₦airaland Forum

afrodoc2:
Dinwiddie regressed mainly because of his ACL injury. His numbers had already dropped before he moved to Dallas.

I am not in the medical field, but IMHO the ACL injury is possibly the worst injury you can get in basketball. It just feels like when guys return from it they are at less than 100%, even years down the line.
Even KD whose game is predicated on athleticism at all just does look as twitchy as he used to be.

steady986:

.@Rjeff24 explains why he considers Steph to be a shooting guard pic.twitter.com/8lXUVLqZq0

— TheOldManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) April 5, 2023

Steph fanboys having a meltdown in the comments. Jus call their boy a shooting guard and all hell breaks loose

The best I can say about Steph and Lillard, is that they are combo guards who play PG because of their size

AND NEW middleweight champion of the world Isreal Adesanya. The boy is good

birdman:
Too one dimensional. That scoring capability does not translate into championship like game. The discipline and defense and x/os that is supposed to come with that unguardability is not there. Compare him to say, Curry, or even the bigger Durant. We know he can get hot. Thats it.

Boss with all due respect, not every player will be a great defender. Lillard puts in effort on the defensive end and that is all he can do. Curry has only won because the brain trust in GSW actually know what they are doing, they did not saddle him with a two guard who might be a worse perimeter defender than himself. Steph is not winning anything with what Dame has had to work with in Portland

When I talk about how narratives have taken the place of fact some people think we are just supporting the players.
A Mavs insider Tim macmahon said the decision to bench the players came from ownership ala Cuban himself, because their draft pick for next year has some protections.
But talk heads are already calling Luka, the other players quitters because they did not play. Wait for a few months to years and you will hear someone say, 'remember that time Luka quit on his team'.

A40:
Exactly how competent and creative GMs get it done. They got a Bobby Portis, a Brook Lopez. I think it also speaks to Brook Lopez how he was able to evolve his game on defense

The Mavs are starting friggin Dwight Powell at center. How can you win with a team that has no perimeter defense and no interior defense

I mean just look at the present roster and you have to ask what exactly is the plan?

It's not just that they are starting Powell at center, but it's also the frigging contract they gave him after he was coming off an ACL surgery. This is a guy that all he does well is predicated on athleticism and they still gave him a 3yr/33mil contract.
When I first saw he was a FA, I was thinking a contract that averages out at a little above the minimum just to make it a multi year contract is the best he wouldget on the market. but the Mavs as usual saw something nobody else saw, these guys in todays nba, actually gave a small ball center, who cannot shoot FTs not to talk of 3s, who is unplayable on defence 1v1 against any of the competent big men in the league a contract the averages out at 8 figures. The incompetence oozing from that organization stinks to the high heavens

A40:
If the Mavericks get a Jaylen Brown alongside Luka and even a competent big. The West is in trouble. A scorer that can take the game over, doesn't need the ball like Kyrie, can actually defend

That's the kind of Robin he needs. Luka will never be a great defender especially on the perimeter, but with his size you can stick him on the inside with small ball bigs and he does a good enough job against those kind of players who are not quick laterally.
You might have to make some weird moves but it can work. I remember when Brook Lopez went to the Bucks, people were scratching their heads on how putting Giannis with a back to the basket big would work, but the Bucks did their due diligence and got a player who was recreating his game on a cheap for 1 year and since then has had to pay for his unique role.

Roland17:
Fam, you are dancing around this issue. No one is asking for Luka to be the 2nd coming of Thor but failing to admit Luka is struggling with his weight/ conditioning will be lying out of your teeth and I am sorry, I can't take you serious if you cannot even admit to this obvious issue that Luka himself has admitted is a problem.

In December 2021, Luka was 260 pounds, he got a ton of heat and dropped to 240 in January 2022. Right now, he is listed at 230, his weight at the start of the season but he has since added 20 pounds since the start of the season and is now between 240-250 pounds. If this isn't overweight then maybe you should watch the video of fans chanting 'You are fat" during the game against the Hawks

You crack me up with Brunson not leaving Dallas because Texas has no state taxes! If it is by that measure both the Rockets and Mavericks will be loaded with All Stars since they are avoiding taxes. The last time I checked the Lakers/ Clippers/ Kings are all in California, a state with one of the highest taxes in the country. This season, the Warriors paid 286M in luxury taxes, you think they worry about that? How about the NY and Boston? Abeg, bin that angu because it is irrelevant in the scheme of things.

