Shorter season = less injuries

[Reality]

If the season were zigs idea 65 games or my idea even less 50-55 games, how much would this lessen injuries?

How many injuryies are due to cumulative stress/miles on player?

Even younger ones, ala Kobe Bryant and Tim Dunkar, altho Dunkars run is about as good as it gets for injury free.  With the exception of your Karl Malone-Chuck Barkley type freaks, it seems injury has hit about every A list star in the NBA.  In their 20s.

I say it's a huge contributing factor.  That and the brain dead thinking that 9-12 bench guys should never play.

[westkoast]

A shorter season doesn't guarentee less injuries.  It guarentees less chance of injury but it is not the end all be all for that.  Conditioning is important and something younger "ballers" don't spend any more time then whats mandatory doing.   That is the reason why guys like Karl Malone, Micheal Jordan, and John Stockton saw very little to no injuries in their career.

The season needs to stay exactly where it is IMO.  I like to see longer seasons because it is much harder to stay on the same page and have enough gas to finish the season off.  Not only do the players have to be in good physical condition the coaching staff has to know how to gauge their team so they do not burn up the players before the playoffs come (for those that make it) .  Also the GM needs to make sure he makes moves to get solid backup players for his starters in case something does happen (see Manu/Finley/Spurs)

50 games a year and you can have your starters all average 40-45 minutes a game.

[Reality]

Agreeing with you.

Jordan however did have a lets call it medium level injury to his foot.  Seems like he was out quite a while.

Malone no doubt trained like no other.  But i also think in addition to conditioning, some players like Malone and Stockton also genetically were most fortunate.

Pops idea that Dunkan will tell him how many minutes he will play could come back to bite him in the arse.  So far so good, but i cringe at the thought of him going down this season due to cumulative minutes.

I've seen both Dunkar and Kobe Bryant as well as many other Top 20 players in the NBA still on the court in the last two minutes (or much more) of a 15-20 point blowout.  That is just stoopid.  Either that or some incentives in the contract shenanigans that we dont know about.

[jn]

Aren't we forgetting the key topic here? Money?  Reducing the schedule that much would require the players to take pay cuts *snicker* or the owners being willing to lose money year after year. * :rolleyes:  

[Reality]

Aren't we forgetting the key topic here? Money?  Reducing the schedule that much would require the players to take pay cuts *snicker* or the owners being willing to lose money year after year. * :rolleyes:

Yeah true.  Are the players just as much to blame for not wanting one penny less.
Owners are still far more culpable.  They are billionaires, the players are just poor little millionaires.  


The theme was building on zigs, "Mark Cuban found compromising photos of Sternfish.  He is out, you are now in as commish."  Lets extend that to you have power over owners also.

As for Jordan:
Three games into the 1985-86 season, Jordan went down with a broken bone in his left foot and was sidelined for 64 games before returning in mid-March. Without Jordan for most of the campaign, the Bulls won only 30 games but still managed to snag a playoff berth. In 18 regular-season games, Jordan averaged 22.7 points, 2.9 assists, and 3.6 rebounds, all career-lows. He was voted to the All-Star squad but was unable to play because of the injury.
With a spectacular three-game outburst in the Bulls' opening-round playoff loss to Boston, Jordan showed that he had completely recovered. In Game 2 he scored a playoff-record 63 points in Chicago's double-overtime 135-131 loss to the Celtics. He averaged an astonishing 43.7 points in the three-game series.

 

[westkoast]

Aren't we forgetting the key topic here? Money?  Reducing the schedule that much would require the players to take pay cuts *snicker* or the owners being willing to lose money year after year. * :rolleyes:

They would fix that with awesome ideas like doubling or tripling the price of tickets, food, and beer.  So Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom have less chances of getting hurt I now pay 30 bucks  per beer and 70 bucks for nose bleeds at the top of Staples!!

Even in shorter seasons guys still risk getting hurt out of freak accidents.  Karl Malone's knee injury comes to mind.  Kobe Bryant faking a defender and having him fall onto his shoulder also comes to mind.  So I guess it all comes down to conditioning and luck.

Also lets not forget guys like Tim Duncan and Allen Iverson who will continue to play even though they are not 100% because of the kinds of competitive players they are.  That is always asking for it and not something a shorter season can help.

[Reality]

Even in shorter seasons guys still risk getting hurt out of freak accidents.  Karl Malone's knee injury comes to mind.  Kobe Bryant faking a defender and having him fall onto his shoulder also comes to mind.  So I guess it all comes down to conditioning and luck.

