Skip to main content

If Popovich is the "Godfather of Load Management", Brad Stevens is the Godson


San Antonio head coach, Gregg Popovich, has been at the helm of the Spurs for a quarter-century, and his troops almost always seem to be in the fight for another Title. Pop has five Championships and three Coach of the Year awards to his credit.

So Popovich wants no credit, and conversely, no blame, for becoming the "Godfather of Load Management". I give him the credit. He sat his stars, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli, to prolong their careers. And it appears the Celtics Brad Stevens is following suit.

Some NBA fans feel they deserve to see their stars in action, either in person or on television. I see that as another symptom of "instant gratification". They want to see Lebron James and Kevin Durant out on the court, even if they have a nagging injury or their careers may be cut short.

Soft tissue injuries are plaguing the League, and the "Out Indefinitely" and "Out For Season" reports are mounting. Brad Stevens has hopped on the Load Management bandwagon, making sure that his players, particularly the stars of his team, are hopefully healthy and rested for the post-season and will have lengthy careers.

Flash back to the Celtics 2008-09 season when a serious knee injury to Kevin Garnett likely prevented a repeat of the 2008 Championship. And a second injury to The Big Ticket may have hampered his play enough in the 2011 post-season to put a stop to The Green's Title hopes once again.

I am all in on the Load Management idea "spurred" on by Coach Pop. Stevens is savvy and knows the value of such a protocol, so expect to see Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and other Celtics players sitting out a significant number of games up to playoff time.

 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the town police force. When evil and cleverness reside in the same mind, the st

In defense of Marcus Smart

 Let me make it clear first of all that I am totally against making a threat of any kind that even hints at harming, or certainly killing, another human being. Marcus Smart was wrong in doing so in the Celtics loss to the tanking Oklahoma City Thunder , and he deserved the one-game suspension. But to be honest, part of me loved that it occurred. . This type of thing can happen when a player gets to a point "beyond frustration" and is having a bad game. Marcus and his teammates have been under-performing generally - were in the process of losing to a pathetic-and-tanking Thunder team - and Smart was having a bad game . And he let loose verbally at the closest target - an NBA official. Wilt Chamberlain did a similar act versus referee, Earl Strom when Wilt was having his usual tortuous time at the free throw line (per Chicago Tribune's Sam Smith): ''He was in one of those 1-for-13s,'' recalls referee Earl Strom. ''Nothing was getting close. S

Did the Celtics Kevin McHale really have a wingspan of 8-feet?

According to many sources, the Celtics Kevin McHale did indeed have an estimated wingspan of 8-feet. One of those sources is Wikipedia, as seen below: Kevin McHale American basketball player DescriptionKevin Edward McHale is an American retired basketball player who played his entire professional career for the Boston Celtics. He is a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, and is regarded as one of the best power forwards of all time. He was named to the NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. Wikipedia Born: December 19, 1957 (age 61 years), Hibbing, MN Wingspan: 8′ 0″ Height: 6′ 10″ Spouse: Lynn McHale (m. 1982) NBA draft: 1980, Boston Celtics (Round: 1 / Pick: 3) Hall of fame induction: 1999 Number: 32 (Boston Celtics / Power forward, Center) Kevin was listed at 6'10" tall when he was drafted with the 3rd pick in the 1980 draft. Red Auerbach, in yet another heist, brought in both McHale and center Robert Parish (via trade) prior to the Celtics' 1980-81 Champion