Rick Brunson, Jalen's dad played for the Knicks and his Godfather who Jalen has a personal relationship is Leon Rose who happens to the GM of the NY Knicks. Guess who Jalen's agent is? Sam Rose, take a wild guess who Sam Rose's father is? Leon Rose, the GM of the NY Knicks! With all of this you still think it was about money? Why do you think the Knicks and Jalen's family including his agent refuse to divulge the amount offered by the Knicks? Why was it hidden and out of the blue Jalen agreed with them before the amount was made available to Cuban? Jalen and his camp knew 10000000% that Cuban will match whatever offer the Knicks made if they made it available to Cuban.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e4_lMWP1SQ&t=7s

A player who has all that insider connect you just mentioned is who a team shopped around without first tying him down to a very tradable contract. This alone tells you that common sense is in short supply in dallas. All your buhaha about Brunson connections would not have mattered if they had signed him to an extension, instead of letting him become an UFA

A40:
Cuban should jettison Kyrie, THJ and pull out the brink truck Jaylen Brown and Austin Reaves

Both guys will be perfect in Dallas, but I will bet that their front office will drop the ball on pursuing them.
Brown is someone who if the Celtics mess up, will be a huge mistake on their end

Roland17:
The embolden is proof that you have chosen to read and understand what you want from my submission and I can't help you out if that is your mindset.

Has Luka been overweight over the last 2 seasons, yes or no?

Is Luka currently overweight, yes or no?

Has Luka openly admitted over the last 2 seasons and progressively since he joined the league that his conditioning and weight is an issue, yes or no?

This isn't about narratives when they are obvious facts. Luka played off the ball in Spain and Slovenia, have we seen that in the NBA?

When you watch the Mavs, do you see Luka play off the ball?

Do you see Luka make cuts?

Do you see Luka move the ball?

Every Mav fan I know admits this is an issue but you think this is a narrative? Like I said, I have not said anything that is not factual. You obviously missed the part where I admitted the front office failed in the Brunson contract but does that mean Brunson and his camp did not believe he was better off playing away from Luke? Between building around Dirk and Luka, which is difficult? You don't have to disagree on everything just because there is an option to disagree.

Until you disprove everything I have said up there then they are true because they are facts!

Not every player will be shredded, some guys naturally carry more flab than others. I have watched Luka play double overtime games and he has never been more winded than any other great player.
Luka and the team discussed his conditioning issue for last season and since that time, all reports show he has bought in and followed whatever program was designed for him.
As for building around Dirk, you are talking as if Dirk won more than 1 chip. In his 20years in Dallas, Dirk only had a championship caliber team 3x IMHO, once he lost because of a bad match-up, the other 2x he got to the finals and won once, all this while consistently taking less money than he could have.
So you are telling me that Brunson would have left a team where not only did he have a chance of playing meaningful playoff games, he would also have more money in his pocket because Texas has no state tax, and finally the main star in Luka wanted him to stay. Brunson left because the Mavs lowballed him and his father got the job with the Knicks. all reports pointed out to the fact that the Mavs were not even will to meet any contract around 4yr/100mil.
The Mavs have consistently dropped the ball in their roster building and nobody calls them out because Mark Cuban is a nice guy, but if you remove him and objectively analyze their record you will find mediocrity upon mediocrity.

PS: A player can either play off ball or he cannot. There is no he can do it in Europe and then magically forgts to do it in the nba. And yes, he has played off the ball in the nba when they had Brunson. lineups with him and Brunson last year had series where Brunson ran the offense, but when you replace Brunson a traditional PG, with iso guards in Dimwiddie and Kyrie what do you expect.

https://www.si.com/nba/mavericks/news/new-york-knicks-jalen-brunson-free-agency-dallas-mavs-contract-mark-cuban

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10040314-jalen-brunson-rumors-mavs-unwilling-to-pay-pg-more-than-22m-per-season.amp.html

That is two articles that refute that nonsense Cuban was spewing, they lowballed him after shopping him

Roland17:
You all make compelling cases against the Mavs management and their history of not surrounding their best players with a good roster. However, I am going to make my own case about Luka's failures and how it has made things worse for the Mavs.

