Following a joke delivered by Kawhi Leonard last month that seemed to scoff at the NBA’s participation policy to rid the league of load management, it seems clear the change is working. We’ve flipped on Clippers games for years now and yet somehow rarely ever managed to see the likes of Kawhi or Paul George on the floor together.
We get it — injuries happen as they potentially snowball on the back half of a career, but despite those factors it just so happens that this group is finally healthy when the NBA forced teams to prove why they can’t play.
An insane coincidence, indeed. We’ll let it slide and chalk it up to a more well-rounded game plan working better than load management.
So let’s take a look back: Kawhi was unfortunately only able to participate in 52 games in both 2021 and 2022 and now the 6-foot-7 forward has already played in 26 contests to go along with playing the most minutes per game he’s played…ever. You read that correctly — the NBA is now forcing teams to send in reasoning for a player that’s unable to participate on any given night to then be approved by the league and now Leonard is returning to the floor more often than ever and for longer. Like magic.
George seems to think it was just bad luck.
“We had injuries we were trying to keep minimal,” George said after last month’s loss to the Warriors.
Questioning those injuries is a game we won’t play, however, this brings us back to the question if sitting out tonight helps an athlete play tomorrow.
And in an article written this past month by myself where we introduced the idea that players need to play in order to build their bodies up for sustained health, the results we’re seeing now seem to align with that hypothesis. George suggests it’s bad luck. Look — Leonard was bubble-wrapped the past few years, it didn’t work, the NBA has forced him out on the floor to the excitement of the fans as we love watching him play, and now it’s all coming together for the two-time NBA champion.
We’re thrilled to see Kawhi and any other star that’s seeing similar success staying healthy this year, and genuinely hope it continues. After all, without star players this league isn’t nearly as enjoyable.
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