Taking a page out of San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich's playbook, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle might rest some of his older stars on the second night of back-to-backs during the 2014-15 NBA season.
“It’s possible,” he said, via the Dallas Morning News. “We did a strategic rest thing once or twice last year. We did it more frequently when [Jason] Kidd was here and he was 38, 39. We’re keeping an eye on all that. When it’s appropriate, we’ll certainly do it and we’ll certainly consider it.”
Popovich has been known to be a big-picture coach, opting to rest key older stars strategically in order to keep legs fresh for the long grind of the season (and the playoffs).
The Dallas Mavericks are faced with a similar decision, with players such as Tyson Chandler and Dirk Nowitzki having logged countless NBA minutes over a long stretch of time.
Whether or not Carlisle starts resting players en masse like Popovich does at certain times remains to be seen, but don't be surprised if there are a few healthy DNPs on Dirk Nowitzki's season stat sheet as we head towards the 2015 NBA Playoffs.
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