NBA Health Officials Reportedly Concerned with Short Offseason for Players
The NBA is going forward with a 72-game season starting on Dec. 22, but health officials are concerned about how players will respond physically with a shortened offseason.
"This is going to be another period of unchartered territory. As unchartered as the [Orlando] bubble was [this summer], this is the bubble times three or four or five [because we're] trying to extend it to that period of time with a minimal ramp-up," a team's head trainer told Baxter Holmes of ESPN.
The 71 days between the end of the 2020 NBA finals and the start of the 2020-21 season is the shortest in the history of the four major American sports, while the transition could be just as difficult for the eight teams that haven't played competitive games since March.
Training camp for the upcoming season is expected to begin on Dec. 1.
Players also had a quick ramp up to games after the four-month hiatus before the restart in the Orlando bubble, but the lack of travel was beneficial. Going back to a normal schedule could be a challenge for the players.
"I'd be more worried about travel, because we saw in the bubble, not having travel really helped guys recover," one official said. "So I don't know if it's actually the amount of games [72], but it's just the fact that you're getting to 2 a.m. in the morning and you're traveling now—that becomes a bigger issue."
The NBA is planning to adjust the schedule to keep reduced travel, including multiple games in one city or a nearby market.
Meanwhile, teams that played deep into the postseason could use more load management to keep their veterans fresh.
"I don't foresee all the Lakers guys playing the first month of the season [and going] all out," another official said.
Danny Green even said on The Ringer NBA Show he doesn't expect LeBron James to play for the first month of the season.
The quick turnaround might not be ideal, but the NBA can reportedly save "hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue" by starting the season before Christmas, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
