WHAT is load management? According to sportingnews.com, “Load management is an offshoot of modern sports science research that can help predict when players are most vulnerable to injury and in need of protection.
Teams have realized they can dramatically cut injury risk by planning rest days during road back-to-backs—and those who are deep enough can sometimes win regular season games without their stars.
Unlike in other sports, where no single player is expected to pull more physical weight than his or her teammates, isolation-based basketball offenses take a disproportionate toll on top scorers. That’s part of the reason certain players are given regular time off throughout the season when healthy while others are asked to play every contest.”
I remember San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich starting managing the load of his then stars, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker after they clinched a playoff spot. It’s to keep his players fresh for the homestretch of the season which is the postseason that is the National Basketball Association playoffs.
Load management is debatable wherein you have the supporters of the method saying the players get rest and treatment for their injuries and ailments and to decompress a bit, getting their mind and body right before the second season starts.
Critics and opponents of load management say that it deprives fans who paid with their hard earned money to see the star players play.
The league won’t allow the resting of players on nationally televised games which I understand because the games are seen all over the world watched by millions of basketball fans.
In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, load management was unheard of, you had your league stars playing hurt whether the team qualified for the postseason or not.
You’d hear no excuses from Jordan, Bird and Magic. They played 82-plus games, including the playoffs if they qualified.
These days you’d have players like Lebron James being rested when facing perceivably weaker teams.
Load management is a good strategy as long as the league allows it and teams don’t do it on nationally televised games.
Load management gives the team’s players ample time to heal if not totally heal then close to full strength at least as the playoffs approach. It may also lengthen the player’s career.
At the end of the day, coaches will implement any strategy that works for their teams and at the same time, adds years to their best player’s or players’ careers. As long as these strategies are with the league’s boundaries.