NBA Power Rankings: Kobe Bryant and 10 Players That Need to Rest Before Playoffs
NBA players always get worn down as the season goes along. It's what happens with such a long season, and by the time the NBA playoffs roll around, players can be downright exhausted.
While 82 basketball games over six months may not seem like many games, combine them with practices and incessant drilling and even the most fit basketball players (I'm looking at you, Eddy Curry) can get worn down and tired.
Coaches keen to this have made it so their older players cut down on their minutes, as Gregg Popovich did with Tim Duncan and Phil Jackson did with Kobe Bryant.
Nonetheless, many of the older players with many miles on their knees are struggling as the season comes to a close, and their coaches should consider resting them more over the final days of the season.
Some players are laboring more than others, whether it be from injury, too many minutes or just from getting old. Many need some rest before the playoffs start up in a few weeks.
10. Nene, Denver Nuggets
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The Nuggets are making a run that nobody outside of Denver expected.
Denver has won 10 of 13 games this month and the Nuggets are currently in fifth place in the West, a spot that they will most likely finish the season in.
One concern for Denver, however, may be their big man down low, big Brazilian Nene.
He has produced numbers similar to his season averages this month, but he has been extremely streaky in doing so.
Nene has had some terrific games, showing that he is still in midseason form, but he is also having some embarrassing games, showing that the long season has started to get to him.
One such game happened just a few weeks ago against the Heat when he scored just 10 points and grabbed two rebounds in 29 minutes.
In that game, he was pushed around by the Miami big men, guys that he should have no problem dealing with.
Nene is arguably the most important player to this Nuggets team, and if they want to keep this incredible run going, they may want to reduce his minutes and think about sitting him for a few games along the way.
9. Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies
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Memphis is currently trying to hold off the Rockets, a team that at one point was coming on quick, but now looks to be tailing off a bit.
If the opportunity arises to sit Zach Randolph for a bit, the Grizzlies should jump all over it.
Randolph, like Nene, has had similar stats for the month of March that he has had all season long, but you can see that he is tiring quicker during games.
He is a guy who is in between his youth and veteran years, as he is 29 years old and starting to feel the miles that have collected on his knees over the years.
Randolph is having trouble battling for rebounds against taller power forwards, something he can usually do because of his strength. Resting him just may help him recover enough to help the Grizzlies brew a first-round upset in the playoffs.
8. Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks
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Jason Kidd is old...like, really old. Jason Kidd is so old that he was dishing dimes to George Mikan.
One thing that happens to old fellas in the NBA is they wear down as the season goes along, and when they get on the wrong end of a back-to-back, they have bad games, something the Mavericks can't have happen in the playoffs.
Resting Kidd would allow two things to happen for the Mavericks.
First, it would give Kidd a chance to recuperate after a long season, allowing him to stay fresh as the Mavs attempt to make a deep playoff run.
Second, it would give JJ Barea a chance to get used to a larger role, something which he may end up taking on as the playoffs wear on and Dallas needs more scoring from the point guard position.
7. Elton Brand, Philadelphia 76ers
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Elton Brand has crossed the line from youth into old-man status in the NBA, as he is now a 32-year-old power forward, a point at which production usually diminishes and the long-season effects start to set in.
Brand is starting to look sluggish late in games and he is losing his strength and explosiveness against some of the stronger forwards that he goes up against.
His production is beginning to drop—in March, he has averaged more than two points and a rebound less than his season averages.
With Brand at his best, Philadelphia is one of the most dangerous lower-seeded teams in the East, as he is a defensive asset. Without him at his best, they could be in for a quick first-round exit.
6. Andre Miller, Portland Trail Blazers
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Andre Miller is another point guard who is getting up there in years and seems to be dropping off a bit as the year comes to a close.
Miller is a good shooter and ball-handler and he is quite good at slashing to get to the rim, but he is not doing as well in the past few weeks.
