I have always had a lot of respect for San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. He is a tough defensive taskmaster, but generally a smart, honest guy with his heart in the right place. And he has always been a player’s coach, but his decision to not play a perfectly healthy Tim Duncan and Tony Parker on Tuesday night against Portland when the Spurs were already depleted by injuries to Manu Ginobili and Tiago Splitter meant that he was intentionally putting a scrub team with little chance of winning on the court (the Spurs lost by 40 points, 137-97). And that is an insult to your opponent and your fans, and a slap in the face to the NBA and the game of basketball.

What coach Pop did was simply cowardly and he should be ashamed. Both coach Pop and all the players are paid many millions of dollars a year to play basketball, and if they are healthy it is their RESPONSIBILITY to be on the court. It is obvious from Popovich’s comments on why he fielded a team of scrubs that he was trying to send a message to NBA management about all the back to back games on this year’s schedule, but doing so at the expense of the fans and the league is certainly not appropriate, especially given that the Spurs were riding an 11-game win streak. Plus the Spurs have Wednesday off, so Tim and Tony were already going to get a full day of rest!

I can guarantee you that Pop has heard from David Stern and the league office about his stunt. I personally think a steep fine and a one or two game suspension would be an appropriate penalty for Pop, but any disciplinary procedures against Popovich will probably not be be made public, and he will likely get no more than a slap on the wrist and another black mark in David Stern’s personal files.

Portland sprinted out to a 41-23 lead against the depleted Spurs, the most points they have scored in a quarter all season long. Things just got worse for San Antonio from there as they simply did not have the talent to compete. The Spurs went into the locker room at halftime down 22 points, and were down by 48 points at one point early in the fourth quarter.

Kawhi Leonard was the leading scorer for the Spurs with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Danny Green added 16 points and 5 boards. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points and 7 rebounds for Portland, and Jamal Crawford chipped in 20 points and 8 assists.

San Antonio drops to 23-10 on the season, and the loss snapped an 11 game win streak. It was the Spurs first loss in eight games on their Rodeo Road Trip. The Spurs get to rest on Wednesday before traveling to Denver to take on the Nuggets on Thursday, February 23. Portland moves to 18-16 with the win, and plays back to back games as the Trail Blazers travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets Wednesday night.

Clayton Browne lives in Austin, Texas and is a big-time NBA fan. He follows both the Spurs and the Mavs closely.

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