Turns out the biggest adjustment the Spurs made for Game 4 was shortening the bench. Brent Barry didn't play at all, and Francisco Elson got in for only the final 27 seconds of the first half. That meant more minutes for Fabricio Oberto (37:09) and Manu Ginobili (34:57).

The Spurs' Argentine connection paid big dividends in the victory in the pivotal game.

Seems like sticking with the same plan for Game 5 would be a no-brainer. After all, closing out the series tonight would give the Spurs at least five days to rest before Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

But the decision facing Gregg Popovich is not as simple as it seems. With the Western Conference finals now in the grueling 1-1-1 stretch that requires play-travel-play-travel-play, does Popovich risk leaving his much older roster drained should it have to play Game 6 on Friday in Salt Lake City and possibly Game 7 on Sunday in San Antonio?

It seems much more likely Popovich will give both Barry and Elson a rotation in the first half of Game 5. If he likes what they give him, they will get similar shifts in the second half. For Barry, that means knocking down a 3-pointer. For Elson, it means avoiding turnovers and being out of position on defensive rotations.