Conditioning: Every season since he got drafted, worsestill over the last 2 seasons, Luka has started the season out of shape and declined as the season progressed. Lets be honest, if we are going to give Zion the sticks about his weight, we should apply the same energy on Luka who is fat. His weight is one reason the Mavs can not play fast, especially in transition. Luka is barely on his feet by the end of the 3rd quarter because he is gasping for air. His bad conditioning also means he NEVER runs back to defend if the opponents rebound and are on a fast break which means the Mavs are constantly short 1 player before Luka makes it into their half. This bad conditioning and inability to run means their offense becomes a predictable half court offense.

Off the Ball: Luka has refused to learn or accept playing off the ball and this continues to hurt the Mavs. Luka holds on to the ball too much and ends up taking shot with few seconds left in the shot clock. With Luka refusing to play off the ball, the offense stagnates because there is no movement or cutting happening, just a bunch of guys hugging the lane waiting for their luck, if he decides to move the ball. When you don't move the ball, you are pretty much bailing the defense and making it easy to defend you. While Brunson left because the Mavs front office failed, lets be clear, there were reports that Brunson and his camp felt Brunson would do better playing away from Luka because Luka hugs the ball too much and refuses to play off the ball.

Half Court Offense: Luka's horrible conditioning and refusal to play off the ball, inevitably compels the Mavs to play a predictable half-court offense. The sad part about it is that half court offense thrives when the ball moves and there is a lot of cutting and screens.

Whining and Techs: Over the last 4 years, Luka has ranked top 3 with number 1 finishes in the amount of technical fouls received every season. This season, he hit his 16th and got suspended for 1 game. These technical fouls are usually from him spending inglorious amounts of time whining and chirping at the referees over non-calls. Every season, he acknowledges he is whining too much and promises to cut down and play basketball but it never happens because he just whines, refuses to run back and costs his team valuable points. He is not disciplined neither is he an exemplary leader on the court. Each of these techs have sometimes become the difference between winning and losing.

Defense: Should we even talk about this? Luka is lazy on defense, refuses to move his feet, work hard and bails out opponents with some of the silliest fouls. He is usually targeted by opponents because he would not only commit the foul or get blown by but he will also get a tech. For his size, one would think Luka would put some more effort on defense but he is the weakest link in the team defensively.

Difficulty Building Around Luka: We can complain about the front office, rightfully so but Luka has not exactly helped the situation. He has played with Porz/ Brunson/ Dimwiddie and now Wood but they have all left or playing poorly because they can't play with Luka. Building around Luka in comparison to Dirk is going to be way harder because of the issues I have highlighted above. Kidd/ J. Terry, JJ, T. Chandler/ Stevenson/ Marion thrived when the Championship team was assembled because Dirk was a selfless leader who also knew when to impose himself. Which Superstar or star player do you think is willing to move to the Mavs and play under these conditions?

This is what happens when narratives turn to fact, Luka has only had conditioning issues at the beginning of the season once and that was the season where he came back from the Olympics and took time off to rest.
As for playing with others that is another narrative issue, Luka played off the ball well enough for both real madrid and Slovenia, but all of a sudden he has forgotten how to do so. I remember vividly that one of his draft knocks was that he could not be the primary ball handler on a nba team because he was not used that way in the euroleague.
As for talent around, him you are with a straight face putting kristaps porzingis on a list when the dude spent half the time on the treatment table. Every single playoff run they had while he was there the dude either didn't play or did not finish. As for dinwiddie, the dude was coming off an acl injury when he first got traded, his first full season with Luka they made it to the conference finals and the season after that he was again traded so when did that not work.
Brunson had a great season last year with Luka and did not leave the Mavs because he couldn't play with him but because the Mavs as usual made a stupid bet, instead of paying the guy using the gilbert arenas rule, they foolishly gave him the same offer sheet they signed Finley smith to which was a 4yr/55mil and you know what he smartly turned that down and when his dad got the job with the e Knicks he followed him there. The Brunson situation would have been totally avoided if they just gave him the extension at around 4yr/75mil at the beginning of last season when he was still under contract and the Knicks option would not have mattered at all.
Can Luka play better defensively yes, but the idea that you cannot build a team around him is laughable. Simply get him a true shooting guard, in the mold of Klay, someone who is paid to shoot and guard, put front court personnel who can play both interior and perimeter defense Brook and as well shoot e.g Brook Lopez, and put in shooting 3nD players for the other two positions and he is good to go.
Please If Slovenia/Real madrid can build a team around him then an nba team should not have any excuse.


