Gregg Popovich Feigned Anger at Miami Heat for Resting Stars

The last time San Antonio and Miami faced off, Gregg Popovich sent Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green home (a ploy that cost the Spurs $250,000.) Last night, Erik Spoelstra and the Heat returned the favor by resting LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers. While fans hoping to see Miami’s stars quite understandably stewed, Pop had a funny reaction to the whole thing. Per the Express-News: “The 150-mile drive from Laredo to the AT&T Center went by in a flash for Mario Dominguez and his 9-year-old son, Mario-Andre, decked out in his LeBron James Miami Heat jersey and LeBron James signature Nike shoes. The elder Dominguez had paid $3,000 for two third-row seats for Sunday’s Spurs-Heat game so his son could see his favorite NBA player up close. The trip was easy. Learning that James, the three-time Most Valuable Player, was not going to play against the Spurs was more than hard. ‘He’s heartbroken,’ the elder Dominguez said as his son buried his head in his father’s shoulder and tried to comprehend why he wasn’t going to see James in action. With the Heat having locked up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference on Friday night in New Orleans, Miami coach Eric Spoelstra opted Sunday to sit James, All-Star guard Dwyane Wade and starting point guard Mario Chalmers, all with nagging injuries. […] Popovich had his own reaction to Spoelstra’s decision to err on the side of caution with his key players, something he has done on numerous occasions in this and other seasons: Feigned outrage. ‘What kind of (stuff) is that?’ he said, jumping backwards as if hit with a stun gun. ‘Are you kidding? What a bunch of rummies. Who would think of something like that? That’s below the belt. There’s no place for that stuff.'”