The NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement is expected to reduce the number of preseason games played by teams, adding a little extra time to the regular season and reducing the number of back-to-back games teams need to play throughout the season. While that will help cut back on players’ workloads, many coaches will still look for opportunities to keep their top players rested and healthy by making them healthy scratches in certain situations.
It’s a practice that was first popularized by Gregg Popovich, who often rested Tim Duncan and other key Spurs players during one half of back-to-backs, occasionally drawing the ire of the NBA if Duncan and co. happened to be scratched for a nationally televised game. Popovich and the Spurs once received a significant fine from the league for sending their stars home early, but since then, even as more teams have adopted the strategy, the NBA hasn’t responded by attempting to put a halt to it.
It’s easy to see both side of the argument. On one hand, the NBA’s top teams want to keep their best players fresh for the postseason, and don’t want to risk pushing them hard on a random week in the winter if it could jeopardize their availability at all for the spring. Those Spurs teams, led by Popovich, were often at their best in the postseason, and based on what we’ve seen from San Antonio and other clubs, it’s easy to make the case that the strategy is an effective one in the long term.
On the other hand, the NBA pays its bills in large part due to the money its fans are willing to pay to watch games in person and on television. Fans are less likely to tune in to a Cavaliers game if LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love are all sitting, as they were earlier this week against Memphis. And many fans who paid big money for tickets in the hopes of seeing those stars in person weren’t thrilled to see the JV team instead.
There’s no simple solution. While the NBA doesn’t want to alienate its fans, imposing any penalties on teams who rest healthy players may simply inspire those clubs to invent a short-term injury. Encouraging teams to rest players during home games instead of on the road is a possibility, but that won’t make everyone happy — some fans only get a chance to see their home team once or twice a year, and could still miss out on the opportunity to see their team’s stars.
What do you think? Is this an issue the NBA needs to address at all, or does it make more sense to simply let coaches manage their teams as they please, even if it leads to some grumbling from fans?
Jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts!
when you buy a ticket, the only thing you’re promised is to watch the sport. you might not like the game, might not like who you’re next to, but you get in and that’s what you paid for
actually you are promised to see a star. dynamic ticket pricing.
When cleveland comes to town the ticket prices are higher vs when the 76ers come to town. the reason being lebron, so yes there is an expectation that the stars will play.
Yeah, but it isn’t always a guarantee.
The solution is easy, limit the splitting of revenues. If a team knows it’s gonna lose a ton of fans/tickets by resting their players they will do it less.
But now teams get money regardless from the rest of the league, so they don’t really see any consequences to the decision.
they get paid to play not sit
Perhaps there should be a money back guarantee. The Bulls, for example, would have to take out a loan after each game that Hoiberg remains the coach.
Players and especially stars are judged almost entirely on championships. So during the season when they take rest days to help them prepare to win a championship fans complain.
Probably wouldn’t fly with the league but teams should really rest their stars at home where the fans get to see them 41 plus times a year.
Not sure there is a way to enforce it though.
Thinking the NBA should be refunding the Spurs from a couple of years back after they got fined for doing what Cleveland just did. As for the NBA thinking that they are going to convince teams to rest players at home. Yeah right. Teams need to hold home court advantage and that is only by playing their best.
I’m all for resting players at least until they completely eliminate back to backs. Not if you’re a bad team tho. Very tough to enforce but if a team rests its star(s) more than 3 games in a season and DOESN’T make the playoffs (especially if they finish with less than 25 wins) should lose their next 2nd round pick. If they sit 5 times under the same criteria, they should lose their next 1st round pick.
Players and especially stars are judged almost entirely on championships. So during the season when they take rest days to help them prepare to win a championship fans complain
I think if the NBA is going to schedule back to backs they should be two games at home or in places with very little travel like the Knicks an the Nets for a road game or Chicago and Milwaukee, texas and OKC Lakers and Clippers etc. These ones where you are in Minnesota and the Atlanta, etc are stupid.
Ya I think so. People pay good money to watch good Nba games & get disappointed to see Nba stars not play .