By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
During the NBA Night, the Golden State Warriors managed to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-114 on the road, but most of the superstars were sidelined by Steve Kerr.
After missing 11 games with a shoulder injury and playing 43 minutes against the Boston Celtics, Steph Curry didn’t step on the court against Cleveland.
Also, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins, in fact, didn’t play a single minute against the Cavs in order to preserve them.
After the win in Ohio, the decorated NBA head coach talked about what is becoming a real issue nowadays. “I feel terrible for fans who buy tickets expecting to see someone play and they don’t get to see that person play. It’s a brutal part of the business”, he said.
Then, he went on to propose a change of schedule in order to avoid these kinds of situations. “It’s why I’m going to continue to advocate for 72-game seasons. You take 10 games off the schedule, it always feels like with 10 games left in the year everybody’s sort of had it anyways. That creates enough rest that we don’t have to have some of these crazy situations. I think you’d see way fewer games missed from players”, he added.
The same thought was shared by his colleague J.B. Bickerstaff, on the opponents’ bench, who decided to not give any minutes to the returning Ricky Rubio. “You look at these guys and they’re playing 15 years to some guys 20 years. So it’s a trade-off of five games a season and you get five more years of these guys playing. So I think in the long run, the fans get their money’s worth because guys do get to extend their careers and play more years”, the Cavs’ head coach said.
“I know from our standpoint where you only get to see a team once a year. I know that can be frustrating for fans if those guys don’t play but I do think for the greater good of the game, getting these superstars and elite players for multiple years and multiple more seasons, I think is only good for the game”, Bickerstaff added following the loss.
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images