NBA legend Charles Barkley ripped today’s NBA stars for the entire schedule of games featuring everyone sitting out. ESPN’s coverage of the final day of the season was hopeful to see a couple of important games deciding the seeding. However, zero games will feature both team’s starters playing and trying to get an important victory.
Barkley called out the league for having countless players outside of the superstars resting on the final day:
“I saw a stat. 170 players didn’t play Friday. As much as I love Adam Silver, we gotta do something. We can’t have 170 starters not playing. Come on, man.
You rest Wemby, maybe. You rest Joker, Jamal Murray, and Aaron Gordon. You rest LeBron because he’s 102 years old. All these dudes just sitting out? It’s just disrespectful. Kenny, you’re being ridiculous. They’re not getting a check? They’re not getting a check? Come on, man.”
Barkley was corrected that 170 players did not rest on Friday since that number is far too high. However, the former MVP backed up his original point that role players on playoff teams and most players on losing teams should not be resting. Barkley claimed this is disrespectful to the league and NBA fans.
Only Adam Silver Can Stop This
One of the most interesting things about Barkley’s rant was him naming Commissioner Adam Silver as needing to step in and make a difference. Silver is known as a player friendly Commissioner, but many of his biggest problems have come from giving the players too much leverage.
Load management has become a real issue with players intentionally sitting out games to rest throughout the season. The 65-game rule has led to a controversial fallout of top stars getting snubbed from awards and All-NBA votes.
Silver can’t be too happy about the NBA planning a big final day of the season with every team playing to result in zero games between two competitive teams. The Atlanta Hawks vs Miami Heat game is the only one with two teams having something to play for, and even Atlanta is resting starters since they don’t care that much about the seeding difference between fifth and sixth.
Why Every Team Is Resting Stars
The rationale behind the NBA having such a terrible final day comes from wanting to conserve energy for the postseason. Names like Luka Doncic, Cade Cunningham, and Anthony Edwards dealing with injuries in the final weeks show how fast things can change.
Most teams with something to play for want to keep it safe and have their talents ready for the play-in games this week or the playoffs officially starting next week. Today’s game does see more injuries taking place due to the faster pace and athleticism used each night.
Barkley echoes a lot of what NBA fans think, especially since NFL and MLB players sit out much less than NBA players in this context. However, the changes to today’s game and the recent slew of injuries often influence decision making. No team wants to ruin their playoff chances on the final day with a fluky injury.
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