Gregg Popovich has been known to rest his stars in big games in the past — he did it against the Miami Heat in 2013. But this might be his most extreme instance yet. When the Spurs take on the Thunder in Oklahoma City on Saturday, they will be without their five best players, according to the team:
INJURY REPORT: Aldridge (rest), Duncan (rest), Ginobili (rest), Leonard (right quad contusion), Parker (rest) are out for Spurs-Thunder
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) March 26, 2016
Popovich is lucky this game is on NBA TV rather than ABC, and that it runs against the NCAA Tournament, or else he might have gotten the Spurs another fine.