. Let them rest, let them sit down for a while instead of having to get right back up for a single play disrupting their rest. Time your timeouts better so that it allows your starters to get extended resting time between real play minutes, etc.

[Eja117]

He needs to sit JON too, and even Ray and Rondo when getting blown out

I didn't address Rondo but you're definitely right including him.  The guy put in so much effort against New York and Miami and played huge minutes.  He is young but you can't run him into the ground like that.  I think Rondo's drop off last year was dude to nagging injuries and fatigue, and the injuries very possibly were fatigue related from playing so many minutes.

It's all fun and games till someone unnecessarily breaks an ankle or snaps an ACL. Maybe Doc learned to leave the starters in too long from the Patriots

[action781]

I'm not sure which side I'm leaning towards (I think Pops) but I don't think it's as easy of a decision to make with the celtics considering the celtics record was 0-2 at the time and the spurs record was 2-0.  Also, the celtics were down 9 at the half and 9 at the end of the 3rd opposed to the spurs being down 18.  Much easier decision for Pops to make there than Doc.

[huzy]

I hate that this but it's a product of the lockout shortened season...

Our starters are presently playing into game shape.

With such an abrupt start to the season, they are not conditioned to the point that we need them to be. This is why there is the trend of older teams (Boston, San Antonio, Dallas, Lakers) that have started so sluggish.

Doc is conditioning his starters right now and we're seeing the cost of that in their late in game fatigue.

[Snakehead]

I'm not sure which side I'm leaning towards (I think Pops) but I don't think it's as easy of a decision to make with the celtics considering the celtics record was 0-2 at the time and the spurs record was 2-0.  Also, the celtics were down 9 at the half and 9 at the end of the 3rd opposed to the spurs being down 18.  Much easier decision for Pops to make there than Doc.

1) An 0-2 or 0-3 start is really not that big of a deal in a 66 game season.  If we are that worried about record we are going to deplete ourselves before the playoffs.  The Knicks have looked pretty awful outside of Christmas day so the worries about seeding are becoming even less for me personally.

2) Did people really expect to beat Miami at home?  And especially without Pierce?  I bet Miami loses 4-5 games at home this season.

3) You're right about the difference between 18 and 9, but the lead quickly grew and every time it was about 10 we would let up more buckets and it'd be larger.  There was a point where you knew we didn't have it and certainly we didn't by halfway through the 4th.  Again, no excuse for playing KG at that point, it was just clear.



As I said, the health and fatigue of our players is so much more important than trying to steal a road game we are almost certainly going to lose.  We have a stretch here where we can pad our record against bad teams at home.  With this aging team you have to be thinking ahead and the big picture.

I hate that this but it's a product of the lockout shortened season...

Our starters are presently playing into game shape.

With such an abrupt start to the season, they are not conditioned to the point that we need them to be. This is why there is the trend of older teams (Boston, San Antonio, Dallas, Lakers) that have started so sluggish.

Doc is conditioning his starters right now and we're seeing the cost of that in their late in game fatigue.

I see what you're saying but it's a 66 game season.  They will get in shape.  With an aging team, fatigue and injuries have to be a greater concern.  The shape will come witht ime, fatigue and injuries resulting from fatigue will create problems that won't be able to be fixed.