This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
NBA teams have been strategically resting their star players for years, but the issue over how and when teams decide to sit their superstars has erupted into a full-blown controversy this month.
Few would dispute that the NBA's 82-game schedule is a grind. Many would also agree that top players — particularly veterans — should get an occasional night off so they are healthy and operating at peak efficiency when the playoffs roll around.
But the more recent practice of benching mulitple starters and/or marquee players with little or no notice, has created a fierce backlash — both from fans who pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars to attend the games, and the league's national television partners, who are stuck with unappealing matchups when the stars they have hyped leading up to their telecasts don't play. Finally, there are the NBA's high-profile alumni, who mostly sneer at the practice.
"Us old-school guys, we don't like it," former Knicks and Hall of Fame point guard Walt "Clyde" Frazier told The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week. "We didn't have that luxury when I played. We had to play through commercials, back-to-backs, whatever they told us to do. We paved the way for these guys and they are biting the hand that feeds them. The reason the league is so big today is because of the TV money, and now they are sitting out?"
All of this has now landed at the doorstep of NBA commissioner Adam Silver, who this week sent out a memo to each team, asking owners to become more involved with what has traditionally been coaching decision about who plays and who doesn't — and threatening clubs with hefty fines if they rest players during nationally televised games without providing the league with sufficient notice.
What had already been a hot topic of conversation around the league reached a tipping point in the last two weeks.
In last weekend's prime time ABC game pitting the defending NBA champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Staples Center, the Cavs' big three — LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Keven Love — were all given the night off, though Irving and Love both had injury issues. The Clippers won in a blowout against a Cleveland starting lineup that included Deron Williams, Channing Frye, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tristan Thompson.
A week earlier, when Golden State played at San Antonio in another nationally televised game, the Warriors — already without Kevin Durant (knee injury) — sat Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala. The Spurs, playing without Kawhi Leonard (concussion protocol) rolled to a 107-85 victory.
"The game has changed," Indiana Pacers center Al Jefferson said. "When I first came into the league, players weren't allowed to rest. Now, we're in a different era. It's not right, or wrong, but it is what it is."
The origins
In today's NBA, almost every team designates periods of rest along the way for their players, for a variety of reasons. The schedule is grueling, with teams playing as many as four games in five nights. Players show signs of wear and tear. In the case of the Cavaliers and James, the reasoning is simple: At 32 years old, LeBron has played more minutes than anyone in NBA history at his age. Keeping him fresh for what is sure to be another long postseason run has become a priority.
"We're in an analytic age," Indiana small forward and former Jazzman C.J. Miles said. "And it's not the players who are resting on their own. We're not making those decisions. Teams are making those decisions for us. It's not like we're saying we don't want to go out and play."
The Spurs started the practice a decade ago, periodically resting Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. And it worked. Limiting Duncan's minutes in his early 30s played a significant role in his ability to remain an impactful player until he retired last year.
It also extended the Spurs' championship window by a number of years.
The thing is, James told reporters earlier this week, the Spurs never incurred the wrath of fans or former NBA players for doing so. San Antonio was fined $250,000 by the NBA in 2012 when coach Gregg Popovich sat his stars for a nationally televised game against the Miami Heat. Then Commissioner David Stern said the Spurs "did a disservice" to the league and the fans.
But outside of that incident, Popovich was lauded for having the foresight to do whatever possible in extending the primes of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker. It's hard to argue against the results. The Spurs have been the NBA's most consistent franchise since 1997, the year Duncan was drafted.
The NBA is a copycat league, and the issue of rest is no different. Teams would rather sacrifice individual games at various points during the regular season, than risk long-term health issues. Even the Jazz — as they prepare to face the Clippers at the Staples Center on Saturday afternoon — have rested players over the course of the season. Joe Johnson sat one game, and Gordon Hayward sat another, though he was officially listed out with a finger injury. It's not just Cleveland, San Antonio and Golden State. More rest for key players has become an NBA-wide trend.
