With NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently weighing in on the debate of whether or not teams should rest their stars, our writers give their opinions.
With the NBA season lasting seven grueling months, teams have turned to sitting their players during select games in order to help them cope with the physical strain of the year. Gone are the days in which a player could log 40 or more minutes every night without an occasional night off. Players have become bigger, faster, and stronger than they were 20 years ago, when ballers like Michael Jordan could go all-out every night. Coaches and trainers now work players harder and exhaust their bodies more and more with each successive season. Nowadays, NBA players cannot physically drain themselves night after night without proper rest. If they do play through exhaustion, their performance suffers and they become more susceptible to injury.
The most common game for teams to sit their stars is on the second night of a back-to-back games. Sports scientists have found that teams that play back-to-back games are significantly less likely to win the second leg of these series. This is because players are fatigued and with fatigue comes injury. In an interview with ESPN, sleep scientist Dr. Charles Czeisler suggested playing on a back-to-back is like trying to compete on an empty stomach–it doesn’t work. Additionally, when not given enough time to recover, the chemical balance in an athlete’s body gets thrown off, leading to health problems. NBA teams have recognized the necessity of rest throughout the season. Infrequent nights off for players have become normal across the league and while some—like the Charlotte Hornets—still do not embrace this practice, an ever increasing number of teams have realized the disadvantages of playing while tired.
The payoff for keeping players in every game is low when compared to the drawbacks of wearing down the body of a franchise player. Like tread on a tire, athletes can only work so hard before they break down. For the best teams, there is little to gain by winning a random regular season game. Last year, the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry entered the playoffs with an ailing knee and elbow injuries as his team pushed to break the 1995 Chicago Bulls’ regular season win-loss record. Though the Warriors won 73 games to break the record, those meaningless minutes late in the season haunted Golden State, who saw their MVP point-guard’s knee deteriorate in the playoffs. Without their star at 100 per cent, the Warriors couldn’t repeat as champions, falling in game seven of the NBA Finals to Lebron and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The argument against resting players often points to disappointing contests that match up two top teams, only for all of the important players to sit. There’s no question that these situations are a letdown, but fans must consider the alternative to the occasional disappointing regular-season game. With measures already taken to prevent player injuries, last year’s playoffs saw three NBA stars–Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Curry–suffer season-altering ailments. It is likely that even more players would be sacrificed to injuries if teams weren’t resting their players.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to when the basketball world wants the NBA to reach its highest level. If superstar players sit out the occasional game, they can compete more intensely for the other 75-or-so nights that they’re on the court. Though the regular season might lose an interesting story line every so often, die-hard fans would prefer having their teams play late into June rather than see the stars go all-out in mid-February. Sitting players is thus the best option available, allowing the highest number of players to compete at their greatest levels with seasons on the line.
March 11, 2017: It’s a Saturday afternoon in prime time. The AT&T Center in San Antonio is packed with a sell-out crowd. Fans are energized to see one of the best matchups in basketball: The San Antonio Spurs versus the Golden State Warriors. But, in a game between the top teams in the league–when a game-winning three from Steph Curry or a clutch Kawhi Leonard steal should have been the story on SportsCenter—the fans were treated to a collection of benchwarmers in both teams’ starting lineups. With five All-Stars spending the night on the bench, fans were privileged to see the world’s highest-paid cheerleading squad put on a team spirit spectacle. Though injuries can obviously keep a player out on any given night, these stars weren’t injured, nor did they forget their sneakers at home; rather the coaching staff just decided they needed rest. Instead of seeing the All-Stars and their high-flying theatrics, fans paid to see the benchwarmers log starting minutes.
This story isn’t a new one. In December 2016, one fan reportedly travelled four hours and spent $800 only to find out the man he came to see play–LeBron James–was resting that evening. As the face of the NBA, James has been under significant scruity for taking nights off. The March 11 Spurs vs Warriors game is an especially egregious example of resting. The game was sold out, with 18,418 people in attendance, paying an average of $58.45 for their tickets. If t the fans had known in advance they were paying to see Kevin Looney make his fourth career start, they might not have paid half that amount. And, frankly, clearing the bench makes for poor basketball.
To clarify, there is nothing wrong with resting players who are injured or airing on the side of caution to avoid aggravating an existing injury, but in these cases healthy players were taking the night off. In the NBA, star players have an outsized impact on the league’s appeal. If the fans are angry, the companies that purchased ad time must be furious. They pay untold amounts of money to expose their product or service to millions of people. Without stars, significantly lower amounts of people view games, making the commerical time worth substantially less. Thus, teams that are going to rest their stars for a nationally televised game must give companies sufficient warning in advance or they face a hefty fine from the league. The Spurs—a repeat offender—were fined $250,000 in 2012 for resting their stars against James’s Miami Heat. At the end of the day, the NBA is in the business of entertaining: Fans pay to be entertained and ABC pays to provide good television.
Obviously, the best television would be to have the best two teams perfectly healthy in the finals, which might involve lightening the workload for some players down the final stretch of the season once a playoff spot is assured. However, sitting someone out for an entire game should not be an option. It should be noted that these players don’t want to be on the sidelines in their expensive suits—they want to be playing. MVP-candidate James Harden told reporters in March, “I just want to hoop. I’ll rest when I’m done.” It is evident that some teams do not believe their stars can play all 82 games plus a lengthy playoffs. Coaches are responsible for keeping their players fit and ready for a championship run, but surely there are other ways to keep players healthy than insulting fans by turning NBA games into D-League exhibitions.
