Article Title:
NBA Teams Are Resting Players Earlier And Earlier
Article Link: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/nba-teams-are-resting-players-earlier-and-earlier/Discussion Question(s):
1. Should the NBA be able to take away player’s right’s to rest?
2. Will resting really prevent injuries in the playoffs or future games?
3. What should be the penalty, if any, for resting players?
4. Does this process of resting players help or hurt business in the NBA, why or why not?
I don't think that resting a player will eliminate injuries in future games. I think it will help players come out with more energy and play better in the game. I don’t think that there should be a penalty for resting players. If a team like the Cavaliers want to rest Lebron James the punishment is that they are playing without one of the best players in the world. If there were to be a punishment, I believe it should be a small fine to pay to the league because it could take views away from the game. For example who would watch the Cavs without Lebron? It would definitely take a toll on viewers.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the NBA should be able to take away a players' right to rest. This can be crucial, to keep players healthy as well as less risk of injury if there is a severe problem. Players should be able to play until their limit, and not have to max out just in the name of the game. However, with this being said there should be guidelines that constitute "resting" out on games. For example if you are too sick to play or have a form of an injury building up, perfect reasons to need to rest. But, if players are just resting for the heck of it, it is not only non beneficial to those who would really need it as well as showing a form of favoritism when coaches seat their best players.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that the NBA should take away a player’s right to rest. Players and coaches should be able to choose when they play by a process of ongoing discussions about strategy and overall health. The common saying, “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” applies to all sports teams. Almost all players will be playing for several years, and will continue to live lives after they stop playing their sports. The concept of resting when not physically necessary feels quite similar to taking a mental health day at school. Sometimes, students just don’t feel up to the regular demands of a school day. Taking some time to rest doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with them, but that they are human. As a result, there shouldn’t be a penalty for resting players, as long as it too frequent. I disagree with the practice of sitting players to rest for the postseason in October, but I think that moderation is key. Resting players may disappoint fans who come to see a specific player and could reduce viewership, but I think that the NBA should not obsess over this metric. Allowing players to take breaks when they want to will make games more exciting when they are playing.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the NBA does not have the right to take away the players right to rest for a few games out of the season. Players health and safety should be of the utmost importance to the NBA. Thus players should be allowed time to rest in an extremely long and taxing 83 game season. Resting the players in a game should not be a penalty, because the team is already putting them-selfs at a severe disadvantage when not playing their starting core. Sitting out players is a valid strategy for teams to take, because it will allow players to recover from the minor injuries, and prevent future ones from occurring. The process of benching the players for games hurts the business of the game, because fans watching the games are expecting to see the star players on the court, and are later disappointed when they see that those players are on the bench.
ReplyDeleteI think the notion that resting during season games will lead to less injuries during playoff games is a completely ridiculous notion. There is no evidence whatsoever suggesting that if someone plays in a game, 2 months later there is less chance they will get hurt. But the fact of the matter is that it should be up to the teams whether to play their players or not, legally. Of course it makes sense that the NBA is very upset about resting top players, because many fans that go to watch the game go to see the big stars. Therefore, people will know when stars aren't playing, and ratings will fall. But unless the NBA threatens to kick teams out of the league if they do not comply, there isn't much that can be done.
ReplyDeleteShould the NBA be able to take away player’s right’s to rest?
ReplyDeleteI don't think the NBA should have any right to stop teams from resting players even if they're among the league's elite players. I think that player and safety should be of the most importance to the league. Most players play whole games and almost every game during the season. I think the league should be ok if players like Lebron, Kawhi Leonard, and Kyrie because they players will play better. Also they won't be dehydrated.
I don't think resting players necessarily prevents future injury in players, however I do believe it keeps players fresh and more ready for the playoffs. That being said the NBA does not have the right to force teams to play players. I understand that teams not playing their stars makes ratings go down, but in the end, playoffs make ratings and sales skyrocket once more. I think the tradeoff with stars being refreshed and playing more competitive in the playoffs is worth it for both the viewers as well as the business of the NBA. I don't think there should be a punishment for teams. There is already a punishment of lower viewership as well as ticket sales, but I think that is a punishment they are willing to take.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the NBA should take away the rights of players to rest. However, I can see how it hurts their business. The NBA simply wouldn't be the same without big names like Lebron, Steph Curry etc. Star players are the main attraction to viewers. They can pull off flashy moves and are simply fun to watch. If those players aren't playing, fans may get bored and stop watching. Athletes need rest, it keeps them sane, healthy and ready to play in big games. I see where the NBA is coming from, but I don't feel that gives them the right to force athletes into playing.
ReplyDeleteThe NBA without a doubt should not be allowed to take away the players' rights to rest and the coaches rights to bench their players and do what is best for the team. I think that resting will prevent injuries in further games, because these players are worked all day every day to further their basketball skills. Their muscles and bones are being worked to the core, and for the health and safety of the players, they should get days off like any other worker. The act of resting players in the NBA would not hurt business unless it is announced beforehand. If a team acknowledges that a player is going to be taking a rest day, less people who aren't die hard fans are going to attend the game. While it will hurt business every once in a while, for the safety of the players, and for the rights of people, rest days should be allowed and expected in the NBA.
