Why NBA fans should be railing against the new load management rule

Over the years, the NBA has made some rather peculiar decisions. The strict dress code for players on the bench and the synthetic ball are just two examples. 

While any new rules are presumably implemented to make the game better or improve the NBA’s image, many of these — like the above examples — are often not well thought out and ultimately come back to bite the league. It remains to be seen if the upcoming In-Season Tournament will do the same.

One new rule taking effect this season concerns load management for players. Teams are now forbidden from resting healthy “star” players. These are players who have been an All-Star or on an All-NBA team in any of the past three seasons. 

While high-profile or nationally televised games are the main focus, teams can also be fined for resting multiple players for any game or keeping them out of away contests. Fines can eventually exceed $1M if there are multiple infractions.

It’s clear why the NBA is doing this. They don’t want marquee games to be played by less-than-marquee players. While this may be great for the casual fan who wants to turn on TNT on a random night to watch Lebron James battle Joel Embiid, it’s the fans of the Lakers and Sixers and every other team who could ultimately lose.

True fans don’t care a whole lot about their team winning some random regular season game. They care about the long-term wellbeing of their players. They would gladly take losses throughout the year if this meant that their best players were healthy and rested for the postseason. 

The new rule makes it a lot more difficult to give guys time off to deal with nagging issues that may not put them on the injured list but might eventually. And what about players who are just worn out and need a night off?

As many have pointed out, the real problem with the NBA is that the season is way too long. This becomes evident in the playoffs when many players seem to be running on fumes and every other game is a blowout. 

The solution to trim the season seems pretty obvious, but with so much TV money at stake, this is a non-starter. Besides, could you imagine someone like nepo (cry) baby James Dolan giving up even a handful of sold-out games at Madison Square Garden?

Everybody wants to see the best basketball players in the world playing great basketball every game. The new rule, however, won’t make this happen. 

All it will do is force players into games that they perhaps shouldn’t be playing. It’s also going to result in a lot of phantom injuries suddenly popping up. Either way, it’s just not a good look for the NBA.