NBA Fines Spurs $250,000 for Sending Starters Home
NBA slapped a $250,000 fine on the San Antonio Spurs for sending their best players home.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich rested his starters without informing Miami or the NBA prior to Thursday's marquee regular season game against the Heat.
NBA Commissioner David Stern termed it as a "disservice to the league and basketball fans."
The Spurs rested Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green against Miami for the final game of their six-game away trip, which ended 5-1 after a narrow loss against the NBA champions.
"The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case," Stern said in a statement. "The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team's only regular-season visit to Miami.
"The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans."
All the teams playing in NBA season are expected to inform about injury or unavailability of their players before the game, but Popovich ignored it. The league policy on resting players is "contrary to the best interests of the NBA." The policy was reviewed with the board of governors in April 2010.
Despite his team being fined because of his action, Popovich received support from former players and coaches.
"Popovich has done this before and he knows what's best for his team," former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal commented on a TV program. "It's his job to manage his players and do whatever he'd like. He's thinking about the big picture."
TNT analyst Steve Kerr, who once played for Popovich, defended his former coach's actions.
"If the NBA punishes the Spurs for sitting players, it opens up a huge can of worms," he wrote on Twitter. "This is a serious legal challenge for the league."
Celtics coach Doc Rivers believes the coach takes the decision to benefit the team and players.
"I don't like it," he said. "It's a tough one. You've got to coach your team to win in the long run and you have to do whatever you need to do. If that's sitting players, you sit players."
Stern has taken tough stand as he has to protect the $5 billion a year industry. It is in the best interest of the NBA to ensure that audiences must get the product for which they spend a lot of money. Many fans come to see their favorite players in action and if such renowned played are rested without any notice, it will have an adverse impact on the game.
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