Rest is the Sweet Sauce of Labor
“Five players on the floor functioning as one single unit: team, team, team – no one more important that the other.” – Coach Norman Dale.
Coach Dale preached and practiced the concept of team first, a valid philosophy that Cavs coach Mike Brown is right to follow as the regular season comes to a close Wednesday in Atlanta.
Despite the fuss raised by some about the Cavs resting key players down the stretch, with Tim Povtak of FanHouse leading the brigade of fools, Brown is paid to make the hard decisions and look at the big picture – how to get the 16 playoff wins needed to capture the team’s first championship. And he has been masterful at putting the team’s needs above everything else down the stretch.
Finishing the season with 61 or 62 wins is completely unimportant – having the team ready when the playoffs start is priority one. And while some of the players, most notably Shaq, may need the first round to shake off some rust, that shouldn’t be a problem. While the Cavs may not have the cakewalk they experienced last year in the first round against Detroit, any lingering impact from players resting should be minimal.
Plus the Cavs earned the right to rest players by fighting for the best record in the NBA. They worked hard during the season and this is the reward for that effort. If other teams don’t like it, oh well, maybe they should win more games so they have the opportunity to do the same.
With playoff positions becoming more focused, the pieces are falling into place perfectly for the Cavs. It looks like Boston will draw Miami in the first round, and if Kevin Garnett thought Kevin Durant got all the calls, wait until he gets a load of Dwyane Wade in the playoffs. Orlando will have to deal with a tough Charlotte team followed by a potential second-round matchup with Atlanta.
The pairings are working perfectly in the Cavs favor, why risk going against your gut instinct just to appease a few people?
Luckily, we can be assured Brown will make the right call. He’s not the most successful coach currently in town for no reason.
Red Right 88 