Every NBA season we end up talking about rest. It happens when a coach decides to rest his players in a game that we didn’t want them to. We’re talking about it again because the resting has gotten out of hand, some say. They’re resting in Cleveland. They’re resting San Antonio. They’re resting in Oakland. It’s become an epidemic, some say. But that’s short-sighted, I say. Gregg Popovich knows what I’m talking about.
“We have definitely added years to people,” Popovich said recently (h/t USAT). “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 and he was playing so much.”
When it comes to most things, I side with Popovich. He seems smart because he dresses like a professor and drinks wine. But I propose we take this one step further. Rather than limit rest to the second night of a back-to-back or when he’s feeling petty and wants to stick it to ESPN, we should be resting players more.
Do I want to see them for three more years in his career? Yes, Pop. But you know what’s better than three more years? Five more years. 10 more years. Even 25 more years! How do we do this, you ask? Allow the best players to rest 82 games a season, that way they can play forever.
Just imagine if Michael Jordan rested every game since he was drafted. He would still be in the league! We could still be watching Michael Jordan, the undisputed GOAT, in today’s NBA. Bill Walton, the greatest player who could never stay on the court, wouldn’t have had his career cut short if he didn’t have to play. Charles Barkley, if he were allowed to take games off without consequence, would still be in the NBA and, more importantly, not on our TVs. What if instead of running the Pacers around in circles, Larry Bird was still a small forward on the Celtics?
Imagine an NBA where we have current greats like LeBron James, Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook and Omri Casspi AND the greats of the past like Jordan, Walton, Barkley and Bird. Everyone’s favorite flannel Tim Duncan might still be in the league if Popovich just rested him more. How wonderfully wonderful would that NBA be?
Adam Silver sent a strongly worded memo to NBA teams saying that they should not rest their players. Silver also seems smart because he has glasses and talks mostly from behind a podium, but I disagree with him here. This is the part where this turns into an open letter to Mr. Silver.
Mr. Silver:
The saying is “no rest for the wicked” which basically includes Matt Barnes, DeMarcus Cousins, the Clippers and Future. Everyone else should be allowed to rest without threat of strongly worded memos.
End open letter.
Next: Karl-Anthony Towns uses the triple-threat like a point guard
Look, I love watching my favorite players as much as anyone. But Popovich is right. Would you rather watch James Harden hit a game-winning, coast-to-coast layup with 2.4 seconds left against the Denver Nuggets in some rando game in March, or root for a Rockets team that has Harden, Dikembe Mutombo, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming and for the indefinite future? That’s what I thought.