Sorry, but as the all powerful NBA lord I am forcing owners to give up more of their profits towards better playing conditions.  The $$$ pot is so huge that i am now diverting funds from Jerry Buss and similiar owners having 40 lambourginis etc to player safety issues.  So even with the shorter season they cannot jam higher ticket prices onto the public.

Tim Dunkar and AI will not be ordering me as coach how many minutes they will play.  Yeah yeah yeah they are competetive, they want to play, you have to get along with your best player.  To a point.  Team comes 1st.

So in a shorter season you could still get hurt in a freaker.  I'll bet statistically most NBA injuries are due to cumulative minutes, not freak occurances.  
Including Kobe and some of his ankle turns.

[msc]

Sorry, but as the all powerful NBA lord I am forcing owners to give up more of their profits towards better playing conditions.  The $$$ pot is so huge that i am now diverting funds from Jerry Buss and similiar owners having 40 lambourginis etc to player safety issues.  So even with the shorter season they cannot jam higher ticket prices onto the public.

First off, no I don’t believe the season should be shortened for any reason, but especially not to prevent injury.  

Reality, I'm starting to wonder about your sanity.  What the heck are you even talking about?  Diverting money from the owners for safer player conditions via a shortened season?  

So it's the poor, overworked NBA players that don't get to compete in a safe environment b/c the season is too long?  Puh-lease, these guys are pampered with every trainer, gadget, sauna, high-tech medical treatment, chartered jets, massage therapy, "strength & conditioning coaches", etc.   Please don't go crying for the NBA players.  Freak injuries will always be a part of the game.  But for the most part these guys should be conditioning year around on their own.  Why?  I don't know, how about b/c they have a chance to make millions of dollars for playing a sport that they love!  

Oh no, it's the evil millionaire owners that are ruining the league and forcing ticket prices up.  Do you believe in a free market?  Obviously not.  The owners don't set the ticket prices ... the fans do.  If you don't like it, don't go to games, don't watch them on the tube, don't buy the merch.  If enough fans didn't want to pay X to see the product, ticket prices would have to come down and players would have to take less salaries and yes, the evil owners would have to take less of a profit.  It's just like any other business.  

Why would you single out Jerry Buss of all owners?  I realize you have an unhealthy obsession with all things Laker, but he's a horrible example in this case considering he's one of the few owners with a long track record of running a fiscally responsible company while still providing a quality product to his customers.  Your example should be Paul Allen, Mark Cuban, or Comcast --> or whoever the donkeys are running the Knicks.  Yes, these guys are billionaires that can take the losses to off set other gains, but by them giving some of these exorbitant salaries to players who don't deserve it and far exceeding the cap are poisoning the labor pool and e'fing up the free marketplace.  
 

[Reality]

Remember, the assumption is you are not only as zig suggested the new Commish but i have extended that to make you All Powerful NBA Overlord who can also dictate policy.

Yes the season is too long.  Whom amoung others am i quoting?  Magic Johnson.  Along with other players commenting on how there is no way no how you can go all out for 35+ minutes 82 games a year.  Unfortunately i did not save the magazine article he was quoted in.  

"Free" market?  I would also come down hard on that demonic organization known as Nike and its mega bucks shoe brothern companies.  Chaining some 4 year old Asian kid to a sewing machine for 14 hours a day till he dies from breathing chemicals is going to stop.  Free market or not.  Unfortunately even New Balance (the only pair i previously would buy) previously made only in USA by workers who made more then $3 per day has also caved in to the slave labor market.

Also made in USA could well be $3 a day.  By undercover sweat shops. :cry:

Buss was mentioned only because i was using board language Lakerese, as with Magic above.
Other owners are worse.  Still Buss is paying Brian Grant 15 mil this year so he hardly gets a pass.  With the owners gettng taxpayer subsidies yet hoading the profits. :nonono:   That would stop.

You are 100% correct.  If people including me don't like the current system, stop watching.  So in a sense they are using me also.  When Jordan was at his height, i never did follow thru with a plan to get a small group together and at a key point in the Bulls game unravel a very large poster with a picture of a 4 year old Asian kid in a Nike plant with the caption, "Just Do It."
 
Yes the modern day players with all their pampering do not even compare to the 60's or 70's players.  Still it's about physically impossible to go 82 games fulltime without getting some sort of injuries.  Foot problems were across the board before, don't know what the 2006 situation is.

As to my sanity, I am waiting to see if Randy accepts or even responds to W.O.W.s free plane ticket offer to come out to L.A., Phx, San Antone or wherever.  Meeting in person could then post mental health reports on each other.

