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Not unlike a Broadway production, there are times when fans can attend an NBA game only to discover a star player won’t perform that evening. Such is the quandary facing the league, especially as the postseason approaches. Teams, such as the Hawks, are giving starters games off to ensure they are rested and healthy for the playoffs and to give playing time to reserves.
“I think there is no right or wrong answer on this issue,” former coach and current broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy said. “Every coach has to do in their heart what is right for their team. The question is, what is right for the fans?
“Right now, a fan doesn’t know who they are going to see. Fans buy tickets to see teams, yes, but also individual players. At the very highest level, we must find a way to respect the fans.”
The Hawks have rested starters in seven games this season as they navigate what can be a compact 82-game schedule. After clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference last week, the Hawks sat all five starters in the second of back-to-back games in a stretch of four in five days.
They Hawks are not alone. Last month Warriors coach Steve Kerr rested four key players and later sent an email to several fans explaining his actions. In 2012, then-commissioner David Stern fined Spurs coach Gregg Popovich $250,000 when he sent his three star players back to San Antonio before a game that ended a six-game trip and after the team had played five times in seven days.
Players have ceded to the rest plan of coach Mike Budenholzer, who had success in traversing regular seasons and postseasons en route to four NBA titles with the Spurs.
Budenholzer has asked for the fans’ understanding during the final preparations for the postseason as he ensures his team will be at optimal level.
Van Gundy said he believes the NBA should eliminate back-to-back games, which affect the quality of play, or establish better guidelines to inform fans they might be out of luck. He offered the possibility of refunds if the league and owners want to respect their fan base.
“It’s really bait and switch with our fans,” Van Gundy said. “… We have to reflect on the market place that is getting more challenging. Fans can stay home and watch games on TV. We have to give them a compelling reasons to come to games, and one of those should be they know who is going to play.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at the All-Star game in February he would like to work on the schedule to eliminate as many back-to-backs as possible. One of the possibilities under consideration is to shorten the preseason and number of exhibition games.
“The commissioner and the league are looking at everything,” Budenholzer said. “Coaches, we value the preseason and training camp. But are there areas to reduce and get a net benefit during the regular season? I don’t know the perfect solution, but discussing that and finding ways to find some time and find a way to give a little something on the front end to get something back in the season is something I think should strongly be considered.”
Some believe that no more than two exhibitions at the end of a training camp are necessary.
Van Gundy also believes that players also hold some responsibility in the rest quandary.
“I go back to (Michael) Jordan, who played every night because he knew fans paid to see him,” Van Gundy said. “I believe very few stars today feel that same burden.”
Hawks center Al Horford said players are not consulted when the decision to sit out games is made by Budenholzer and his staff.
Jason Kidd, a veteran of 19 seasons and now coach of the Bucks, said rest becomes more important as a player ages.
“As a younger player, you want to play,” Kidd said. “You want to keep that rhythm, your timing. As you get older, as the gas-tank gauge goes closer to ‘E,’ you would like a break because you want to be healthy and not have any bruises. As you get older, they stay a little bit longer. You try to understand what is at stake because your health is more important. Your timing will come with a couple of practices.”
The end of the regular season is two weeks away. The Hawks have seven games remaining to rest players and keep a chemistry and rhythm going into the postseason. It may be important. If the Hawks advance to the NBA Finals, they have more than two months left in their season.
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