Tribune: Thibodeau stresses players should play if .....

[BIGGIEsmalls 23]

POP!

Let's burst the "Pops rests guys myth"--For a real comparison look at what Pops was doing with Timmy when he was Roses age--that is right "running him into the ground" playing him 39+ MPG until he was 26 (largely--maybe a low year of 38.6 in there). By Pops standards Thibs isn't playing Rose enough.

Awesome way to play on the words . Also, an awesome post by you sir.


Although I disagree with you GetBuLLish, Helluva job.

Now, I'm just gonna observe the action for a little while longer:

[fleet]

^^^if you want to say Pop played Tim Duncan while he was hurt against really bad teams or during blowouts in the 4th quarter, you're gonna have to do more than quote his MPG. Proves nothing of the sort. That isn't the argument really. Quite frankly Rose's general MPG is OK. It could be lower given the Bulls point differential. Especially Luol Deng. But put the MPG aside. We're mainly talking about guys playing hurt unnecesarily against bad teams or in 4th quarters of blowouts.

[dougthonus]

Thibs is trying to build a winning culture and he has a young team that hasn't won a title yet. Resting players can possibly only be proven useful after this culture has been solidified with titles and older players.

I think there's a difference between resting players because we're concerned about them burning out and playing players who are clearly injured and having those injuries exacerbated.

I would tend to agree that resting players isn't too important, but I'd note the caveat that Rose specifically said last season he was too worn out in the ECF, so I don't think that the idea is entirely dismissible. However, the present argument should be more about adequately measuring the long term health prospects of the team and not having them aggravate injuries by playing them while they're hurt.

Just watching Rose, he looked like he was clearly hurt.

[DuckIII]

^^^if you want to say Pop played Tim Duncan while he was hurt against really bad teams or during blowouts in the 4th quarter, you're gonna have to do more than quote his MPG. Proves nothing of the sort.

While the injury thing is different (and no one can prove anything either way) the tremendously high mpg that elite players play on elite teams with great win totals and point differentials is a virtual guarantee that they played well in the 4th quarter of games comfortably in hand.

Go check the point differential and mpg for the Bulls 72 win team.

[Rerisen]

While the injury thing is different (and no one can prove anything either way) the tremendously high mpg that elite players play on elite teams with great win totals and point differentials is a virtual guarantee that they played well in the 4th quarter of games comfortably in hand.

Go check the point differential and mpg for the Bulls 72 win team.

Our guys minutes per game are not out of character with past top stars no, however a main strength of our team is our depth and also our bench. Perhaps we have more capacity to close out games we are up big in without our top guys than past teams.

That should be one of the benefits of a deep team.

[kingkirk]

Back spasms aren't something that just goes away. Playing when it's still flaring is definitely ill-advised.

If the doc clears and Rose clears it, then im fine with it.

We as posters cant make assertions about if a player should be playing or not. We are not in those guys bodies.

[LVBrian]

The owners are paying these players MILLIONS to PLAY. The constant whining by some of you guys is SO annoying.

[SHO'NUFF]

Rip was told not to play against Detroit......He didn't listen and chose to play based on his decision. That's on RIP.


...Allen Iverson would turn in his grave if he read this thread.....he's not alive....right?

[LVBrian]

Rip was told not to play against Detroit......He didn't listen and chose to play based on his decision. That's on RIP.

Rips "injury" is totally fake. It may have been real originally, but the Bulls are just keeping him fresh for the playoffs.

[SHO'NUFF]

Rip was told not to play against Detroit......He didn't listen and chose to play based on his decision. That's on RIP.

Rips "injury" is totally fake. It may have been real originally, but the Bulls are just keeping him fresh for the playoffs.

If true....that's bullsh*t!

[LVBrian]

Rip was told not to play against Detroit......He didn't listen and chose to play based on his decision. That's on RIP.

Rips "injury" is totally fake. It may have been real originally, but the Bulls are just keeping him fresh for the playoffs.

If true....that's bullsh*t!

He's old in NBA terms. I have no problem with it.

[SHO'NUFF]

He's old in NBA terms. I have no problem with it.

I do. If you're not hurt you play. This is the NBA. Do we expect him to play well during the playoffs after missing a large part of the regular season? He needs to play but play limited minutes.

[ryan44]

^^^if you want to say Pop played Tim Duncan while he was hurt against really bad teams or during blowouts in the 4th quarter, you're gonna have to do more than quote his MPG. Proves nothing of the sort.