In his past 10 games, Miller has averaged well below his season averages for points and assists and has experienced a drop in his field-goal percentage.
Having Miller at his best would give Portland yet another weapon to upset whatever team the Blazers end up facing in the first round and beyond.
5. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
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Manu Ginobili has been the Spurs' best player for the season, taking over for Tim Duncan, who has been the rock for San Antonio for a decade.
The added responsibility, along with the injury to his quad and another year's worth of games, seems to have taken a toll on him this season.
Ginobili has had a March comparable to the rest of his season statistically, but he has worn down quicker during the games and the Spurs have been struggling because of it.
His age plus the quad injury should tell Gregg Popovich that Ginobili needs to reboot for the playoffs so the Spurs can make a run for another championship.
4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
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In the past 10 games, Kobe Bryant has averaged about what he has averaged throughout the regular season, but he is doing it while shooting a much lower percentage.
Watching Kobe lately, you wouldn't see that much is wrong with him except that some shots aren't falling. At this point in his career, he works hard not to show anything that may be hampering him.
This is good in one respect, as you can see that he is a true gamer and will play through most pain without bringing attention to it. However, it makes it hard to tell if he is laboring or if he is just in a bit of a slump.
The Lakers are on a tear and are threatening to take the No. 1 seed away from the Spurs, so not much is being said of Kobe missing more shots—but he is, as he has only shot above 50 percent in a game once in March, something he did four times in January and nine times in December.
There is one thing we know about Kobe for sure: When he is on, he is on, and nothing short of running him over with a truck will stop him. He just seems to be in that mode less and less as the season has dragged on, so maybe he needs a bit of a break.
Phil Jackson needs to think about either sitting him the last couple of games or reducing the number of minutes he plays—or both—so Kobe can get his legs back for the playoffs.
3. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
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The topic has come up about old men quite a lot in this slideshow, so it should be no surprise that Kevin Garnett shows up in it.
Garnett has seen a very small drop-off in production in the past month, but like Kobe Bryant, he is a guy who won't let any soreness visibly hamper him.
The biggest thing about Garnett that has taken a toll on him over the last month is the loss of Kendrick Perkins, meaning he is down low with skinny Nenad Krstic instead of the thick-bodied Perkins.
Because of this, Garnett has had to help out a lot on opposing centers, which has taken a toll on his body, even if he won't show it.
Shutting down Garnett for the final few games of the season would give him extra time to heal up and think of ways to insult Chris Bosh, like he did with Charlie Villanueva, if they end up meeting in the playoffs, so it's a win-win.
2. Chauncey Billups, New York Knicks
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It has been hard to put a finger on Chauncey Billups in the past few weeks, as he and Carmelo Anthony have become integrated into the Knicks' system.
On one hand, it is easy to say he is getting used to the system. Blame it on the injury that kept him out of six games earlier in the month and say he just needs time to get it all together.
On the other hand, it is also easy to look at Billups, consider the fact that he has logged over 30,000 minutes in his career and say that he is getting tired.
Billups is a veteran and can get back into the swing of things easily, so I would say the best thing to do would be to rest him and hope he comes back as the Mr. Clutch that he has been in the past, at least for the playoffs.
1. Tim Duncan
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Tim Duncan is a guy who absolutely turns his game into overdrive in the playoffs.
Duncan has averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and 22 points, 12 rebounds in the past two championship runs for the Spurs.
He has posted his best games in the playoffs and does whatever it is his team needs him to do, including his historic near-quadruple-double in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals (21 points, 20 rebounds, 10 assists and eight blocks).
Duncan may not have been the Spurs' best player during the past season, but he has proven that he is the man in the playoffs, no matter what, so a completely healthy and rested Duncan would be the most beneficial for the Spurs.
If there is one player who can be the main veteran leader of this team, it would be Tim Duncan, and with the recent ankle injury he suffered still lingering, rest could do his old bones some good.
