I think Pop is an awesome coach. He did something pretty counter to conventional coaching by playing his bench and sitting out the starters. Of course Pop is one of the few coaches in the league that could get away with it too! But by playing his bench he got to rest his starters (not just those who were injured), get needed playing time for the bench, and–most importantly–Pop was able to get a look at how the bench would hold up against a team that the Spurs could possibly meet in the playoffs. It was a very smart move; Pop had nothing to loose. In fact, I’d say he gained in loosing. A win would have been frosting for the Spurs’ bench, and could have planted a confidence cracking memory with the Blazers’ starting lineup…it was bad enough that the game was as close as it was. So, to your point it was good to see the team overcome adversity…