Adam Silver Throws Down Gauntlet on Resting Players

Published on 5-Apr-2017 by Raoul Duke

Basketball - NBA    NBA Daily Review

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Adam Silver Throws Down Gauntlet on Resting Players

With the NBA regular season winding down, a familiar topic is being discussed once more.

Every year around this time, the more enlightened coaches in the league will begin to systematically rest their franchise players in anticipation of the playoffs.

Actually, the super-smart coaches will do this throughout the season, but we really begin to see this in the last quarter or so of the regular season.

Of course, this makes perfect sense.

Despite the obvious logic at play here, Adam Silver is taking exception to this common practice.

The fearless leader of our beloved Association recently sent a memo out to all 30 NBA teams suggesting that the league office is keeping a close eye on such things.

Obviously, Silver is concerned with the NBA bottom line, and when star players sit out of nationally televised games, business tends to suffer.

Problem is, there is no practical way to regulate these practices.

Let's be real here.

The NBA regular season is a pitiless 82-game slog, and many of these games are meaningless.

The playoffs are where the bread is buttered, and suggesting otherwise is just silly.

Of course, when the Cleveland Cavaliers come to your NBA city and the Big Three are all in street clothes, that kinda sucks. Especially at premium ticket prices.

This is a complicated issue with no clear solution, so we shall see.

But fear not.

The playoffs begin on Sat 15 Apr.

There you go.