LeBron James is the Exception to Resting
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in action against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on April 2, 2009, in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
COMMENTARY:
Austin Darrow
There is a resting problem in the NBA, but LeBron James is an exception in the NBA. He can take days off because he is getting ready for the playoffs.
Listen, LeBron is resting up for another Finals victory. There will be times, where a child isn’t going to get to see their favorite player play. LeBron isn’t going to play every single game, he is going to give Cleveland everything he has in April, May, June and July for free agency.
The man is averaging 100 games a year. As a fan of the Cavs, you want your star player to play in all 82 games at 100 percent and then give you another 20 in the playoffs. There’s no need for him to do that.
He delivered the city a seven-game series last season. He exhausted himself for that city. And now all of a sudden, there’s a problem with him gearing up for the playoffs.
Think about it as a baseball fan, 162 games, would you want Clayton Kershaw exhausting his arm in July-August? The Dodgers have won four straight NL West Championships. Kershaw doesn’t need to put out nine-inning complete games every fifth day for those fans.
Kershaw and the Dodgers can’t win in October, so don’t exhaust yourself in the dog days of summer. Same goes with positional guys, you don’t want Buster Posey playing 155 games and then another 20 in the postseason. You want his legs to be fresh.
In leagues that play 82 games and 162 games, there’s no need for those players to play in all of those games. That is a grind for those athletes. It’s different for the NFL because it’s only 16 games.
Tiger Woods and Serena Williams and Dustin Johnson pull out of meaningless tournaments. Woods would pull out when he was on top of the world. Johnson is doing the same thing, and he said it’s for rest. I don’t see golf fanatics getting upset.
How about why you take off Fridays during the summers for your job? That’s the same thing, the summer might not be as heavy on the workload, so you rest up for the hectic months that you can’t afford to take off.
LeBron James has given us so much in the NBA. He’s done so much for the league and for his city, so he can afford these days off.
In his 14th season, LeBron is averaging 38 minutes per game. He doesn’t need to throw his body on the line every night against the last place Sacramento Kings team. Why would you risk him being injured in meaningless games?
Don’t get me wrong, I disagree with the resting of players, but LeBron is the exception. There’s no reason for him to be playing close to 40 minutes a game in all 82 games.