Steve Kerr recently talked about the priority of resting players over chasing the Chicago Bulls’ 72-10 regular season record. The Warriors advanced to 62-6 after a 130-112 win in Dallas last night. Kerr’s team faces perhaps their most significant regular season test when they face the San Antonio Spurs for the second time this season on Saturday night.
At this point in the season, the Warriors can absolutely afford rest, but Kerr feels the pressure of Saturday night’s primetime matchup with the Spurs on ABC. He simply admits that he’s not bold enough to sit his key players for this game, via Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group:
“If I had any guts at all, I’d sit everybody tomorrow,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said half-jokingly. “It’s like our sixth game in nine nights. National TV. If I was (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich), I would sit everybody tomorrow. But I don’t have that kind of courage.
I’m in my second year. I can’t flip the bird to the league like Pop does. That’s my guy, but I’m not in that class.”
It takes several championships and a whole heap of moxie to reach Gregg Popovich’s level of conviction. Maybe Kerr will get there eventually. The Warriors will already be without Andre Iguodala, Festus Ezeli, and Kevon Looney, as well as Andrew Bogut, who injured his toe against Dallas last night. In the first matchup between these two teams in January, Tim Duncan was out for the Spurs. He’s expected to be active tonight, along with the rest of the Spurs.
Then again, Popovich could just decide to sit players before the game.
