| Losing To Win Authored by Elliot Cole - December 20, 2007 - 7:02 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Breaking Down The 2nd Round After a somewhat surprising first round of the 2008 NBA playoffs, we find ourselves with even better match-ups in the Round of Eight.
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Tony Parker has missed the last 4 games for the Spurs due to a sprained ankle (which, according to Greg Popovich, is more of a heel injury). Tim Duncan missed 4 games of his own because of leg injuries from a November game with the Portland Trailblazers. Sub Francisco Elson has also missed games because of a leg injury. Robert Horry missed the first 17 games of the year due to personal reasons, and is still playing his way back into shape.
With their Finals MVPs Duncan and Parker out, Manu Ginobili stepped into the premier player role, scoring 37 points in two straight games against the Mavericks and Jazz despite an injured thumb. The scoring and playmaking burden would eventually wear out Manu, who admitted in a recent interview, “I don’t feel as good as I did two weeks ago. I feel tired." His minutes, normally hovering around 28 a game, have reached 33.1 per a game over the last seven.
This is where most teams rush back their starters to stay in the hunt for the top seed in the playoffs. This is usually where we see Dirk Nowitzki or Amare Stoudemire play around 40 minutes a game to stay competitive with playoff opponents, trying to fight like hell for homecourt advantage.
As for the Spurs? Well, in classic Popovich form, they don’t give a %#&*.
Tim Duncan logs a modest 32 minutes a game. Manu Ginobili clocks in at 29.9 minutes a game, consistent with the team’s efforts to keep him under 30 during the regular season. At only 25, Parker is the workhorse of the group with 34.3 minutes a game.
Compare those numbers to superstars on other contenders: Kevin Garnett (35.5 minutes a game), Paul Pierce (38.2), Steve Nash (34.8), and Dirk Nowitzki (36.5) all play significantly more minutes a game when compared to Duncan and Ginobili. Only the 33 year old Nash comes close to the much younger Parker.
The reasons that Popovich doesn’t play his trio of stars major minutes is simple. Keeping Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker fresh and healthy for the playoffs has long been an imperative for the Spurs. The organization doesn’t rush back their players, understanding that the oldest team in the NBA will have several nagging injuries during the course of the grueling season.
The Spurs won’t admit it, but they essentially sacrifice a few games here and there so as to keep their players fresh. They’ll give their stars occasional days off while using their bench extensively…even in games they are losing. So why aren’t other teams doing the same thing? Phoenix is in no risk of missing the playoffs, but they still run their starters ragged. Same goes for Boston, who plays the likes of Pierce, Garnett, and Ray Allen mucho minutes despite being involved in more blowouts than any other team.
It could be that the coaches of other teams think that homecourt advantage means more to their respective teams than it does to the experienced Spurs. But we’ve seen the Suns flame out for three years straight, and the weary Mavs seem to be mentally fragile come June. The only contender that has mimicked the Spurs minute budgeting is the Detroit Pistons, who has been keeping all of their starters below 35 minutes a game (they are also the only current team that comes close to the Spurs’ sustained excellence).
The Spurs are the model franchise of how to manage superstars, and other teams should start taking note. Otherwise, the Suns will set again, the Celtics luck will run out, and the Mavs will get startled come the war of attrition that is the NBA playoffs.
Elliot Cole blogs about the Spurs at www.thesilverandblack.blogspot.com. He can be reached at elliot.cole@yahoo.com |