PS: If you are one of those who believe front office are automatically good at their jobs, then let me tell you something, some GM for 7 whole years put Lebron before he had a semblance of a consistent jumper on a team with 2 NON SHOOTING BIGs, another one had had the great idea of pairing Melo a non-playmaking volume scorer with AI another non-playmaking volume scorer.
I can reel off examples of shoddy roster constructions that has gone on for years in the nba, but somehow it's always the players fault.

PS2: The Mavs had the opportunity to trade for Jrue instead of pozingis and they stupidly as usual placed their bet on the wrong horse.

Roland17:
Is it time to start asking if Luka is the problem? It is easy to hide behind Kyrie, front office, Cuban and coaching but all season I have been consistent about Luka’s issues and how it affects winning.

I don’t see how the Mavs win anything with Luka’s style and leadership. Is he talented? Absolutely! but there is more to talent and he lacks a lot of them. It is an unpopular take that many avoid and refuse to look at but it is time to critically examine Luka.

This idea that every player has to be the same is starting to get annoying. Just like every human who has ever lived is different and unique so is every player in any sport. The job of management is to understand what your best player is and build around their strengths and weaknesses. The Mavs who were already having a bad defensive year in all metrics, traded their best defensive player and brought in a guy who is a negative on defense and we are blaming Luka.
Look at how GSW built around Steph, every single player on their lineup since he stared going off has been a plus defender, that is how you build, even guys like KD and Wiggins who didn't have reputations as defenders, became near all-nba level defenders there.
The Mavericks brain trust have always been bad, even when dirk nowitzki was there, I remember when dirk took less money and they wasted it on palmer or who was his name.
You build a team that fits your franchise player, not the one that is in your head, if you fail to do that and lose then it on you not the player.

A40:
I don't know if it was Cuban or Dirk's loyalty that kept the Mavericks relevant. Up till Luka came along the Mavericks had drafted horribly. You have to go back to the 03 draft to find a year the Mavs drafted an Allstar which was the infamous Josh Howard

As for Kidd. I have no comments. The next time blowhards like Draymond try to speak about basketball like it's some secret science and if you didn't play you can't critique. I would easily point to Zeke, Kidd, Nash and hell the GOAT as proof that you could be a HOF/GOAT level athlete and know fuckall about evaluating talent, coaching and seeing the game

Thank you, as much as Kidd has done an underwhelming job. The front office in Dallas has been extremely poor, for at least a decade its not only in drafting, they have consistently offered to overpay or paid the wrong guys

So for those saying owners will clamp down on load management with the new CBA, it had been agreed and the only thing that was done was to tie end of season awards to playing at least 65 games.

Roland17:
I am just asking you guys to give my guy AD his due, that's all!

It is easy to dawg him when he is out injured or playing poorly but when he comes back and is literally carrying the team to the playoffs, everyone goes mute.

Which due is that, the same dude who in the next 5 -7 games will have a game that he will seriously shit the bed with a total lack of effort. Consistency is what we need from AD not numbers, a player of his caliber and talent should be in the MVP conversation year in year out, but we are supposed to hail him for scoring 35pts. How far are we going to lower the bar for AD?

Maynman:
Draymond 💪🏽

This IMHO is actually true, GSW needed a player with Draymond skillset on offense to fully unlock both Steph and Klay but especially Steph. If GSW did not have Draymond Steph would have been forced to play the role of running the entire offense thing like a traditional PG and that would have reduced what he has become in some fashion. Same thing with Klay, without Draymond he would have been forced to initiate some offense as a 2 guard, but with Draymond he can actually just shoot and guard exclusively which is his optimal role

birdman:
But you cant say that out loud yet, the hype on Kyrie means everyone has to pretend he can be that missing piece for a championship contender. Truth is, if Kyrie wants to play on teams chasing a ring, he will have to take a reduced, disciplined role, but I dont think he is ready to.

