Saturday night might be a big night in the lives of regular people, but lately for NBA superstars it’s just been a good time to get some rest. After Warriors coach Steve Kerr sat his four top players in what was billed as a Western Conference showdown with the Spurs last Saturday, the Cavaliers took the floor this past Saturday without the help of three guys names LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. It’s no fun for fans, but if those fans want to celebrate a championship they have to let their players rest — that’s the thinking. (It made analyst Jeff Van Gundy furious during the Warriors-Spurs game.)
James, ever the straight talking diplomat, understands both sides. He knows fans pay to see him play and he’d like to play every game. James said:
“Obviously it sucks at times because certain games you only play in certain cities once, or you play certain teams once on their home floor, but for me personally, I want to play in every game.”
But James has been carrying a massive load for the defending champs, logging second place in minutes per game in the NBA this season. Cavs coach Tyronne Lue simply needs to rest him — he’s played the equivalent of four extra games. The NBA is looking for a solution to the resting trend, but team owners aren’t about to agree to cut the schedule and without that change back-to-back games and arduous road trips will remain the norm. So James essentially says, yeah it sucks but c’mon. It’s the same thing regular people say when they have a job to do and they don’t love every part of it. Carry on. It is what it is, in other words.
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