The lack of competition is one thing, but then you got teams resting their players. That’s what making the season even more wacker. Imagine being a fan and getting the schedule at the beginning of the year. You pick out a game that showcases your favorite players. You arrive at the arena, only to find out those players not playing. Like really? Money is too hard to come by for you to waste it watching the reserves play. It is one thing for the superstar to be hurt or to get ejected; but not to play because you are tired. That’s that bullshit right there.
One of the excuses that organizations use for resting, is that the scheduling of back to back games causes increase wear and tear on the players. . Coaches have become cautious and sympathetic towards veteran players who have to travel city to city and play multiple games in a 24 hour span. Teams are giving players the night off and in some instances relinquishing them the duty of traveling with the team. LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving sat out the Memphis Grizzles game this season. They didn’t even travel to the game. LeBron rebuttal was that “he has played 14 years in this league,” and he felt he didn’t have to explain himself to nobody. He said “he wasn’t a rookie” and he has played in every arena. He even boasted that he played in Seattle arena and they don’t even have a team anymore. Well Mr. James I read this in an article on NBA.com written by Steve Aschburner. He said that Michael Jordan played 82 games as a rookie and 82 games in his final season with the Washington Wizards. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Beyond that, what about Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love? They haven’t logged as many minutes as LeBron and they still get the night off. Some justification was given to Greg Popovich when he first started to rest his big three players of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobilli. The knowledgeable NBA fan understood resting those veterans was a move to get them ready for the playoff run. But now this shit hasn’t gotten out of hand. It’s not even midseason yet and players are taking a rest. You have a bunch of overpaid mediocre players taking games off. Look at the Philadelphia 76ers, who not only has set a precedent for losing, but also neglect to play it’s players. They have limit the minutes of two top draft picks, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid. To top that off, they won’t even let this year number one pick Ben Simmons play. It has turned the NBA into a diluted product. The only bright spot this year, has been the play of Russell Westbrook. When you think about it, everyone marvels at his passion, energy, and tenacity. These traits stand out in his game because the majority of the players don’t possess it or display it.
We saw it in baseball this year, when the Cubs came from a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series. We see it in the NFL. But when it comes to the NBA; it seems they are lacking. Honestly as a fan of basketball and the NBA; I am disappointed. To get a taste of competitive basketball I been watching College Men’s basketball. It seems that’s where the best basketball is being played these days. With that said, I wanted to shout out my second favorite basketball player after Russell Westbrook, and that’s Lonzo Ball of UCLA. I suggest you check him out before he becomes corrupted by the ills of the NBA or he gets drafted by the 76er’s. I put a clip of him below; check it out.