The NBA offseason has blessed us with a lot of drama and suspense. Which in return, has led to player movement and parity within the NBA. Resting of players has been a trend as of late, however, with so much balance in the league, could we possibly see that trend fade away?
Ever since Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors, we’ve heard cries and complaints on the NBA being too top-heavy. More so, the Warriors having too much talent on their team. The past three offseasons have been full of, “We already know who’s going to win. Why play out the season?”
This offseason there’s no clear cut favorite. Everyone has their opinion, but the next NBA Champion is up for debate. Due to the balancing of the talent, the competitiveness of the regular season could be at an all-time high. Not that the competitiveness hasn’t always been there, but we truly could see a year where every single game matters.
Last year the Western Conference had an 11-game difference in the win column between the number one seed and number eight. That difference could diminish tremendously which would ultimately discourage teams from resting their stars.
Resting stars has been a trend and last year it proved well for the Toronto Raptors with them winning the NBA Championship while Kawhi Leonard only played 60 games last season. Despite their success, it has become polarizing in the NBA due to the unhappiness of fans. Resting often occurs on back to backs or when teams see a chance to pull out a win against a less competitive team. This year those teams are getting better.
The New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, and Sacramento Kings aren’t going to be gloss-overs. The games that you normally count as W’s on the calendar are going to be tough nights. We could easily see a 6-7 game difference in number one and number eight next season.
Every game will count due to the competitive level in the NBA. Resting is beneficial for players, but will organizations take that chance of dropping down in standings or possibly missing the playoffs? They will face a tough battle on how to strategically handle their NBA season.