Im sure there will be some GM willing to take a risk next season and give Kyrie a huge payday

No other player that I can remember has coasted on performing during one playoff series like Kyrie has. If we talk they will start to mention his bag, dude has done next to nothing since leaving Cleveland but somehow has still been given allstar and all-nba nods.
This is why I will never respect takes where people judge team basketball as if it's a 1v1 match-up, Kyrie with his flashy handles might make for an exciting 1v1 game, but when it comes to playing winning team basketball the dude is negative and has been for at the very least for 5 years

birdman:
too many excuses mehn, dame himself is not serious. The brother is down low lazy. Even if he wants to stay on portland, I have never seen him put pressure on the front office to win. He just wants to ball and get paid. Like Beal. and thats ok. But stop trying to make the go getters look bad, like you staying in one place cuz you loyal and old school.

Agree with a lot of what you said, but this situations are like the classical 9ja song about a father, his son and their donkey, whichever way a person goes people will talk.
IMHO, everybody should act in a way that gives them peace of mind. make decisions you can live with and let the chips fall as they may.

PS: Putting pressure doesn't always work, some owners just don't know how to hire the right basketball people to make the right decisions at the right time.

Portland is already talking of shutting down Dame even though the dude wants to play, so that they can tank for a better draft pick.
Very soon someone will do another stupid load management article and will include those missed games, when computing whatever statistics they are trying to push the narrative for.

steady986:
Analyse this photo critically and you'll see that LeBron didn't/doesn't go to the free throw line as often as his peers. Peep MJ, who played 5 fewer seasons than Bron and yet he's just a few hundreds behind him. What about Kobe, he played 20 years but had some injury plagued seasons, and he also wasn't the main guy right off the block when he came into the league but he's a couple of hundreds ahead of Bron. Let's not even talk about Jerry West who played 14 seasons.

Shaq and Lebron had one problem in common career wise. They got way less foul calls than what they should have gotten

A40:
It's a longevity stat. That's all. You played 300 more games and took almost 3000 more FGs than someone aren't you supposed to pass their record?

This nigga has taken 500 fewer shots but almost 6500 more 3s than Kareem and 5500 more 3s than Jordan. Yet niggas are surprised he has more points.

Did anyone force MJ to retire 2x? Or was there any rule against Kareem shooting 3s. It's a record, a substantial one at that,and he broke it. Not only has he broken it, he will be the first to achieve the 40k club sometime next season.

A40:
It's just putting your skilled, talented or whatever argument to bed. Players struggle when the physicality is raised up a notch.

The Warriors as a whole were able to match whatever physicality the Celtics brought.

We've seen physicality and pressure stop Steph before haven't we?

Agreed, that has happened to every player who has ever played the sport. We all saw the Glove 1v1, take MJs average from 30+plus points a game to 23pts a game, it happens. That doesn't mean if they had played another series same thing would have happened again, but the Glove still did it for those 3 games, so it happens to everybody.
My issue is simple, basketball is the only sport where people act as if the modern players are not as good as guys who played in a particular decade because of their desire to claim MJ is the greatest of all time.
I can accept the opinion that MJ is the greatest of all time, I will even accept a persons opinion if they say they don't rank Lebron in their top ten of all time (its all about personal preference as far as i am concerned).
But where I categorically draw the line is when they start saying he would not have dominated in other eras, when we all know players who nobody even thinks about as being top 25 players of all time, who when they played in the same 80s, 90s, or 2000s, dominated those same eras.

A40:
Arguing with these people is a waste of time.

They keep forgetting that era also counts. Anybody with two functioning eyes knows that the basketball of the 90s and 00s was just rougher and tougher.

When KD and Kyrie two of the most 'skilled" players of all time got a taste of 90s and early 00s ball against the Celtics we saw the results

How does someone who can compete with less talent and less gaudy numbers be languishing in 13th seed with AD and Westbrook (two top 75ers) when we tell them numbers today just don't carry the same weight they think it's hate

So, using your arguments, 90s style defense will not stop Steph then right? Since he smoked the Celtics

benji93:
Are you alright? Hakeem shot over 51%. You could have just googled this before typing. You don't have to have watched these guys on TV to know some facts. Most of these are on the internet. Just search. Must we help you with everything?

Where did I say Hakeem did not shoot a good percentage. I said he took a lot of bad shots, like Kobe, but made them at a reasonable percentage. I.e he made a career of taking and making bad shots

A40:
Bloody hell. Shawn Kemp was a better midrange shooter (he shot 42.5% from 16-23ft) than Blake Griffin and Lebron James and you think he would be useless in today's league?

