Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant has not suited up for a game in over a month. He’s currently on the mend from a sprained MCL the former MVP suffered against the Washington Wizards back on February 28.
Needless to say, Durant will be rested by the time the playoffs come. This is most definitely not an issue for the star forward in his first season with the Warriors.
Though, the subject of rest has been a contentious one around the NBA this season. Commissioner Adam Silver just recently sent a memo to all teams indicating that giving star players days off has become an issue for the Association. This came after the Cleveland Cavaliers sat LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love for a March 18th outing against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Both the San Antonio Spurs and Durant’s Warriors have also been subject to questions about resting their core players. In fact, with Durant injured earlier in March, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to rest Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in a game against the Spurs. Golden State lost by 22 on national television.
Durant is now speaking out on the issue at hand. It’s not a surprise that he’s backing the teams and the players here.
“The truth about it is, it’s only for a couple of players in the league,” Durant told ESPN’s Chris Haynes. “They don’t care if the 13th man on the bench rest. It’s only for like LeBron (James), Steph (Curry), (James) Harden, Russell (Westbrook). It’s only for like five players, so you want a rule just for those five players?”
The league’s entire issue with teams resting healthy players is watchability and the experience for fans. So in a sense, Durant is right here. The NBA isn’t going to take an issue with deep bench players being given a night off. They are not the stars that draw the ratings for nationally televised games.
Then again, we have to understand where commissioner Silver and Co. are coming from here. If fans buy tickets for a game or give up their Saturday night to watch a basketball game, they are doing so with an expectation that the best of the best will be on the court. By teams announcing late in the process players will be resting, that surely will impact the game from a fans’ standpoint.
As it relates to Durant’s Warriors, they have posted a perfect 9-0 record since resting their All-Star against the Spurs two weeks ago. Heck, here’s a team that’s coming off back-to-back road wins against the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs. On the court, that was a brilliant move for Steve Kerr and his squad.
This is the happy medium both the league and the teams must find moving forward. The NBA can’t demand teams run their players into the ground. In turn, teams must provide their fans with the best product whenever possible.