4:18pm: The memo sent out by the NBA on this subject gives teams some leeway to rest players in non-nationally televised games, especially at the start of the season, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
According to Bontemps, clubs would be permitted to rest certain players in back-to-back sets, including if those players had “a substantial role on a team that advanced deep into the 2020 playoffs” or if they’re “returning to full strength after recovering from COVID-19.”
11:36am: The NBA is updating a previously-established policy in an effort to further discourage teams from resting healthy players, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (all Twitter links).
As Haynes explains, the updated policy will prohibit teams from resting healthy players for any high-profile game that is being nationally televised. Clubs who violate the policy could face fines worth up to $100K.
Additionally, absent extenuating circumstances, teams will be discouraged from resting multiple healthy players for the same game or sitting healthy players on the road, Haynes continues. If a team does decide to rest a healthy player, the player should be “visible to fans,” Haynes writes.
Reducing “load management” for healthy players has long been a goal for the NBA. And, as Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press tweets, this year’s protocols won’t actually be too different from the ones in place last season.
Still, it’s a little surprising that the league would make the issue a priority in 2020/21, when teams will be playing a compressed schedule and many clubs won’t be hosting fans in their arenas at all due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Of course, with fewer fans than ever able to attend games in person, those nationally-televised contests will be of greater importance for the NBA in the coming months, so it makes sense that the league doesn’t want to see star players sitting out of those games.
That’s BS. Rush back to playing and the two best teams from last season are at a disadvantage on day 1.
Basically the teams that saved the NBA from economic disaster are being punished and will be more prone to injury.
Greedy bastards.
“the player should be “visible to fans”.
“Look, Johnny – Down there on the bench! That’s LeBron James! Isn’t it great that we paid all this money for our season tickets so that we can see the Lakers play our team and we get to SEE LeBron sitting in street clothes?” Yeah, this is a VERY fan-friendly policy, NBA.
How many games will LeBron be playing in December and January?
This was exactly the picture I had in my mind..lol
Or what, as a fan, you tune in to watch your favorite team, and they arent playing, but they want them visible so they can randomly pan over to them sitting in the bench!?!
That’s the exact reason I wanted to watch the game, so I could see [enter star player]’s fashion choice for the game!?!?
I get all the rules, but that little provision is absolutely stupid..It is basically saying, they night sit out, but at least you can still see them!?! WTF good does that do anyone??
Garbage. A team should be allowed to rest whoever they want, whenever they want unless it’s provable that they’re tanking/throwing the game. Baseball, while a little different schedule-wise, benches whoever needs it to keep players fresh. Making a ‘nationally-televised game’ contingency makes it laughably transparent, though.
Baseball has those players resting dressed and able to come into the game, economically speaking sitting stars does nothing for the league and if you didn’t notice there’s been a pandemic all year so economic moves must be in place to help the league, if your making 40 million a year, you should feel obligated to play in every big game because the fans are the ones who have bought you a new life, being on the players side on this one is for blank riders
Agree with RCT the league should not dictate my coaching decisions. They gonna tell players they can only shoot 3 pointers for 1 quarter next? Absurd.
Either it’s a sport or its entertainment. You Can have it both ways, but not by forcing it in one direction or the other. That’s just the facts jack
So teams can play their star players for 5 minutes and then bench them for the rest of the game and it’s considered as if they played?
I would rather see that as a form of load management then the current AWOL way the get away with now.
These guys are under contracts….ridiculous contracts that can be ridiculous because of a profit sharing scheme…so for all the idiots out there, it’s your fan money that they decide when they want to do what they want to do it…the jerseys you buy…the subscriptions for viewing…the tickets you pay for…
It’s your money fans that they are taking without giving you what you’ve essentially paid for in return.
In the words of a Southpark episode…’they took our jobs’….and that’s what needs to happen, these jobs need to go to someone that is willing to put forth the effort and uphold their end of the deal.
Scorching take let’s make a league for specialfriedrice where only players who try really hard are allowed to play, no matter how talented they are. it will be way better than the dumb old NBA and their stuiper stars! They can keep em. Give me a break
Will Jimmy Buckets be on the logo??
I would rather see friedrice’s game, esp since there’s no guarantee 45’s team would be employing the best players.
Kawhi of course would be with the loitering league.
Well congrats it already exists it’s called the G league
Load management is a load of boll*cks!
No need for it, if a young super athlete can’t play all the games, then maybe they should be looking for a more sedate line of work!
In the 80’s for example guys always played, I know the pace might have been slower, but traveling conditions & back to backs were much more brutal than now & their physical training & conditioning wasn’t as good, so either they were tougher or this guys just make a mockery of the fans, right?
Load management should be prorated…these guys have far too much flex
Teams push load management more than players.
Everyone only cares about championships so why would contender’s want to risk their $100 million investments in random games that will have no effect on their playoff run?
Sad state of affairs if teams, players & fans only care about championships, right?
I have been a huge fan for more than 35 years & I couldn’t care any less who wins as I don’t follow any particular team!
I care about the RS & seeing the best entert, ainment available, nothin’ beats when there are like 8, 9 or 10 games a night with a plethora of stars on display, I find the playoffs more boring as the game slows down & most times is just 1 game a night or every other night!
*entertainment
Why have a season at all just do an exhibition showcase every weekend during the winter. Probably the ratings would be too high and they’d make too much money…hmmm
Yeah, they have definitely been trying to drag out the playoffs to maximize profits, but I just miss Bulls games on national television or WGN…
Thays how I became a fan of the Bulls in the first place down here in GA..Now, I have to go to vipbox to watch all my bulls games..
Although, admittingly, I became a fan during the years of MJ, Pippen, Harper, Kerr, Longley, Rodman, etc., and I stuck with them through the Baby Bulls, through the Rose era, everything between them and ever since, but man, it has been really hard to watch the Bulls lately under Boylen…NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE!!
I was just about to say I quit, and then FINALLY they got rid of their stooges, and brought in a new GM and Donovan..Finally, maybe the Bulls can become watchable again!! Because I know if I was even considering dropping them, then countless fans already stopped watching them and swapped teams years ago!! lol
What about players recovering from
HOOPING COUGH ??
What about the many players who DRIBBLE
all over the court ??
What the hell is hooping cough bro
Lol your age is showing..or lack thereof..haha..It was an older epidemic way back when..
You mean whooping cough? Is it a typo or did they mean something different t
Yeah same thing..lol Or close enough anyways..
I’m pretty sure he did it on purpose as a basketball joke..
It’s his big covid joke that he can’t get out of his head.
Does HR do moderating? Nentwig’s hooping cough pun says not enough.
I struggle to find any humor in a covid pun that isnt even really all that creative or sensical. Poor form netwings
Meh, Harden is the only one that dribbles THAT much..
I’d rather watch stars take 10 games off and play hard for 72 than watch them play conservatively for 82. Unless you are a rookie, you don’t have much to prove every night.
In the end, this is all Kawhi’s fault.
Yeah, Kawhi’s predominantly, but it was Pop and his aging crew of vets that really started it..
I’d seriously love to see a time warp, where the great teams of the 80’s and 90’s took on teams of today in a 7 game playoff type format.
Besides the teams from yesterday being better anyway (in my humble opinion), they’d sweep every series because guys like Kawhi would sit every other game, while Jordan would play 45 minutes every game, with the flu and a sprained ankle, and drop 50 on him.
Yeah the guys smoking cigarettes in the locker room at the half would definitely out hustle these bums. Dumbest argument ever. Heart wins titles in Disney movies, maybe stick to those.
Oh, stop it. Sure, Heart had some big deal hit singles, but they never won a title, even in a Disney movie.