Load management has taken over the league, with teams forcing star players to sit on the bench to prevent them from getting injured.
The average NBA fan goes to the arenas to watch teams play, expecting the star players to be there. Unfortunately, a problem with load management has arisen over the past few years, meaning the star players the fans want to see are off the court.
It has become such a problem that the NBA has implemented a rule where players must play at least 65 games to be eligible for end-of-season awards. Former champion Rasheed Wallace believes this reliance on load management has led to more players getting injured, going against the strategy's initial goal.
"It's a joke though to me. If you're hurt, sit down, go and sit out for however long it takes for your injury, and nurse your injury. I'm 1000% with what you said, that's unfair for the fans and the families," Wallace said on Sheed & Tyler. "That star player isn't playing, they're over there on the bench, iced out and s**t. As that fan, I would feel like kinda robbed."
Players don't want load management
NBA players want more people to know they are not behind the load management strategy. Yes, it benefits them by avoiding injuries, but they want to play and represent their team for the fans.
DeMar DeRozan recently discussed his mentality about this load management issue, as he wants to play as much as possible. He led the league in minutes played during the 2023/24 regular season, backing up his talk with his actions.
"I take offense to NBA players who sit out games and don't play. I always tell people if I could walk, I'll play, " DeMar said on The Pivot Podcast. "If nothing's broken, I will play. We don't get many opportunities to play this game; it's gonna be over one day. I don't want to look back and say I should've played this game. Yeah, it will be painful, I had some nights I questioned how I would get through a game, but I pushed through it, and I'm more satisfied… It means that much to me."
Many have shared his sentiment as players like Stephen Curry and James Harden have said they want to keep playing on the court. They want to avoid missing time as much as possible because playing professional basketball is a privilege, and they want to reward the fans for buying tickets.
Load management will likely continue
Unfortunately, teams want to protect their investments in their players, so they are sitting them out as much as possible without jeopardizing the team's morale. However, that has backfired for some teams because they might have sat out some games, but they can still get hurt through a freak injury.
That happened to Kawhi Leonard multiple times, leading to him becoming the face of load management . In the long-term future, load management can improve, but teams must take the fans into account because they are the reason why they are earning so much money by consuming and essentially paying for the product that, in some people's opinion, has decreased in quality over the past couple of years.
Related: “It just doesn’t show that resting, sitting guys out correlates with lack of injuries” - Joe Dumars drops truth bomb on the science behind load management
Most Popular
Comments / 0