Yet we had 21 points off turnovers to their 18. A single stat does not tell the whole story of a game.
Not sure why it matters either way going into the playoffs. Every team gets extended rest and then after the first game they have the same exact game schedule. If a coach wants to give his star players limited minutes in a game that doesn't matter, that is up to him. Regardless of both sides of the argument, our last game matters so we need a win and we should just expect everyone to play hard. "You play to win the game" (unless you're tunchi) - Herm Edwards
Seventeen turnovers and a porous defense argues it was far from the Blazers' best effort. The Blazers shot well, but allowed the TWolves to shoot 49% for the game. The "defense" on the crucial last play was abysmal.
It wouldn't make sense to rest players, but not because they have only 2 games in ten days, and not because "fans pay big money to see them play", and not because they're "paid to play 82 games", and not because they're not old.... but because they still actually have something to play for. If Memphis and Dallas were to lose again before we play, then it makes sense to limit the starters minutes against Denver, although I'd definitely play them some to keep their rhythm. It was two days rest and the Blazers have been good overall on two days off, so I wouldn't read too much into the Minny game. As far as rest/rust, the last time they had an entire week off they destroyed Goldenstate and Lillard put up 51.
Depends on how you count it. Seventy-two hours between tip-offs, but yeah, 2 days off in between. Potayto - Potahto. I wouldn't read too much into it, either. As I noted, I was just playing contrarian with my initial post. There's definitely a balance to be struck between getting enough rest, particularly at the end of the season, and playing enough to stay sharp. I'm all for giving guys who are dinged up time off or fewer minutes at the end of the season. That said, the Blazers are a young team and the rest issue is less important than it would be for an old team like the Spurs. The Blazers still have something to play for and I think it would be insane to not play the regular starters on Wednesday and end up with a first-round matchup against the Thunder instead of getting the Clippers. Neither's going to be easy, but I have zero doubt that the Blazers will have better odds against the Clippers.
We should rest our best players for the games we're going to lose and play them the games we're going to win. That's 38 games this season that Stotts failed to rest our best players and give big playing time to our worst players.
So let me get this straight....These guys get paid to play the games and fans pay the money so there is no reason they should get tired? During the NBA season there are a number of times the team is simply worn out and they don't play well. That is due to fatigue. It happens. Fans like me don't like watching sub par basketball. No body anywhere is arguing about the last week. Where most were talking about rest was the month of March which is now over and yes they have plenty of time to rest. But look at the schedule and the win loss column not to mention stats and you will see a team that was very very tired and needed rest. Not just that but the chance of injury increases with tired play. That is proven fact. There are many that would prefer a 66 game season with no B2B's at all. It would make the season better and the games mean more. The quality of play would increase and the injuries would decrease. Problem is the almighty dollar and the league needing the revenue.
Yeah I really like the idea of a 66 game season. It would hurt the dollars in the short term but long term I think it would benefit the league and eventually make them more money. If fans knew every basketball game really mattered and players really gave it their all the sport would grow. The playoffs have insane ratings and the teams play hard with their best players. The playoff seeding battles would be much closer too with the fewer games. Currently the last 20 games half the league is either out of the playoffs or nearly locked into their seed. The NFL is exciting because games make a huge difference and players give it everything they have. The rest is getting to be really bad this season, its a growing trend. I think its a much larger problem than the hack-a rules. I'd expect at the least they cut a couple weeks out of preseason. They could eliminate 4 in 5 nights; and reduce back to backs. I just see the owners and players as too short sided to reduce the number of games even though that would be best for the sport long term.
