LeBron James 'OK' with the San Antonio Spurs resting Duncan, Parker and Ginobili – NBA Update
Last night, in what the only regular season game between the defending champions Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich decided to rest his core players in Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, along with emerging
talent Danny Green. The high profile game was televised nationally, but in the end, basketball fans saw a strong Miami Heat take on the second unit of the Spurs.
Popovich’s decision has not gone down well with the NBA. David Stern, the league commissioner, has vowed to take a disciplinary action yesterday and has fined the Spurs organization a quarter million dollars today.
There has been a definite disappointment among the fans as well, who wanted to see two of the most powerful contenders for this year’s NBA title take on each other. However, reigning league MVP and the face of Miami Heat, LeBron
James seems completely OK with Popovich’s decision to give his aged superstars some rest, at the back end of a gruelling six game away trip,;
“I don’t think Pop was in the wrong,’’ said LeBron James as reported by Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida: “It’s not in the rules to tell you that you can’t not send your guys here or send your guys home. But the commissioner
will make his decision, and everybody else will deal with it.’’
LeBron scored a game high 23 points on the night and the Heat edged out the Spurs by 5. The player himself has a bit of history in this regard. At the back end of the 2009-10 regular season, Cleveland Cavaliers rested a perfectly
fit LeBron for four consecutive games, and at that time also the league was in a fix whether to impose a penalty on the franchise or not. They eventually chose not to, and that was because the Cavs has informed the league and opposing teams about their decision
well in advance.
The Spurs apparently failed to do so, and that has not gone well with the league. There has been no word from the Spurs as of yet, and considering there are no rules to stop this kind of things, they can actually challenge the
penalty.
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