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Gregg Popovich’s decision not to play his stars against Denver has drawn mixed reaction from baskstball fans.

• One of our readers, Jimbo, questions the logic: “I’m not a fan of this move Popovich pulled, especially since it cost us the tie-breaker against a Western Conference rival. But doing this on a regular basis will mean that we can kiss a top seeding goodbye - in this super-competitive Western Conference, home court will count for much. And also, I don’t think we want to let go of the #2 seed and face the risk of facing the Lakers in the second round.”

• Matthew Powell, of Pounding the Rock, sees the coaching decision as a disrespectful gesture toward David Stern and his scheduling cronies:

In case you don’t know what this is all about, let me fill you in. The Spurs beat Golden State in OT late Monday night. They played again Tuesday in Denver, and Pop benched their three best players; Duncan, Ginobili and Parker all sat out. Ginobili’s absence was loosely linked to a hip contusion. Pop didn’t even use fake decorum for his other two stars, saying:

“Parker makes the All-Star team, becomes hard to deal with, so we’re going to sit him and teach him a lesson,” Popovich joked. “Duncan says he wants to renegotiate his contract, so I said, ‘Sit, I’m not talking to you.’ “

Jesus, Pop. Why didn’t you just say “Hey Sterny, you can bite me!”

This whole charade looks awful. I’m sure Pop will pull it off, but I doubt David Stern forgets it. The Nuggets definitely won’t. Professional athletes look for any reason to play the disrespect card, and Pop basically handed Denver a deck full of them.

• Powell and Jimbo share the same concerns about home court advantage, and Powell backs himself up with a few noteworthy stats: “Pop loves to downplay home court advantage in the playoffs. I know I’m pointing out the obvious, but HCA is hugely important in the playoffs. Even for the Spurs. Over the past six playoffs, the Spurs are 42-13 at home and 26-25 on the road. During the past three championship years they won a total of two series in which they did not have HCA. Who did they beat? Phoenix, both times. Phoenix! A team entirely designed to lose to the Spurs in the playoffs.”

• Pat Cassidy of Dime wonders if the Spurs didn’t cheat NBA fans: “Watching the Spurs might be the equivalent of watching paint dry, but that’s still not right. There are probably lots of kids in Denver who for whatever reason love Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and their parents swallowed the $500 or so it costs to take a family to an NBA game and when they get there, Popovich decides he’s sitting all of his stars? Not cool. The NBA is an entertainment product. People pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch that product. Unless those guys are physically unable to perform, they have to play.”

• Brett Pollakoff of Fanhouse raises this question:

“If Ginobili was injured, that’s one thing. But my question is this: why bother fighting so hard for an overtime victory if you’re basically going to concede the game the following night by sitting all of your best players?”

“It’s not like these back-to-backs are followed by two more the day after tomorrow or something. The Spurs, in fact, have five days until their next game — a Sunday matinee against the Celtics. So what appears to have happened is, with Ginobili already sidelined, Popovich didn’t think his team could win in Denver anyway, so he basically said “screw it,” conceded the game, and gave his stars the night off.”

• Skeets:

Ep. 385: Torn Labrums, Broken Arms And Hip Contusions from The Basketball Jones on Vimeo.

• Roundball Mining Company reads between the lines and sees a little voodoo: “I guess they do not consider the Nuggets to be much of a threat. Then again, I could see Popovich playing mind games with the Nuggets where should the two teams face off in the post season both teams know that San Antonio pummeled Denver in the one game where Parker, Duncan and Manu all played. Maybe that mental edge is worth preserving.”

• Matt Moore’s heart hurts for Ime.

• And Henry Abbott tries to bring it all together: “Instead, he wants to win, and this is part of some master plan. So I’m OK with it. Arguably the best coach in the NBA is the one who is least wedded to having top players kill themselves game in and game out. That could be the ultimate proof that the NBA season is too long for its own good. However, here Popovich has surely offended those who bought expensive tickets to see the mighty Spurs, as well as fans of teams who hoped Denver would lose for playoff positioning reasons.”

• Update: John Hollinger.

Here’s the really weird part: The Spurs have four days off before playing in Boston on Sunday, and next week they get the All-Star break.

OK, now for the part I can understand: Duncan and Parker played 43 minutes and Ginobili played 35 in an overtime win in Golden State the night before. That game started at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time; the one last night in Denver started at 6 p.m. Pacific, so the team only had 22½ hours between games and a very long flight; going Oakland to Denver is about as far-flung a back-to-back sa you’ll see. Throw in the altitude and it was going to be a very rough night for the Spurs’ three stars.

Popovich also manages the big picture as well as any coach in the league, which is why his teams always hit their peak in the spring. So you have to respect his track record in this department.

Nonetheless, this game in particular was an odd time to make this choice, as it could end up putting the Spurs on the road in the second round of the playoffs.

One other idle thought: I’m not sure if Spurs fans are upset by what happened last night. But I guarantee Blazers fans are.

• Update No. 2: J.A. Adande is a smart dude.

• Update No. 3: Tom Ziller.

• Update No. 4: Jeff McDonald lends his perspective.