![Kawhi needs more rest. [Image via Dirkhansen/Wikimedia Commons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/10/14/660x290/b_502x220x82/kawhi-needs-more-rest-image-via-dirkhansenwikimedia-commons_1633389.jpg "Kawhi needs more rest. [Image via Dirkhansen/Wikimedia Commons]")
The San Antonio Spurs have been through many different iterations where they use players young and old in varying ways. There was a time when Manu Ginobli played a lot, and now Ginobli will not play that much because he is an old man. Tony Parker cannot carry the load anymore because that job has fallen people like Kawhi Leonard. However, Leonard needs to have the rest that is required to get him through the season. He will likely miss the Spurs opener, and this would be the right time for Pop to figure out how he can rest players under the guise of injury.
It smells much like the Patriots, and it might work.
Injuries happen
It would be very hard for the Spurs to lie about injuries because they happen all the time. Anything could be taken out of context so that a guy could get rest for a game, and that is something that I think Pop would do knowing that he has to get through a long season. The Patriots do the same thing because people like Tom Brady are on the injury report all the time even though they play. The idea is out there that anyone could be hurt at any time, and the Spurs need to capitalize on that as soon as they can.
The resting rules make this necessary
We all knew that the Spurs would search for a way to get around the resting rules in the NBA, and it appears that they have already come up with a way to make that happen.
They will have to be crafty about how they report injuries, and they need to make sure that they have spent a lot of time figuring out how is going to be hurt and when. They cannot plan injuries, but they will surely use lingering injuries as a reason to keep guys out of games. They might even go so far as placing guys on reserve so that they can get them out of games.
That is much better than being a news story when they break the resting rules and get fined by the commissioner.
The Spurs have always been unique
Whatever the Spurs do, they will be copied by someone who wants to get the same results. There are a lot of teams that think that they can copy the Spurs, and Leonard missing the owner might be the beginning fo something that is much bigger than just missing one game.
Leonard is the most important player on the Spurs roster, and they need him to be ready to go at any time. He has to be healthy at the end of the season because they missed a golden opportunity to beat the Warriors last year. There are many reasons why players need rest, and maybe missing extended time is better than just letting them miss a game here and there.
