Nuggets had rested players because owner's dog had ACL injury...I'm not joking

[sed522002]

tomhaberstroh Tom Haberstroh
What if I told you ... an NBA coach justified resting his players because "our owner's dog had an ACL injury." ... http://t.co/6If1VfFmLf

Asked if he had ever been part of a non-playoff team that suddenly employed a rest rotation as the Nuggets have done, Hunt said: "Yeah, but we're in a very unique situation here, having come off what we did last year with so many injuries. We had players with ACL injuries; our owner's dog had an ACL injury. We had a little bit of everything going on. We have to be very, very careful. We have to be really wise, given the situation that we are in."

I have no words for that organization 

[Roy H.]

Apparently Hunt wasn't involved in the decision to rest the players:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/denver-is-resting-three-starters-against-their-wishes-in-order-to-lose-a-game--basically-202948774.html

I guess the "owner's dog" excuse was the best he could come up with to justify a decision he disagreed with.

[Fafnir]

My dog is going into her ACL surgery today. 

"Owner's dog" is a strange way for Hunt to endear himself to the Nuggets if he's hoping to stay on, guess he isn't.

[Snakehead]

I guess the "owner's dog" excuse was the best he could come up with to justify a decision he disagreed with.

He was clearly joking but I'm fine with it being called out because he was joking instead of saying flat out "we have no reason to really be resting our players".  I just hope they fix the lottery to get this tanking crap over with.

[fairweatherfan]

I guess the "owner's dog" excuse was the best he could come up with to justify a decision he disagreed with.

He was clearly joking but I'm fine with it being called out because he was joking instead of saying flat out "we have no reason to really be resting our players".  I just hope they fix the lottery to get this tanking crap over with.

He was joking but it wouldn't surprise me if the owner's dog getting hurt got a lot of people thinking and talking about the prior ACLs like Gallinari, and it played a role in the decision to rest guys.  But saying the rest was just because of the dog is probably a stretch.

[littleteapot]

I don't understand why teams do what Denver is going. If you are going to eliminate any chance of your current talent wanting to stick around, you might as well just do what Philly did, trade them for real assets and get worse. Now if Denver's lucky they might get the 5th best draft position instead of the 8th and somehow convince 1 of their key players to stay. Wouldn't they have been better if they just traded Lawson, Faried and Gallo for draft picks last offseason and have players who can actually try to win but just aren't talented enough?

[Moranis]

No where in that piece does he say the players sat out because the owner's dog had an ACL.  This is the most misleading thread title I've seen on here in a very long time.

[sed522002]

No where in that piece does he say the players sat out because the owner's dog had an ACL.  This is the most misleading thread title I've seen on here in a very long time.

Well take that up with Tom Haberstroh's tweet and it's implied as one of the reasons he's being cautious and sitting his players. He probably made the comment in jest, but the thread title is far from misleading when those are the words that came out of his mouth.

[fairweatherfan]

No where in that piece does he say the players sat out because the owner's dog had an ACL.  This is the most misleading thread title I've seen on here in a very long time.

More misleading than "Brian Shaw gets a visit from the Grim Reaper"?

[Donoghus]

No where in that piece does he say the players sat out because the owner's dog had an ACL.  This is the most misleading thread title I've seen on here in a very long time.

More misleading than "Brian Shaw gets a visit from the Grim Reaper"?

You mean he's...not...dead?

[Nerf DPOY]

No where in that piece does he say the players sat out because the owner's dog had an ACL.  This is the most misleading thread title I've seen on here in a very long time.

More misleading than "Brian Shaw gets a visit from the Grim Reaper"?

Fun Fact: The Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey was William Sadler, the guy from Shawshank Redemption and a million other things.


Even if you already knew that you still have to admit that it's a pretty fun fact.

[GreenWarrior]

did the dog have surgery at the beginning of the season?

[Surferdad]

I guess the "owner's dog" excuse was the best he could come up with to justify a decision he disagreed with.

He was clearly joking but I'm fine with it being called out because he was joking instead of saying flat out "we have no reason to really be resting our players".  I just hope they fix the lottery to get this tanking crap over with.

I'm not sure I am satisfied with making up an excuse but I guess it would be really bad form to tell the truth. What a world!

In any case, this is a new twist on tanking: Wait as long as possible in the season so you sell as many tickets as possible othe hopes of a playoff spot. Then, throw in the towel with 15 games left to try to move up a few spots. Call it "mini-tanking" or "tanking on the run" or maybe "tank when nobody is watching".

[fairweatherfan]

I guess the "owner's dog" excuse was the best he could come up with to justify a decision he disagreed with.

He was clearly joking but I'm fine with it being called out because he was joking instead of saying flat out "we have no reason to really be resting our players".  I just hope they fix the lottery to get this tanking crap over with.

I'm not sure I am satisfied with making up an excuse but I guess it would be really bad form to tell the truth. What a world!

In any case, this is a new twist on tanking: Wait as long as possible in the season so you sell as many tickets as possible othe hopes of a playoff spot. Then, throw in the towel with 15 games left to try to move up a few spots. Call it "mini-tanking" or "tanking on the run" or maybe "tank when nobody is watching".

This is what tanking used to actually mean FYI - deliberately trying to lose games late in the year to help a draft spot.  Selling off your talent in the offseason for future assets was just "rebuilding".  Everything old is new again I guess.

[mgent]

No where in that piece does he say the players sat out because the owner's dog had an ACL.  This is the most misleading thread title I've seen on here in a very long time.

More misleading than "Brian Shaw gets a visit from the Grim Reaper"?

Pretty much.

I mean, I personally didn't/don't think anybody would announce Shaw's death like that, regardless of how insensitive they might be.

But I guess what really takes the cake is the whole "I'm not joking" thing.  That's quite the slap in the face.