How to put the ‘rest’ discussion to rest
The NBA’s “rest” crisis is done for the season. It won’t be an issue, at least not in the garish form of healthy stars sitting out en masse. The commissioner has spoken, everyone knows it’s a fan-insulting joke, and the focus will eventually turn to next season.
Nobody needs to remind Warriors head coach Steve Kerr about such awkward situations. That was a one-off for him (benching four stars in San Antonio), the result of extreme circumstances, and he’s acutely aware of the fans’ side of things. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is known to pull any crazy stunt at any time, but with Commissioner Adam Silver threatening “significant penalties” — and the paying fans acutely aware of the conflict — Popovich is likely to rest his best players only one (maybe two) at a time before the postseason.
In the meantime, what can be done long term? A number of things:
Wipe out the preseason entirely. It’s simply not necessary. Practice hard, figure out your team, take the floor on opening night. Couldn’t be simpler.
Space out the season, and don’t worry if the playoffs extend into July. Why would that really matter?
When scheduling an important game on national television, make sure it’s surrounded by days off — for both teams.
As former NBA player and head coach Sam Mitchell said on NBA TV, “Cut down the shootarounds.” Sleep deprivation is a very big factor in the medical analysis of fatigue. Asking players to wake up early on the road, head to the gym, then go back to the hotel on game days is totally absurd. Just a colossal waste of time unless a morning practice is absolutely necessary.
Let the players speak up. There’s no way that Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala all wanted to skip that game in San Antonio. A serious health issue is one thing. If somebody feels good and wants to play that night, end of argument. That’s been the NBA’s way from the very beginning.
Heed the words of the Rockets’ James Harden, who said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni “knows not to come at me with that. I’m a hooper, I’ll rest when I’m done. This is something I love, and I enjoy the grind. I think that makes you tougher.”
Around the NBA
Is it really so far-fetched that the NBA would trim down its 82-game schedule? A number of insiders are starting to wonder, based on private conversations. Here’s the real problem with the “owners don’t want to lose money” argument: 19 of them are billionaires, from Michael Jordan’s $1.1 billion net worth to Steve Ballmer at $23.5 billion. Sports ownership is a whimsical toy to people like Paul Allen, Mikhail Prokhorov, Stan Kroenke, Mark Cuban and the Dolan family. They don’t have the right to shut down a shortened-season plan as they drink $50,000 bottles of wine in the Gazebo. (Forbes lists the combined net worth of Joe Lacob and Peter Guber at $725 million.)
My plan, radical but so wellbalanced: 58-game schedule. No more conferences. Two games against each of the other 29 teams: once at home, once on the road. And the top 16 teams make the playoffs.
The “twin towers” alignment is no secret in the NBA, going back to Wilt ChamberlainNate Thurmond (1963-64 San Francisco Warriors), Ralph Sampson-Hakeem Olajuwon and Tim Duncan-David Robinson. But now, in the age of the three-point shooting big man, we have a first: two such giants on one team. It hasn’t looked that great in New Orleans so far. DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis are centers, in essence, but neither wants to play as such. The court spacing has been terrible. There are serious questions as to whether Alvin Gentry can keep the head-coaching job. And this talent-poor roster could lose point guard Jrue Holiday as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Know this: Until Cousins grows up, the plan will fail. In the Pelicans’ loss to Houston on Friday night, the Rockets’ Ryan Anderson spent the evening trying to annoy Cousins with flops and awkward collisions — and it worked. “He’s such an elite player,” Anderson said afterward. “But when he gets frustrated, that’s when he’s at his worst. It’s part of the game plan — to get him frustrated.”
Tremendous performance by Kentucky freshman point guard De’Aaron Fox in the Wildcats’ win over UCLA on Friday night. He goes where he wants on the floor, a penetrator supreme, and he loves the big moment. He outplayed the Bruins’ Lonzo Ball, who struggled through the second half with a tweaked hamstring, but Ball still has the edge in the upcoming draft. Fox lives to score, and his shot (even from mid-range) needs some work. Ball’s intensely selfless nature makes him a can’t-miss acquisition.
That could be awkward: The Lakers draft Ball, moving D’Angelo Russell to shooting guard, and well-grounded coach Luke Walton has to deal with Lonzo’s preposterous father, LaVar. Hopefully not too often.