Two major things to know about the NBA’s schedule release:
- My goodness, has the league grown in popularity.
- The order of the games, and the regular season for that matter, don’t matter one bit.
Once upon a time, the NBA’s Christmas Day games were the only newsworthy headlines to talk about when the league dropped the 82 game slate. Now? National outlets are ranking which Warriors games matter most. The league even started leaking details about the schedule to trusted insiders a couple days beforehand, capitalizing on the 24/7 sports news cycle.
The further along into the decade we get, the more the NBA is turning into the NFL. And it’s a beautiful business model to follow.
A betting man should wager money next season that Adam Silver will have a schedule release television show next August. Just like its big brother the NFL, the NBA is learning it can turn the whirlwind offseason into a dramatic series of events. The moment the Warriors landed Kevin Durant was a bigger moment — and higher traffic day — than any regular season game. Free agency in the NBA next year will be just as gigantic with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Steph Curry set to hit the market.
Basketball is full of superstar personalities. The league can create rivalries in the blink of an eye. What sports fan isn’t going to tune into Durant vs. Russell Westbrook?
While you pinch yourself with intrigue, here’s a friendly reminder: don’t become the fool that actually thinks the regular season matters, well at least for the Warriors.
I get it: Golden State needs this regular season in particular to work out the kinks on their state-of-the-art roster. There’s a lot of moving parts to figure out, specifically how to get Klay Thompson his 15 shots per game.
But does the number 73* ring a bell? It does to Steve Kerr.
Curry and Draymond Green’s relentless pursuit of the regular season wins crown, and Kerr’s alliance in the pursuit, took precedence over rest and relaxation before the grueling NBA playoff slate began. I’m not saying it’s the reason the Warriors lost a championship to the Cavaliers, but Kerr isn’t going to risk the same mistake twice, especially with an additional superstar at his disposal.
“The wear and tear of getting to the Finals two years in a row, and trying to do it a third year in a row, I really feel like we’re going to have to pace ourselves this year,” Kerr said on KNBR 680 in July. “We’re not just going to fly out of the gates like we did a year ago, go 24-0, you know just hair on fire. We’ve got to ease our way into this.”
Translation: Kerr’s going to rest players Gregg Popovich-style, whether they like it or not. If that means he has to write more letters to fans upset about missing out on Durant, or Curry or Draymond Green or Klay Thompson, then so be it.
What Kerr clearly learned last season, is that he can’t let his players’ flair for excitement and breaking records dictate the regular season. February, March and April — as the Spurs have taught us — are about recuperation and rejuvenation, not driving a Ferrari 155 MPH on a Wednesday night against the Phoenix Suns.
“We know how hard it’s been the last couple years to do what we’ve done,” Kerr said. “I think there will be an adjustment period to get used to new personnel. And there will also be pacing being done by the staff, trying to get our guys to peak, when it’s really neceassary in May and June.”
Take a hint from Kerr: tone your enthusiasm about the regular season this year, Warriors fans.
But if you are a basketball fan, feel free bask in the year-long product the NBA has morphed itself into.