While the injury thing is different (and no one can prove anything either way) the tremendously high mpg that elite players play on elite teams with great win totals and point differentials is a virtual guarantee that they played well in the 4th quarter of games comfortably in hand.

Go check the point differential and mpg for the Bulls 72 win team.

That was definitely the case with Duncan in the aforementioned '99 season.
Nov. 20, 1999 - Spurs beat Mavericks 106-90, Duncan plays 40 min.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 00SAS.html
Dec. 14, 1999 - Spurs beat Mavericks 111-93, Duncan plays 40 min.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 40DAL.html
Jan. 25, 2000 - Spurs beat Clippers 105-82, Duncan plays 39 min.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 50SAS.html
Feb. 1, 2000 - Spurs beat Lakers 105-81, Duncan plays 41 min.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/box ... 10SAS.html
Feb. 3, 2000 - Spurs beat Raptors 112-95, Duncan plays 40 min.

[LVBrian]

He's old in NBA terms. I have no problem with it.

I do. If you're not hurt you play. This is the NBA. Do we expect him to play well during the playoffs after missing a large part of the regular season? He needs to play but play limited minutes.

Normally I'd agree. But we all saw how quickly Rip fit in. They know the Bulls won't beat the Heat without Rip. He will be back soon. I get what you're saying, but the playoffs are what matters. Rose has signed on. NO WAY he wanted to sit out any of those games. They've convinced him it will pay off in the end.

[SHO'NUFF]

He's old in NBA terms. I have no problem with it.

I do. If you're not hurt you play. This is the NBA. Do we expect him to play well during the playoffs after missing a large part of the regular season? He needs to play but play limited minutes.

Normally I'd agree. But we all saw how quickly Rip fit in. They know the Bulls won't beat the Heat without Rip. He will be back soon. I get what you're saying, but the playoffs are what matters. Rose has signed on. NO WAY he wanted to sit out any of those games. They've convinced him it will pay off in the end.

I guess if our bench wasn't playing as good as they are....Rip would probably be out there playing. I just want RIP out there with our starters and continue building the team chemistry. I agree there is no rush into returning him to the starting lineup....but eventually he needs to get in there with limited minutes if he's cleared and healthy.

[LVBrian]

I just his age, and importance to the team, are huge factors. Rip fit in right away. Like he's been with the team for years. Nothing to worry about. I bet he's back during the upcoming homestand.

[DuckIII]

I just his age, and importance to the team, are huge factors. Rip fit in right away. Like he's been with the team for years. Nothing to worry about. I bet he's back during the upcoming homestand.

If I were to accept your theory (I don't), I would have to accept that the FO, the medical staff, and Rip are all lying to Thibs about it. There's simply no way Thibs would permit that.

[LVBrian]

I just his age, and importance to the team, are huge factors. Rip fit in right away. Like he's been with the team for years. Nothing to worry about. I bet he's back during the upcoming homestand.

If I were to accept your theory (I don't), I would have to accept that the FO, the medical staff, and Rip are all lying to Thibs about it. There's simply no way Thibs would permit that.

Look deeply into Thibs comments. How many times did he say Rose didn't have turf toe. Thibs hates it.. Every comment from him, on every injury, is day to day. He isn't on board. What choice does he have? Bulls dynasty had tons of these type of injuries. Jordan just refused to play along.

[fleet]

The owners are paying these players MILLIONS to PLAY. The constant whining by some of you guys is SO annoying.

been with us 2 days, and we have worn you out in 48 hours. Unless...........

[GetBuLLish]

I just his age, and importance to the team, are huge factors. Rip fit in right away. Like he's been with the team for years. Nothing to worry about. I bet he's back during the upcoming homestand.

If I were to accept your theory (I don't), I would have to accept that the FO, the medical staff, and Rip are all lying to Thibs about it. There's simply no way Thibs would permit that.

Here's what happened to Rip:

He wasn't fully healthy. He played. He reaggravated his injury. He wasn't fully healthy. He played. He reaggravated his injury. He wasn't fully healthy. He played. he reaggravated his injury.

Finally, the Bulls (including Thibs) realized how stupid this approach was and decided to rest him until he's 100%.

In other words, the philosophy of "If he's cleared to play and wants to play, then he should play" completely failed. Numerous times.

The owners are paying these players MILLIONS to PLAY. The constant whining by some of you guys is SO annoying.

been with us 2 days, and we have worn you out in 48 hours. Unless...........