NBA playoff injuries have pretty much ruined this year’s playoffs. Anthony Davis, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Chris Paul, Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Trae Young, and now Giannis Antetokounmpo have all missed time due to injuries. Many people will point to the shortened off-season and condensed games to explain why this happened. Although these factors undoubtedly made things more difficult for these players, I think it’s unfair to blame Adam Silver and the NBA solely. The pandemic has been difficult for everyone. It’s forced people to make big decisions and adjust to things they don’t normally do. Based on the circumstances, the NBA did a fine job of handling the situation.
What Other Options did The League Have?
People often criticize decisions without explaining what they would’ve done. I feel like this is what’s going on with NBA fans right now. People are frustrated and need someone to blame. Because of that, Adam Silver is the scapegoat. I’ve yet to see a legitimate alternative option the NBA could have went with. They could’ve shortened the season, but a 72 game season was already 10 games shorter than normal. They could’ve added more off-days, but that would end up shortening next year’s off-season. Imagine how angry everyone would have been if they didn’t try to fit a whole season in. No matter what the league decided on, people would get upset.
Did the Schedule Cause the Injuries?
Fans and players have attributed the injuries to the shortened and condensed schedule, but I believe that the injuries are mostly due to bad luck. Did the schedule make Kyrie land on Giannis’s foot? Did the schedule make Trae Young twist his ankle by tripping on a ref? The majority of these NBA playoff injuries had nothing to do with fatigue. Correlation does not always equal causation.
Being frustrated with all these injuries is completely understandable. I’m upset about it too. Of course, we would all like to see all of the teams at full strength. However, the NBA condensing the schedule is not the reason this happened.
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this article, check out other Belly Up Sports NBA articles, and check out my Twitter, @BStahlSports.
1 Comment
I agree with everything but wanted to add this – a few teams (like the nets) bulked up with aging players and likely the lack of off days contributed to some injuries.