ReplyDeleteResting players in the NBA is an interesting topic, the league has made the games more spread out this year to try to stop teams from resting their stars. But I do believe it's possible that resting players will protect them from being injured in future games, 82 games in not so many months is a lot of games to play. Playing 20 games in 3 months is a lot for me in hockey I can't imagine 82 in a season. It takes a tole on players and I think it's okay for players to rest if they need rest. Although I do think it's a decision for the players to make not coaches. If players think they need a game to sit because of the tole the season is taking on them then so be it. There should absolutely not be any penalty for players being rested because it is what they believe is best for their team and health.
ReplyDeleteDoes this process of resting players help or hurt business in the NBA, why or why not?
ReplyDeleteI believe that resting players in the NBA overall hurts it as a business. I think this because it's obvious that people watch basketball especially because of the big-name stars and house-hold names and they want to see those guys play. They won't watch a game with the subs and reserve players playing while the stars are resting. I remember there was a game between the spurs and the warriors last season. It was highly anticipated leading up to the point where it was announced the Kawhi, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and other stars were resting during that game and they would not play. It ended up being one of the lowest rated games all season. That should show what effect this could have on the NBA as a business.
The process of the teams resting players clearly hurts the NBA for the business standpoint. For example, if the Cavs and the Warriors are playing against each other, it will probably be on national television, and many people would initially tune in to watch. However, if they found out that both Lebron James and Stephen Curry were resting, they would quickly turn off their TVs, making ratings plummet. This would cause disaster for the NBA because with bad ratings, they would not be able to charge a lot for advertisements, and they may even lose sponsers. With that being said, I think that the NBA should be allowed to limit the number of games a starting player could take off per season, and not allow them to sit out of featured matchups. That way, the NBA will be able to make money off these athletes while still keeping them happy, and giving them a well deserved rest.
ReplyDeleteI think resting players does really help players prevent injuries in future player games. Before this year, the NBA’s schedule with back-to-back games was brutal. Some players are playing more than 35 minutes a night, and not many players can maintain that over 82 games. During the 2014-15, LeBron James took about 2 weeks off from back pain during the beginning of January and he didn’t sit out for the rest of the year, and he’s probably the most indestructible player to play basketball ever. Rest has prolonged the careers of players like Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki because their coaches understood that their age/body would fail them in tougher playoff games if they played all 82 games. In fact, the Spurs were probably the team that started the trend of resting players, no matter the potential matchup. Coach Gregg Popovich knew that a regular season game isn’t as important as a playoff game.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it’s very clear that resting players does hurt the NBA from a business aspect. Last year, during a primetime Saturday night game between the Cavaliers and the Clippers, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving sat out due to rest, so promptly the fans at the stadium and at home were not as interested. This is why I think it’s good the NBA finally has created a schedule that reduced the amount of back to back games, so us fans can now actually see our favorite players play more games, even if they aren’t on TV as often. It’s a win for the players and the teams as well as the owners and the NBA in general.
I believe the NBA should not be able to take away athlete's right to rest. It is important for athletes to rest up for big games, even if it means benching for a less important game. Basketball is a highly intensive sport that requires skill, endurance, and aggression because it is a slight contact sport. These athletes are not as young as college athletes, and they should be able to have a bit more time to rest their body. The NBA should in fact support this, because they should allow their players to heal more otherwise there could be more injury.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that resting players will eliminate possible injuries in future games, but I do think that it will help players health. If a player is able to rest out a few games, he will have to take the chances of getting hurt in one of those games, leaving him healthy for the playoffs and the time being. Gordon Hayward for example, it only took him one game to get injured. Like Lebron James said in the article, I don't understand why it is a big deal for players to take a rest. If they were not as big of names it would not matter. Just because they are superstars does not mean you can take away their right to rest.
ReplyDeleteShould the NBA be able to take away player’s right’s to rest?
ReplyDeleteNo, I do not think the NBA should have the power to take a player's right to rest away. All athletes, elite players of not, are humans too, and NEED to rest in order to give time for their body to repair and minimize their chances of getting injured. It's not worth it for teams to over work their best players just for the audience's sake of seeing them on the floor. If elite players didn't rest, it would only put more wear and tear and fatigue onto the players, in turn not making them able to play at their best, essentially making the team worse. Fans should want their players to rest if they want to win.
Should the NBA be able to take away the player's right's to rest?
ReplyDeleteThe notion that the NBA can take away the resting time for their players is ridiculous, it would not only damage the reputation of the NBA but could also completely backfire on them. First off, players use the time to rest to recuperate and relax their bodies, without any resting time, games would become slow and full of intentional penalties to stop the clock. Second, the games could lose advertisement time and therefore lose revenue, basically the more time the players play the less display time for ads. Taking away a players resting time is basically the same as saying that you will have to run a full marathon without getting water or a second to catch your breath.
Overall, I feel as if the NBA should not totally be able to take players rights away to rest. This is because some players like Kobe and Tim Duncan need rest especially at the end of their career's. Although this is true the NBA still should offer incentives for the players to play in as many games as possible because it helps the NBA for these players to suit up and play. These incentives could mean players get money for every game they participate in or losing out on merchandise deals depending on the amount of games they miss. This will help separate players from resting and essentially just taking a break from player who need the rest to actually prevent injury.
ReplyDeleteNo i do not think that the NBA should be able to take away players rights to rest. Players should be able to choose when they play and when they need to rest. If players believe they need to rest then they should be able to have that choice. I also think that resting would prevent certain injuries. Players are practicing hours and hours everyday and are overworking their muscles.
ReplyDelete