Draymond Green disagrees with LeBron James' idea for NBA schedule change

USA Today

6 hours ago

Draymond Green disagrees with LeBron James' idea for NBA schedule change
Each NBA season is long and arduous, and it tests every single player in the league from day one until the moment each team is done for the year.
Many people have suggested that the league shorten its schedule from 82 games for each team to roughly 60 in order to reduce fatigue and injuries, as well as possibly increase the quality of play. Such proposals will likely never see the light of day, mostly because it would mean reduced revenue and pay for everyone involved, from superstar players down to those who live paycheck to paycheck.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James recently made an interesting suggestion on his "Mind the Game" podcast. He said that perhaps the NBA should give its players several weeks off between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs.
"If they're going to allow it to be as physical as it is, you've got to give us a little time to prepare for it," James said. "Maybe 12 to 15 games left in the regular season. Like a month. Give us a month to prepare for it. Because it goes from zero to 100."
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, a friend and rival of his, pushed back on that suggestion. Green feels such a break would do more harm than good.
'I know Bron talked about there being a month off before the playoffs; I don't know that that's possible,' Green said. 'A, guys will get a bit out of shape and can have an adverse effect, guys getting back in, and all of a sudden, you pull something because it's been a month."
The NBA has already made some adjustments in recent years in order to make its schedule a little easier. It has cut down on the number of back-to-back games, and it has given teams several days off surrounding the All-Star game in order to make it, in effect, a mini-vacation, especially for those who don't participate in it.
But what James suggested is extremely unlikely to ever take place. The league would either need to compress its regular season schedule, shorten the offseason or reduce the number of regular-season games, and the downsides would probably greatly outweigh the benefits.