Many NBA teams will be at a disadvantage this upcoming season because of the short turnaround to play in order to return the league’s calendar to its typical cycle after the coronavirus affected the last season.
Players who participated in the bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, will not have the same amount of rest compared to those who didn’t.
It is also possible that the NBA wants to shorten the season to make up for the amount of money lost when the coronavirus first hit the U.S. According to an Oct. 28 ESPN article, the NBA lost $800 million in gate receipts and $400 million in sponsorships as well as merchandise.
By shortening the season, the NBA can make up some of the money lost this previous season. According to an Oct. 20 Forbes article, the NBA setting up the bubble campus in Orlando allowed the NBA to play a total of 172 games, which prevented the league from losing $1.5 billion in revenue. By placing all the NBA teams in a new bubble, the NBA can continue to get this kind of revenue.
After a unique finish to a 2019-20 NBA season, with 22 out of 30 teams playing in the Orlando bubble, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers walked away as champions.
The National Basketball Players Association voted on Nov. 9 to begin a modified 72-game season on Dec. 22 – 10 games less than a regular season, according to an NBA Nov. 9 article.
An extended rest could give some teams more time to hone in on their skills without being put in the stressful situations that playing a season can bring.
The Warriors were one of the teams that didn’t play in the Orlando bubble because of their 15-50 finish, which was the worst in the league.
Warriors guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who were injured last season, will come into the new season with more than 200 days of rest. Although, Thompson injured his achilles Wednesday and his future with the Warriors is in question.
The Lakers and Miami Heat, who played in the NBA Finals this season, will receive only 71 days of rest.
The NBA’s decision to start the new season on Dec. 22 marks the shortest offseason in professional American sports league history, shorter than other leagues like the NFL, NHL and MLB.
According to a Nov. 5 CNBC article, the NBA wants each team to play games at their respective stadiums. However, this would mean harsh schedules for the players. Lack of rest time is already an issue and this will prove even more so for teams who made deep playoff runs in the bubble last season.
Health officials are concerned about how players will readjust to traveling, whereas in the bubble, they played in one location, according to a Nov. 9 ESPN article.
In an Oct. 14, 2019, ESPN article, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside discussed how getting quality sleep is rare for NBA players.
According to Sleepfoundation.org, a health media company, lack of sleep increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol, according to WebMD, regulates your fight or flight responses as well as other parts of your body. However, when one is stressed, cortisol can
shut down certain processes important to the body like the immune system.
The article from Sleepfoundation.org also said less sleep increases fatigue, makes it harder to focus during games, weakens the immune system and also slows recovery after games.
The same ESPN article also said that players who haven’t played in live, competitive games
are more at risk for fatigue and less likely to adjust in a timely manner.
However, NBA games are tiring for players and playing multiple games within a short span takes a heavy toll; enough of a toll for LeBron James to spend over $1 million per year to take care of his body by installing equipment in his house as well as surrounding himself with personal trainers, according to a Nov. 15 2016 CBS Cleveland article.
Most NBA players in the offseason don’t just rest. Most players continue to work on their craft, work out and condition themselves in preparation for the upcoming season.
Curry is a prime example of this.
Even though the offseason was extended, he’s been able to improve his skills, speed and strength, his trainer Brandon Payne said on The Habershow Podcast, an NBC Sports podcast.
With the new NBA season approaching quickly, fans will see how prepared teams are for the season and understand how important extended amounts of rest are for these athletes.