Even Silver buys into the concept.
"We are realistic that science has gotten to the point where there is a direct correlation between fatigue and injuries," Silver said during All-Star weekend. "As tough as it is on our fans to miss one of their favorite players for a game, it's far better than having them get injured and be out for long periods of time."
The controversy that has erupted this month is more specifically about resting key players during what the league and its television partners consider marquee matchups. The NBA recently signed a $24 billion dollar contract with ESPN and Turner Sports, so nobody was happy with the last two primetime games.
"Why are the players sitting nationally televised games?," Frazier said. "When we played, those are the games that we most wanted to play in. The games against the great teams."
Who loses?
The rest issue is one of those complex subjects where each side can put forth a valid argument. Yes, the NBA is hurt when players sit during nationally televised contests. At the same time, coaches are operating with championship aspirations and are gearing up for long playoff runs. And former players are steadfast in believing that today's players are sullying a league they helped build.
"It just seems like the players today don't have the love for the game that we had," former Jazz forward Bryon Russell said.
But the fans have the biggest gripe. They are the ultimate losers, the ones who shell out the money to see their favorite stars.
"We definitely feel for the fans," Miles said.
This particularly hits home in inter-conference matchups, where teams meet only twice per season.
If a fan of a Western Conference team shells out for tickets when the Cavs come to town and James gets a night off for rest, that fan is out of luck — and money.
That's what happened to those who showed up to the Staples Center last week to see the Clippers play Cleveland. It happened earlier this season, when James sat against the Memphis Grizzlies.
"We are sympathetic to the fans who turn out and don't see their favorite player on the floor," Silver said. "We hope that we will be able to cut down on the resting of players in marquee games."
The NBA has been aware of the issue for a long time, and oficials are taking steps to alleviate the grind for their players. The regular season will start a week earlier next October. The league is cutting preseason games from seven to four. They are limiting back-to-backs, and are all but eliminating teams playing four games in five nights.
The hope is that the extra time will allow for more built-in rest for players — and fewer healthy scratches on game nights.
"We know that there isn't an easy solution to that problem," Silver said. "But we're still looking to strike that right balance."
tjones@sltrib.com Twitter: @tribjazz —
'Pop' pops off on the rest issue
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was an early practitioner of strategically resting his top players, beginning back in the middle of the Tim Duncan era. As the rest issue has blossomed into controversy around the NBA and commisioner Adam Silver has threatened teams with fines if they sit their stars in marquee games without notice, Popovich told ESPN:
"I would do the same thing if I was in [Silver's] shoes. But I think that just because we're coaches and GMs doesn't mean we don't understand or know what's going on with the business side.
"We definitely added years to people. So it's a trade-off. You want to see this guy in this one game? Or do you want to see him for three more years in his career? And do you want to see him in the playoffs because he didn't get hurt because maybe he got rest."
—
Jazz at Clippers
Saturday, 1:30 MDT
At Staples Center, Los Angeles
TV • ROOT Sports
Radio • 97.5 FM; 1280 AM
Records • Utah 44-28; Los Angeles 43-30
Last Meeting • Utah 114-108 (March 13)
About the Jazz • Derrick Favors and Shelvin Mack have both been out of the lineup for the last two weeks. Favors is managing pain in his knee, and Mack is getting over a sprained ankle. … Gordon Hayward scored 27 points in Utah's win over the Clippers almost two weeks ago. … The Jazz have lost nine of their last 10 games to Los Angeles. … Rudy Gobert is coming off a career-high 35-point performance in a win over the New York Knicks
About the Clippers • They trail the Jazz by a game and a half for the fourth playoff spot in the Western Conference. The fourth spot carries homecourt advantage in the first round. …The Clippers are tied in the loss column with the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are a game behind in the sixth spot. … The Clippers have won three of their last four games, but lost to the Dallas Mavericks Thursday, with JJ Redick missing a shot at the buzzer. … Clippers star Blake Griffin has hit 39 percent of his 3-pointers in his last 19 games