[msc]

"Free" market?  I would also come down hard on that demonic organization known as Nike and its mega bucks shoe brothern companies.  Chaining some 4 year old Asian kid to a sewing machine for 14 hours a day till he dies from breathing chemicals is going to stop.  Free market or not.  Unfortunately even New Balance (the only pair i previously would buy) previously made only in USA by workers who made more then $3 per day has also caved in to the slave labor market.

Also made in USA could well be $3 a day.  By undercover sweat shops. :cry:

Reality, you're mixing apples and oranges here.  The sweat shops shoe and clothing manufacturers use overseas is quite different from the NBA and its labor policies.  I thought we were playing commissioner of the NBA here, not of the athletic shoe and apparel industry.  

You know I like Magic and all, but I don't agree with every word that comes out of his mouth and especially his opinion that the season should be shortened.  

Maybe it's out of selfish reasons on my part, but I like the 82 game season.  Of course I like it b/c I get to see more games as opposed to it being shorter.  But I also truly think it is adequate time to allow for the best teams to rise to the top.  Teams are going to have injuries, they're going to have chemistry issues, they’re going to have some good breaks and some bad breaks during the season, but over 82 games I think the best teams will rise to the top except in drastic situations.  By shortening the season, you're not really avoiding the injury issue.  In fact, it could work against a team just as likely as it could work in a teams favor.  For example, your best player gets hurt in Game 1 and will be out 25 games of a 50 game season.   That hurts a lot worse than in an 82 game season, theoretically at least.  

82 games in the NBA is nothing for these athletes.  I'm not a big hockey fan, but look at these guys.  They have a similar season in terms of length as the NBA and they play a full contact sport where you can drop your gloves and go to blows with guys.  That's just nuts!  These guys do it every other night!   I mean the NFL guys act all tough and they play 16 games/yr. one game a week.  Now, that's an extremely physical sport too, but I'd probably argue that hockey is even more physical.  Still doesn't make me watch, but I've got to give props to the pro hockey players for being some of the toughest guys pound-for-pound on the planet.  
 

[Guest_Randy]

As to my sanity, I am waiting to see if Randy accepts or even responds to W.O.W.s free plane ticket offer to come out to L.A., Phx, San Antone or wherever. Meeting in person could then post mental health reports on each other.

Umm, who is going to be the standard for this mental health report?  You?   :rofl:

 

[Reality]

Umm, who is going to be the standard for this mental health report?  You?   :rofl:

So you are coming to see W.O.W.? :bounce:
Fantastic.

Randy,

Standards will be used that will aide your recovery to a healthy, happy Randy.
Able to enjoy among other things:

Watching Manu dunk and drop 3 balls,
adding 2+2 and getting 4,
eating food and drink other then purple and golden colored.

A Whole New World......

[Guest_Randy]

Umm, who is going to be the standard for this mental health report?  You?   :rofl:

So you are coming to see W.O.W.? :bounce:
Fantastic.

Randy,

Standards will be used that will aide your recovery to a healthy, happy Randy.
Able to enjoy among other things:

Watching Manu dunk and drop 3 balls,
adding 2+2 and getting 4,
eating food and drink other then purple and golden colored.

A Whole New World......

Reality,

Hmm, how should I put this -- okay, let's try it in words that even YOU can understand -- Lamar ODOM has been more consistent this year than Manu!  Maybe that helps!

[Reality]

Reality, you're mixing apples and oranges here.  The sweat shops shoe and clothing manufacturers use overseas is quite different from the NBA and its labor policies.  I thought we were playing commissioner of the NBA here, not of the athletic shoe and apparel industry.

Well since Nike dropped $20 million a year on Jordan and they along with the current shoe crew drops how many millions on Kobe, A.I. and company....

I'm going to fund the rescue of some of the 4 year old Asian boys and girls from their chained sewing machines.  Bring them over here (unless they are already at a sweatshop inside the U.S.) and bring them out for a halftime show.   A campaign of numerous halftime shows.  Let them parade for the audience very large posters of the working conditions with the theme being "Just Do It" and other catch phrases from the other shoe makers.

That wouldn't be disturbing the "Free" market.  Surely Nike, Rebook, Adidas etc have nothing to do with the NBA, they won't mind.

Also, since Jordans response to the horrid working conditions was "that's not my job, it's Nikes"...you know that shot of Jordan holding his hands out Jewish style after dropping the three pointers in the Finals?  The one they have redone using schoolage kids to reinact.

Well next to the photos of Suzie 4 year old Asian passed out from Nike chemical fumes I'm gonna have that same  photo of "Mike" with his "What, me worry?" face and outstretched hands.

Yes, it won't change this world, that is going to take a higher force then a good NBA overlord.

And I don't want to miss propping the NBA for it's current plan to drop millions into playground parks or whatever it is they are doing.