The league Pascal Siakam is making All NBA? La hawla

The way you lot overrate this current set of players is so amusing. But I'm not surprised shey it's you that was comparing KAT to KG

That is the thing that 42.5% is worse than shooting 30% from 3.

benji93:
That's it. There's nothing new. Even though I agree that perhaps some skills are becoming increasingly necessary, the elite pool today is not better skilled than that of the 90s. For instance on the issue of bigs shooting 3s, Draymond interviewed Kenny recently and he said Olajuwon shoots threes well in training(Certainly quite different from shooting in actual games), so why then doesn't he shoot it in games? He said, well there are about 3 centers that faze him in the league, so he almost never needs it.

The issue is Hakeem like Kobe made a living taking and making bad shots at a reasonable percentage. We all saw what happened to Tatum those few months he wanted to play like Kobe, his efficiency went down the drain, in the 90s, the media would applaud him for taking those shots like they applauded AI, Tmac and co, but in the nba today where efficiency is king, he was buried until he went back to taking high percentage shots.
People wants guys to play the game the way it was in the 90s,but either they forget or don't know that most contracts these days are efficiency based. Do people really expect players to lose money because they are taking less efficient shots just to feed their nostalgia?

A40:
Are you trying to slander Clyde the Glide? Let me try to understand the logic behind this post.

You can't name two SFs or SGs today that move the ball up the court as quickly and with as much grace as Clyde Drexler. Arguably the best transition player the league ever saw.

Grant Hill was basically Lebron without muscles. What is this guy talking about? This man was 21-8-6 before his ankle injury. Dude was a 6'8 athletic specimen. Go watch tapes man. He had enough tools to not need an elite jumper

Just 6'5? Why didn't you list his weight. Charles was 6'5 and 250 pounds. In his younger years he was pushing 300. He was basically Zion before Zion. He would give everyone the business Today!!

You see the problem with you today NBA fans is you believe players now are reinventing some type of wheel but I hate to break it to you. The human species has not evolved that much physically over the last 30 years. There's no one today who doesn't have a comp from the past. Not a single player. Without a prototype

You wrote a whole epistle about how Lebron would find it hard to get to the rim in the 90s while we all know of players who he is way better than, faster and stronger than, who had no issues getting to the rim. Or will you now say Drexler or Hill was better than Lebron.
My thing is simple, you can claim that MJ is better than Lebron allyou want, but don't act like lebron will not dominate the 90s, if Malone can get 2 MVPs in that era then Lebron will get his.

PS: Saying Grant Hill is like Lebron without muscles is like me saying DeRozan is MJ without the efficiency.

birdman:
On your last 2 points, thats exactly what would make Lebron thrive. The physical game was acceptable then, which would favor Lebron. A PG would never guard Elton Brand or Malone back in the day for example, because the refs will allow Brand to dominate physically. In today's NBA, Curry can guard Lebron and Lebron has to be careful - he cant just power over smalls. Back in the day, Malone is running towards the basket and you try to catch his body? LOL, joke is on you. Today, the big man will get an offensive foul. The game has moved away from bigs. The fact that Lebron can still have this type of success in a league designed for guards is very special. And just about every NBA player past and present recognizes this. This really is something to watch.

The way people hype the 90s is just illogical, is it not the same 90s that Drexler was so dominant in the people erroneously said he was as good as MJ.
The same 90s that Grant Hill without a semblance of a jumper walked right in and was an all-star starter as a rookie.
The same 90s that sir Charles was giving the so called tough league, the business at 6ft5, at PF for that matter
I remember Kyrie's godfather, Strickland, the guy could not shoot to save his life and was as lanky as anything, but dude was still averaging double double on a steady.
Just leave them with their nostalgia that nobody can play in the 90s, na beer parlor talk abeg

donlittle25:
Nets to Mavs. I don’t know how to feel

Personally i don't like betting your future on Kyrie, but with a history of failing to land FAs I can understand why they took the gamble

Roland17:
Don’t jumble stats and present to me…80% of who? Bench, G-league and role players average? Are those the players fans pay huge sums to come watch? A kid flew thousands of miles to watch Butler only for load management to strike! That kid’s parents did not shell thousands of dollars for the kid to watch Oladipo, Herro, Strus..

