NBA commissioner Adam Silver is the first to admit the league has a rest problem.
The NBA came under fire most of this season because of the issue. Fans paid hard-earned money to see star players suit up, only for them to randomly take rest days on lengthy road trips or ahead of the playoffs.
Silver has one way to help solve the problem—ask more of the arenas themselves. ESPN.com’s Dave McMenamin has the story:
“(We are) requiring our arenas to free up more dates,” Silver said Thursday. “We’re competing against everything else that happens in these buildings, so you can only imagine the number of permutations that go into the computer program. But if we can ask them to hold yet additional nights, that also enables us to create more space between the games.”
The answer here will come down to the business side of things. An arena will make dates available in a way that best pads the profits, so if it’s the NBA or something else remains to be seen.
Either way, this is simply one early angle Silver can take while trying to solve this issue. Teams resting stars ahead of the playoffs seems like a different monster—after all, teams are paying players to win titles, which fans expect. Going into the playoffs well rested could provide an edge in this regard.
Look for Silver to have more on this topic soon as the NBA heads toward a critical offseason.
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