I was going to write my column on my first round predictions for the NBA playoffs this week, but all that changed with Saturday’s games. Instead, I will talk about the issue with this year’s lockout shortened condense schedule, and how it has degraded the showcase the NBA has to offer its fans.
A regular NBA season might have teams playing two games in a span of three days at most. This season, however, teams were playing three games in a span of five days and even pushing it to seven games in 10 days at times. If that does not cause wear and tear on athletes than someone needs to give fans a better explanation. With Derrick Rose going down the way he did Saturday, the NBA and its fans lost an exciting superstar. Rose tore his ACL and will not only miss the rest of the playoffs but probably six to eight months. Any thoughts that Rose’s injury was just coincidence evaporated when Knicks guard Iman Shumpert went down in a very similar fashion and also tore his ACL Saturday.
The amount of time spent playing and practicing with little or no rest is very much to blame for these injuries and other injuries such as the Magic’s Dwight Howard‘s back injury. The thing is that some in the NBA saw this coming. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made sure to rest and alternate his players this season even when others questioned his decision. Bulls guard Richard Hamilton said to reporters at the beginning of the season that the condensed season would lead to more injuries. As much as I hate to say it, other NBA players getting seriously hurt would not surprise me. I just hope that teams and players take precautions after seeing what transpire Saturday.
