Two weeks ago, we asked the question “Are NBA teams and players taking this ‘winning at all cost’ too far?”.
It seems more and more teams and players became in love with this supposedly resting of players during the regular season where things apparently do not matter to them as much as the post-season.
We have seen already a number of things missed and twisted because of this healthy scratch thing.
Cleveland gave up the top seed of the East to the Boston Celtics when it lost some crucial games in the stretch of the season with their key players sitting down as DNP-CD (did-not-play, coach’s decision) situations.
The Brooklyn Nets virtually gave the Chicago Bulls a big push to the semis by sitting down their top guys in their last game even though they are ready to go. The then ninth-place Miami Heat were looking to enter the playoffs on the scenario that they win their last game and Chicago losses theirs.
Ironically, Brooklyn does not have anything to rest for. They have no lingering injuries at that time. Their first round draft pick was traded to the Celtics so they cannot tank. Their players are young, they can play all 82 games with ease.
There’s nothing wrong at the concept of the San Antonio Spurs and Lebron James of putting premium to winning a championship. After all, there are 30 teams and the one who will bring home the trophy each year can claim bragging rights and gets to develop their own brand to higher levels.
But it is my take that a healthy scratch would be a disservice to the public if an athlete would not play without a valid reason. It is cheating the paying public, especially the most loyal fans who sacrifice some things just to watch the game.
Our case here is different because we don’t buy venue tickets. But some local aficionados do pay for NBA channels or give up some time to watch the games on free TV.
I’m sure, one would not buy a channel just to watch the Cavs with James, Kyrie Irving, and/or Kevin Love sitting down. Nor do you want to waste your time glued to your TV or computer screen watching the Warriors without Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant or Klay Thompson.
Aside from the action, game history is also a reason why fans hate athletes sitting down.
Personally, I am a fan who is fond of record setting and stats. I don’t treat it as equally important as a win or a championship but it is still a reason why I enjoy watching games NBA games.
Just consider these records set recently: the 73-win season of the Warriors, Rusell Westbrook’s 42 triple doubles in a season, and Stephen Curry’s 402 triples in a season.
Or these records set long ago that may never be broken: Bill Russell’s 11 rings, John Stockton’s 15,806 assists, AC Green’s 1,192 consecutive games played.
Weren’t fans of the game entertained seeing these astronomical numbers established.
These numbers cannot be achieved unless one would take the floor each night to accumulate them.
I still believe NBA teams build rosters to win championships but that doesn’t discard the obligation of professional cagers to entertain audiences by performing what they have applied for when they entered this industry, play games and try to win them.
By: ARMANDO M. BOLISLIS
