Sixers head coach Doc Rivers believes it would be good for the NBA to give teams more time in the fall to prepare for the regular season. While Rivers doesn’t think the preseason needs to be extended, he’d like to see the league give teams the opportunity to hold longer training camps.
“Five (preseason) games, four games, three games, I actually think that’s the right number‚” Rivers said, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “I’m not really sure what the right number is, because every year it really depends on who your team is. But the week of camp is absurd to me. I think you should have more time. Two weeks would be great.”
As Rivers explains, he believes giving players a longer ramp-up period leading up to the regular season would help reduce injuries during the season.
“I think health-wise it would be smarter if we had more time,” he said.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The NBA G League Ignite announced this week in a press release that they’ve added 10 games to their schedule for the 2021/22 season, beginning in January. The Ignite is taking part in the G League tournament that will open the season, but won’t participate in the subsequent NBAGL regular season. While these newly-added 10 games will be against G League opponents, they won’t count toward the league’s standings.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) takes an in-depth look at some of the most interesting – and potentially impactful – incentives included in player contracts around the NBA for the 2021/22 season.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic applied his player-valuation formula to this year’s remaining candidates for rookie scale extensions, attempting to determine what those deals should be worth and which players have a decent chance to get something done by the October 18 deadline.
- In a deep dive for The Athletic, Jon Krawczysnki and Kelly Iko spoke to Timberwolves and Rockets sources about Jimmy Butler‘s and James Harden‘s trade demands to get a sense of what it’s like for an organization when a star player attempts to force his way out of town. While Butler’s and Harden’s efforts were successful, Sixers star Ben Simmons remains in limbo.
Rivers is certainly right about evaluating players, although it is questionable how many players in camp really have a shot at the regular season roster.
He is perhaps right about injuries, but you would think players making millions based upon their health would take care of that on their own during the off-season. Experience and human nature seems to indicate otherwise.