The 2 players who seemed the most fatigued in the Clev series were Billups and Prince. Here is how their mins stacked up

Looking at the Conference Finals mins and total playoff mins


07
Billups 43.8 CF, 40.6 Total
Prince 44.0 CF, 41.6 Total

06
Billups 41.2 CF, 39.2 Total
Prince 41.3 CF, 41.4 Total

05
Billups 40.6 CF, 39.4 Total
Prince 39.3 CF, 40.9 Total

04
Billups 37.7 CF, 38.3 Total
Prince 29.8 CF, 34.6 Total

Looks like in 06 and 07 both players had their mins increased as the playoffs went on. 05 was also a heavy minute year and thats part of why the team started bad in the 06 finals.

04 was the best year and the team got better as the post-seaon went on.

07 was the worst with the team starting off great and slowing down. Play became worse in the 2nd round and became very worse in the ECF.

Could it be as simple as the players getting burnt out?

I thought the theme of 06/07 was to develope a bench so the players could stay fresh throughout the post-season? As the playoffs went on Flip stopped using the bench.

Of course some of this has to be put on Dumars for failing to find qualified bench players.

Some things to consider before deciding if the players are not working out anymore.

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Fatigue

Those were the two players under the most stress.

I am not saying that that was the only reason or even the major reason for the tired legs, but just that I am sure that it contributed to it.

Prince especially was under extreme pressure. Probably more athletic pressure than any of us on this board have ever experienced or that he himself ever experienced.

He was charged with guarding James. Even though he knew he would get some help, which he did, he was still the main man. The problem with guarding James is not so much is quickness and skill, which are significant, but his strength.

I don't know how much stronger he is than Prince but I would dare say he must be at least 25% and more likely 33% or more stronger than Prince. It would be like matching Ali against Sugar Ray Robinson. Even though pound for pound Robinson was and is still considered by many the greatest American boxer that ever lived, he would have had zero chance in the ring against Ali, absolutely zero, because of the weight and strength difference.

So Prince was absolutely stressed out and emotionally worn down, to say nothing of physically worn down by having to be the main guy to guard James. But it would not have have been acceptable for Saunders to start JMax instead of Prince, though in hind sight that might have been a better move in this case.

Prince would have been a lot more effective in the series, especially on offense if he had come off the bench.

Are we Scottie Pippen and the Bulls? Pippen's freakin' migraine is a better excuse for a poor performance in the playoffs than mental fatigue and body fatigue two years running. At least Pippen only copped out for one day.

Jim Rome would tell you, DON"T SUCK OR YOU"LL GET RUN! We did and we did!!!! No excuses. Get it right or live with the results. It is what is is people.

I've always thought that only Superstars, and defensive specialists should ever play more than 40 minutes in a game. You just get too tired, and if you're not resting on the bench, you're resting on the court.

And defensive specialists can rest on O, like Rodman or Ben; and Superstars, well, there are only so many Kobe's and Jordan's.

So surprise, surprise, I check out the boxscore for San Antonio, and only 2 players played over 40 minutes; Lebron and Bowen. And Ginobilli only played 28. If Flip coached that team, Ginobilli, Duncan, and Parker all would have played 40+, Bowen would be a DNP, and the Spurs would have lost.

People keep saying players shouldn't get tired. Reality, you do get tired, the human body has limits, and needs rest. Popovich knows how to manage minutes, and has his team running at top efficiency for the entire game. Flip is like a jockey that starts whipping the horse out of the gate.

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Well there are those of us in life that will always believe that there are no such thing as mental/emotional problems and stress related issues. I really feel sorry for those people.

Ironically it took years before the world came to realize that alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling, etc are physical problems, due to genetic deficiencies and not mental/emotional problems.

gambling is a genetic, physical problem? okay...

anyway, i dunno how i feel about the fatigue argument. at this point it just seems like an excuse for poor execution, but not one i'd really buy into.

Holy cow!!! Think how poor the blood flow in those legs must have gotten after all those minutes!

Yeah, no wonder I've been a lousy social worker for 19 years.

Look, crying won't get it done Buddah. The Pistons know what it takes emotionally and physically. They weren't willing to pay the price.

Who on the Pistons was crying and complaining. Pippen complained about his migraines.

It was Lee who first complained about Prince being tired, (remember his post on how he saw him laboring in warmups prior to one one the playoff games against Cleveland).

I don't recall Prince complaining about being tired.

If you are a social worker and don't understand how stress can cause fatigue and affect people's performance and behavior I am truly surprised.

You have to know that stress affects sleep patterns and that irregular and/or not enough sleep causes fatigue and affects mental and physical performance.

Looking at average minutes for the season is half the story, look at games played for Chauncey, you'd see he played in less games. Tayshaun always plays heavy minutes because he dislikes being benched, and Flip lacks the balls to be authoritative with our players, not that Tay is a bully, just that Flip doesnt want to ruffle feathers.