Popovich Fires Back At Sarver Apologizing To Phoenix Crowd For Spurs' Absent Players Oct 18, 2014 7:37 PM EDT Gregg Popovich responded Saturday to Robert Sarver, who grabbed a mic late in Thursday’s exhibition game to apologize to the Phoenix Suns' home crowd after five San Antonio Spurs players missed the game. “As I said, the silliness begins," Popovich said. "Most wise individuals would check facts before they made statements. Unless you’re interested in putting on a show. In that case, the facts get in your way, as in this case. “We had five guys we didn’t send: Patty Mills had a shoulder operation. Tiago Splitter has been out the whole preseason. Kawhi Leonard was out and is still out for 10 more days. The other two, Duncan and Ginobili, are two of the oldest guys in the league who just came back from a 13-day European trip. “The only thing that surprises me is that he didn’t say it in a chicken suit. I’ll just leave it at that.” http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...ing-To-Phoenix-Crowd-For-Spurs-Absent-Players this is reference to this: Way to go Pop! Call it like you see it!
Players don't owe it to you as a fan to suit up EVER. There are times when I can wholly understand being pissed about not being able to see your favorite players, and I didn't buy tickets the last time LA was in town because I was fairly sure Kobe wouldn't be playing (he wasn't). That said, this is a preseason game.
i'm with pop on this one first off, it's preseason and second of all, the spurs will do what's best for the spurs. not what's best for the suns fans
How many titles do the Spurs have under Pop? How many titles do the Suns have with Sarver in PHX? There is a reason one side is seemingly always playing deep into the playoffs, while the other is worried about their satisfaction rate.
I think Pop is mostly right, but he does take it to extremes with his guys. When I lived in NorCal, I went to GS games regularly, and I would have been pissed if I paid good money to see MJ and the Bulls only to find that he was being rested for the playoffs. Some of these stars get a quarter million per game, so that implies that you show up if you're remotely healthy. You can't save yourself for the finals when you make that much. You have to f'n show up.
It's pre-season! The Spurs were an old team 5 years ago, of course Pop is going to closely manage the minutes for his players - especially in meaningless games.
So I hear Kawhi Lenard wants a max deal. Umm... Good bye, Kawhi! Let's see how far you'll go without the Spurs making you into who you are.
I don't think it's fun for fans when Pop holds his best players out for rest during real games, but they just went to 2 Finals in a row, won a title, and are the most consistently good franchise from '99 til now. So he knows what he's doing, clearly. This is preseason though, so I agree with him here. I used to go to one Lakers preseason game a year here in Anaheim at the Honda Center, and I did not go in expecting to see the stars play many minutes at all, if at all. One year Kobe was hurt, the others he played, but mostly it was the guys trying to make the team, you really shouldn't pay for a preseason game expecting more than that.
