Imagine your team is fighting for their playoff life and your star player is driving to the basket and suddenly falls in a heap to the floor. What would you do?
On Friday night, Kobe Bryant tore his left Achilles heel which brought back the question all playoff teams face this time of year: Do you continue to play your stars to get the best possible seed or rest your players to avoid injury before playoffs?
The San Antonio Spurs have always clearly had the position of valuing the rest of their players over killing themselves trying to win every regular season game while chasing a better playoff seed. Remember the first meeting between the Spurs and Heat in Miami aka "Restgate"?
However, in the second half of the season, the Spurs have been hit hard with the injury bug. Players such as Tony Parker, Boris Diaw, and Manu Ginobili all have been out for games due to various injuries and the last thing this team needs now is the injury bug to bite one of the "Big 3" before the postseason begins.
Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have been together for ten years. This familiarity allows them to go through stretches of not playing together and be able to incorporate the missing piece with minimal time needed. But this can't last long in the postseason.
Parker gets hurt in the final two games and the Spurs will not go far in th the playoffs. Duncan or Kawhi Leonard gets hurt and the same can be said. It is simple as that.
If the Spurs go into the playoffs on a three-game losing streak so be it. Although they shouldn't seeing how they play against the Warriors (tonight) and the Timberwolves at home Wednesday to close the regular season.
A healthy squad ready to go in the first round is much more important at this point of the season.
After Sunday’s game versus the Lakers which ended in a loss, the choice may be clear for the team. With the chances of catching the No. 1 seed in the West now slim-to-none, perhaps now Pop will sit his main players and let guys like Patty Mills, Aron Baynes, and DeJuan Blair get a healthy dose of playing time to ensure the key players are healthy heading into the first round.
What do you think Spurs fans? With two games left, is it time to just shut it down to avoid any injuries?
