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God Bless You, Mr. Popovich. You just had your Poo-tee-weet moment.

Concerning Popovich’s decision to rest Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Finley, Graydon writes

Just as Beckett sought to rob the novel of the fundamental characteristics of plot, character, and setting, Popovich has robbed an individual NBA game of its fundamental characteristics: competitiveness, superstars, playoff importance, etc…

I lovingly demur. What Pop did last night was fill the season with a grand sense of purpose. He did not strip the game of its fundamental characteristics. He underscored its telos by placing his players in subordination to it. This, after all, was merely a mid-season battle in the midst of a long war. The Spurs play to win championships. They don’t need to make foolish stands of naive bravado on such unimportant hills.

Playing the back half of a back to back on a short turn around-after an overtime game against the Warriors-Gregg Popovich decided to give Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley the night off. The previous night the foursome had played 42, 43, 35 and 36 minutes, respectively. Of these four, Ginobili played with a wanton disregard for his body, a consequence of which is a bruised hip. Or so Pop says.

Yesterday I gleefully wrote that Manu was back to playing his game, in all its reckless and endangering glory.

At this point, I don’t care if Manu is putting his body on the line for the sake of getting to basket–this is who he is, and he can’t play any other way. At least not if the Spurs expect to win a title. I’d much prefer him to teeter on the brink of injury by playing his game than see him settle for jumpshots and step back 3s. In a 4 game win streak that has included Utah, Phoenix, and New Orleans, Ginobili has determined that he’s going to the hoop, come what may.

What came was a hip contusion and a sore Manu Ginobili. On resting Manu: “We’re not going to go very far without him,” Popovich said. “So it’s important to protect him to some degree.” Ginobili, in an uncharacteristic maneuver, affirmed his coach’s decision. “Usually, I would try to argue with him,” Ginobili said. “This time, I didn’t. I woke up really sore.” Popovich’s logic is clear enough, “With all the away games and the travel we’ve had, and the travel we have coming up, and with what he went through last night, this is the perfect time to give him a break.”

The Phoenix Suns have rested Shaquille O’Neal in one game of their back to backs all season, a smart move by my account. Not only was I pleased with Popovich for resting the Big 3 last night, I hope this portends for things to come. I like the idea of giving the Big 3 the O’Neal treatment on back to backs, perhaps sitting the players two and one to split the games. With as long as they’ve played together, chemistry is not an issue. They can afford an occasional game apart. It’ll be good for all of their bodies. Giving important role players like Michael Finley downtime works for me to. He’s old. I’d rather him rested than spent when the postseason arrives. And it’s good for the guys who’s minutes have dwindled this season. Guys like Bruce Bowen and Fabricio Oberto. A little extended burn here and there keeps them fresh.

Beyond the Big 3, Popovich did a service to his bench, and especially rookies Malik Hairston and George Hill. Hill has regressed of late. He’s settled into a sheepish drudge of constant deference. Hill doesn’t yet understand how to let his little light shine alongside his luminary teammates. It’s hard to go from being the primary scoring option to the team’s 7th or 8th scoring option. We’ve seen enough from Hill to know that the Spurs should be tough in 2009, but he’s not enough to tip the scales this season. Nevertheless, Pop is wise to give Hill an opportunity to work himself back into a rhythm.

Malik Hairston was just named to the NBDL All-Star team but the 20 minutes of this game were his first serious taste of the NBA. He played well, finishing with 12 points in 20 minutes on 6-8 shooting, 5 rebounds, a steal and a block. Coupling this game with his NBDL season, it’s looking more and more likely that the Spurs have already found their replacement for Ime Udoka. This is crucial because the Spurs could trade Udoka without fear of shipwrecking their depth. I don’t suspect Hairston will contribute much, if anything, this season. But that’s not much less than what Udoka brings to the team. This is the subject of another post, but Austin has been good for Malik Hairston. He’s a player. I expect him to be sent back down after the Rodeo, but I’m of the camp that wants to see him play during this trip.

Why do these things make Popovich brilliant? Beyond the physical advantage of giving his players 5 days rest prior to Sunday’s Boston game, Pop has sent a clear message to his team: he needs his stars healthy and his bench strong for another successful postseason run. No one can doubt him after resting 3 starters and the reigning 6th man of the year in an “important game” against the Nuggets, a team that doesn’t pose a serious postseason threat to San Antonio but is, nevertheless, only a game back in the standings.

Even though the Spurs lost the game, they played tough through out. It was easily the best loss of the season. A good loss. A confidence boosting loss. A strategic loss. A let’s-remember-what-we’re-playing-for loss. It was a game in which everyone proclaimed, “We’re not interested in finishing second.” In leading that chorus, Pop has not gutted the game, he’s affirmed it.

But, of course, maybe this is Graydon’s point after all.

Many people will claim that by sitting the big three, the Spurs have clearly revealed that they are in no condition to win another title. I believe Popovich has made it clear that, in his mind, anything less than a fifth ring is a failure. He has submitted the regular season to the superior importance of the postseason in the most extreme manner possible: By doing whatever it takes to win he has insured a loss.