A Well-Deserved Rest: Sponsored by the NBA

Dear NBA fan... You certainly have every right to whine, foot stomp and fist pound when your favorite NBA player is asked (or in some cases, told) to sit the bench and rest up for some future, loftier goal.

But if you truly do value the longevity of a player's career, and you're able to look past the ridiculousness of the current demands on the NBA player, then you'll hopefully be more understanding that sometimes a healthy scratch in the regular season could be helpful in the postseason.

I do not in any way believe this is an intended slight on the fan, who we're supposed to sympathize for if you believe Los Angeles Clippers coach Doc Rivers.

"There's families that probably bought tickets tonight to see Lebron James and us play for the first time and they didn't get a chance to see that, and that's not cool."

This isn't meant to hurt the fan. I don't believe for a moment that James, or Steph Curry, or any NBA player or coach sits around and thinks about ways to screw another team's legion of local fans. 

I do maintain however, that because of outside factors at work, it's unrealistic to expect today's NBA player to push their way through maximum efforts on occasional back-to-back nights in March when the ultimate goal is to be hoisting a championship trophy in the NBA Finals, which won't even begin until June 1.

Were the NBA players in the past different? Were they tougher? Were they more resilient? Did they play through back-to-back nights? 

Yes. Most likely that's an affirmative answer to all four questions.

But the league is also different. The business model has changed. 

From an individual or team perspective, players and owners have (and quite frankly, should have) more control over the product that is out on the court. 

The league also has expectations. They need to fulfill corporate and network obligations with ABC, ESPN and Turner in order to ensure the product on the floor on that first day of June is worthy of all the hype.

And who's responsible for all the nonsensical bickering about teams resting its starters?

Well of course, it's us.

If we want to believe Rivers is right, and that somehow, teams and superstars are obligated to please families as opposed to being interested in their own health and well-being, then you also have to understand that by the time you're watching the NBA Finals, the product on the court might suffer.

But the NBA doesn't care about families. And they certainly don't want an inferior product on the court in the months of May and June.

The business model doesn't worry about you. Unless of course, you're not watching games at all, nor supporting the products and merchandise the league tries to shove down your throat at every opportunity.

Too many sports leagues these days are beginning to show a decreased level of importance towards the live experience.

And it's not just the leagues that are supporting this endeavor. It's a byproduct of the technological revolution. It's just simply easier to promote products through electronic means. 

And why would a sports league or team cater to 18,000 fans in an NBA arena when they can potentially reach hundreds of thousands or potentially tens of millions more while you sit on your couch?

It's been happening for a long time. We've just learned to accept it, with barely a fuss or fight.

But every so often, there's pushback. The voices of resistance rise up and whine, stomp or pound their frustration into the ether.

And the irony of all that?

Guess where you learned about it... the very same media entities that are telling you how crucial it is for teams and leagues to protect their product.

Enjoy the game tonight...



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