The Midrange Game

The league’s answer for a shortened season: injuries

From NBA Quotes blog,

nbaquotes:

- 66 games in 123 days

- 50 hours of rest between the last game of the season and the first playoff game

Out of all the team sports in the world, basketball is one of the most exhausting games, especially during the season.  The National Basketball Association 82 game season is already a challenge for players. This lockout-shortened season makes injuries look contagious.

High energy sports, like football (soccer), football, and rugby union have more rest in between matches.  Light practices, and various tournaments with a large roster helps organizations comforted about their players’ stamina.

The NBA on the other hand, has games almost every other day.  Throughout the course of the average season, players fatigue as they inch closer to the postseason.

However, this shortened and tight schedule seems to include more injuries than any other season in the league’s history.  It is no coincidence to hear another season-ending injury after another. 

Teams don’t even practice as much in this lockout season, and the games have taken a toll on their physical capabilities night after night.  The schedule definitely caused the epidemic.

I was always against the league’s 82-game rule.  I favor a 50 to 60 game season from November to April.  It would give more rest for teams, and have more fans anxious to see how their teams perform once or twice a week.  The pace of the season will slow down, and the attendance count and television viewers will increase. 

This would be a win-win for owners and players, but hurt the NBA’s long standing reputation of 82 games.  Records would be harder to break, therefore that maybe why the change is unlikely.

Other than my crazy solution, Commissioner David Stern shouldn’t have lived up to his name: Stern.  This is only one season, it could have been shorter.  Records or ticket sales are already affected, yet Commissioner Stern was still stubborn.  Now players that have been out for a long period of time due to serious injuries may change the course of a player’s career forever because of Stern’s decision.

• Source: nbaquotes
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