Here is a better stat. NBA stars miss an average of 28 games because of load management, not injuries oh, load management. From Zion, to Kawhi, to PG13, KD, Tatum to Embiid, to AD, you name it! Credit to Ajala he has refused to sit longer because of his chase. This shouldn’t even be an argument bro..

Should I give you the average number of minutes of star players from over the last 10 years so you can see the steep decline in minutes played? Not because of injuries but load management and rest! Man rest abeg!

That is a false stat, and a big fat lie, so injuries no longer happen in sports right, the media's mission not to differentiate missing games due to injury and sitting out is rearing its ugly head now because people are just swallowing it hook line and sinker.
From Zion,Murray Simmons, Kyrie, AD, Lonzo, Embiid,KD these are the players who have missed big chunks of the last 3 years and not one of them missed it because of load management.
In the last 5 years, not one of the top 2 guys on any team apart from Kawhi, Kyrie, Simmons, Harden have missed 15+games in a season for anything less than injuries. And in the case of Kyrie, Simmons and Harden we all know their reasons was not load management.
This thread is filled with discussions on AD and Zion being injury prone, and now all of a sudden it's no longer because of injuries but it's load management

PS: As a comparism, Madrid has had two problematic signings in the past decade in Bale and Hazard, but every body knows that both cases are not the same, one decided to down tools while the other can't just stay fit because he keeps getting injured.

Roland17:
Naaa baba! The NBA players with their Wokeness are the ones trying to be different. The referees have become the MVP and main attraction with their whistles! E remain make we give those ones flags!

The last time me and you checked, the NFL expanded from 16 to 17 games. We are talking about the most violent and physical game. The players don’t want to sit, they want to compete as long as their bar is secure. Have you read or heard load management in the NFL?

How about the NHL, the 2nd most violent sport? Those ones beat themselves, slice each other and sometimes a legal free for all fight for 82 games! There are even talks of even expanding the games.. So na, this isn’t about American sports but a bunch of weaklings in the NBA who are softer than fresh Agege bread. No one dares sit out or load manage their stars even when the teams are bad or in a losing season!

How about the MLB? These cats play 162 games in a season. With the exception of pitchers, healthy players play 100 games or more, nearly 5 hours of each! Who are we kidding here! No load management, especially for outfield players. The NBA is allowing a lot of nonsense and that is why the ratings have continued to drop.

Notice, I no neva even begin talk in game issues.

The league wide average for games played in an Nba season is readily available online, and as far as I know it hovers around 80%. The idea that players are not playing is just false, because 3-4 guys miss a lot of games does not mean everyone all of a sudden does the same.
You just used MLB as an example, if we give players a generous average of 120 games played that is still around 74%.
So why is no one yelling about load management in baseball?

A40:
Naah this present generation of players are definitely different. They have normalized load management to the point it's now a culture. Bear in mind Michael Jordan in 13 full seasons they say 15 but he really played 13. Featured in 82 games 9 times! Including his age 40 season.

I cannot blame the players and teams when the fans are not voting with their feet. If you're a fan still spending your hard earned money when you're repeatedly burned then you have yourself to blame.

Fewer games mean more costs passed down to the customers. Notice nobody has talked about collecting less money. And nor should they.

In the end everyone is out to game the system as much as they can. Do the least work for the most money. It's the paying customer that has to decide if he wants to be a MAGA or not

This idea that it's players that are spearheading the load management push is something I don't totally buy. Media has a way of spinning things in such a way to create controversy, thus ensuring talking points, which sells becausetheaveragefan just laps it up.
Which players exactly are clamoring for it, is it Giannis, KD, Luka, Steph, Tatum, Lebron, Embiid, Ja, Dmitch etc.
I am saying this because, it just came out recently, that Iverson was not the main guy against the David Stern dressing code, but Duncan, Dirk and Nash, but the way the media portrayed it during those days was as if AI was the guy spearheading the whole dress as you want push.
Kawhi, Kyrie, Simmons are 3 guys who have been missing games due to issues that every fan should have issues with, but I cannot recall the time Giannis, Luka, Tatum, missed a bunch of games because they wanted to sit out and not because of injuries or the team making the decision on their behalf.