Resting players is a major topic in the NBA right now and Ex-NBA commissioner David Stern has finally weighed in on the matter.
In some ways, resting players is part of a playoff team’s strategy down the stretch and a byproduct of the NBA’s brutal schedule. Teams want to win titles and entering the playoffs well rested can help.
But for teams out of the running there is little gain in resting players unless a team is outright tanking.
This is where Stern has a problem. The Brooklyn Nets rested players during a game late in the season and Stern isn’t too happy about it, per Sam Amick of USA Today:
“I have no idea what was in the mind of the executives of the Brooklyn Nets — none — when they rested their starting players. If you’re playing in a game of consequence, that has an impact, which is as good as it gets (you should play your players). Here we are, the Brooklyn Nets are out of the running. They have the lowest record in the sport. But they have an opportunity to weigh in on the final game with respect to Chicago. And they sit their starters? Really? It’s inexcusable in my view. I don’t think the Commissioner maybe can, or even should, do anything about it. But shame on the Brooklyn Nets. They broke the (pact with fans).”
Stern does admit the Nets could have done this unintentionally, which would be a pretty Nets things to do.
Either way, the comments speak to a bigger problem in the NBA today. Playoff teams can at least justify doing so, though it admittedly hurts fans who show up at games the same. Teams out of the running doing so is a big red flag and messes with the competitive nature of the league.
Rest assured the NBA will spend the offseason taking a long hard look at how to address the issue.
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