Gregg Popovich has talked often this season about wanting to limit the number of games Tim Duncan plays in any given time period.

For the first time, Popovich has enumerated a specific plan to accomplish that. Duncan’s days of playing four games in five nights are over.

“That’s a rule,” Popovich said. “I’m not going to let him play four games in five nights. It’s not going to happen.”

Duncan is averaging career lows in minutes (27:18) as well as points (13.1) and rebounds (7.3).

“I never like it, I never think it’s going to work out,” Duncan said, chuckling. “Pop is a lot smarter in that respect.”