We agree that for the health and safety of the players, the NBA should allow them to rest.
With the NBA season lasting seven grueling months, teams have turned to sitting their players during select games in order to help them cope with the physical strain of the year. Gone are the days in which a player could log 40 or more minutes every night without an occasional night off. Players have become bigger, faster, and stronger than they were 20 years ago, when ballers like Michael Jordan could go all-out every night. Coaches and trainers now work players harder and exhaust their bodies more and more with each successive season. Nowadays, NBA players cannot physically drain themselves night after night without proper rest. If they do play through exhaustion, their performance suffers and they become more susceptible to injury.
The most common game for teams to sit their stars is on the second night of a back-to-back games. Sports scientists have found that teams that play back-to-back games are significantly less likely to win the second leg of these series. This is because players are fatigued and with fatigue comes injury. In an interview with ESPN, sleep scientist Dr. Charles Czeisler suggested playing on a back-to-back is like trying to compete on an empty stomach–it doesn’t work. Additionally, when not given enough time to recover, the chemical balance in an athlete’s body gets thrown off, leading to health problems. NBA teams have recognized the necessity of rest throughout the season. Infrequent nights off for players have become normal across the league and while some—like the Charlotte Hornets—still do not embrace this practice, an ever increasing number of teams have realized the disadvantages of playing while tired.
The payoff for keeping players in every game is low when compared to the drawbacks of wearing down the body of a franchise player. Like tread on a tire, athletes can only work so hard before they break down. For the best teams, there is little to gain by winning a random regular season game. Last year, the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry entered the playoffs with an ailing knee and elbow injuries as his team pushed to break the 1995 Chicago Bulls’ regular season win-loss record. Though the Warriors won 73 games to break the record, those meaningless minutes late in the season haunted Golden State, who saw their MVP point-guard’s knee deteriorate in the playoffs. Without their star at 100 per cent, the Warriors couldn’t repeat as champions, falling in game seven of the NBA Finals to Lebron and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The argument against resting players often points to disappointing contests that match up two top teams, only for all of the important players to sit. There’s no question that these situations are a letdown, but fans must consider the alternative to the occasional disappointing regular-season game. With measures already taken to prevent player injuries, last year’s playoffs saw three NBA stars–Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Curry–suffer season-altering ailments. It is likely that even more players would be sacrificed to injuries if teams weren’t resting their players.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to when the basketball world wants the NBA to reach its highest level. If superstar players sit out the occasional game, they can compete more intensely for the other 75-or-so nights that they’re on the court. Though the regular season might lose an interesting story line every so often, die-hard fans would prefer having their teams play late into June rather than see the stars go all-out in mid-February. Sitting players is thus the best option available, allowing the highest number of players to compete at their greatest levels with seasons on the line.
March 11, 2017: It’s a Saturday afternoon in prime time. The AT&T Center in San Antonio is packed with a sell-out crowd. Fans are energized to see one of the best matchups in basketball: The San Antonio Spurs versus the Golden State Warriors. But, in a game between the top teams in the league–when a game-winning three from Steph Curry or a clutch Kawhi Leonard steal should have been the story on SportsCenter—the fans were treated to a collection of benchwarmers in both teams’ starting lineups. With five All-Stars spending the night on the bench, fans were privileged to see the world’s highest-paid cheerleading squad put on a team spirit spectacle. Though injuries can obviously keep a player out on any given night, these stars weren’t injured, nor did they forget their sneakers at home; rather the coaching staff just decided they needed rest. Instead of seeing the All-Stars and their high-flying theatrics, fans paid to see the benchwarmers log starting minutes.
This story isn’t a new one. In December 2016, one fan reportedly travelled four hours and spent $800 only to find out the man he came to see play–LeBron James–was resting that evening. As the face of the NBA, James has been under significant scruity for taking nights off. The March 11 Spurs vs Warriors game is an especially egregious example of resting. The game was sold out, with 18,418 people in attendance, paying an average of $58.45 for their tickets. If t the fans had known in advance they were paying to see Kevin Looney make his fourth career start, they might not have paid half that amount. And, frankly, clearing the bench makes for poor basketball.
To clarify, there is nothing wrong with resting players who are injured or airing on the side of caution to avoid aggravating an existing injury, but in these cases healthy players were taking the night off. In the NBA, star players have an outsized impact on the league’s appeal. If the fans are angry, the companies that purchased ad time must be furious. They pay untold amounts of money to expose their product or service to millions of people. Without stars, significantly lower amounts of people view games, making the commerical time worth substantially less. Thus, teams that are going to rest their stars for a nationally televised game must give companies sufficient warning in advance or they face a hefty fine from the league. The Spurs—a repeat offender—were fined $250,000 in 2012 for resting their stars against James’s Miami Heat. At the end of the day, the NBA is in the business of entertaining: Fans pay to be entertained and ABC pays to provide good television.
Obviously, the best television would be to have the best two teams perfectly healthy in the finals, which might involve lightening the workload for some players down the final stretch of the season once a playoff spot is assured. However, sitting someone out for an entire game should not be an option. It should be noted that these players don’t want to be on the sidelines in their expensive suits—they want to be playing. MVP-candidate James Harden told reporters in March, “I just want to hoop. I’ll rest when I’m done.” It is evident that some teams do not believe their stars can play all 82 games plus a lengthy playoffs. Coaches are responsible for keeping their players fit and ready for a championship run, but surely there are other ways to keep players healthy than insulting fans by turning NBA games into D-League exhibitions.