The new NBA off-season policy is part of a recent effort to make the regular season more meaningful. In past seasons, teams have opted to sit out star players when they are healthy enough to play.
Resting your best players for the playoffs makes sense, but regular season games still need to be meaningful. Teams can no longer rest more than one star player at a time or rest them for nationally televised games.
There are a few additional rules to the NBA player rest policy, but the thing to know is that star players aren’t leaving the game as often as they used to.
“If the science is clearer that athletes need to rest, we would be in favor of that.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discusses the Board of Governors’ decision-making process for the new player engagement policy. pic.twitter.com/YlDe2nMqBk
— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 13, 2023
While this is a good thing for the league as a whole, there are reasons why certain teams rest their star players. Below are the four teams most affected by the new NBA furlough policy.
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns have a roster full of stars, but they probably weren’t too happy about the rule change. Their biggest stars include Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. Durant is now 35 and hasn’t played more than 60 games in a season since 2018-19.
Beal has also struggled to stay healthy in recent years, and he’s not getting any younger. Booker was the most reliable of the three, but he had already torn his calf muscle.
Phoenix is all-in this season, but the NBA’s rest policy could put more pressure on injury-prone stars, something to keep in mind when doing anything. Online Gambling in Arizona.
Rest for NBA players can ruin their on-court performance, and it can also affect how bettors wager.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers have rested their stars like no other team in recent years, if not more. They have an incredibly talented roster, but health has been a real issue for them. We’ve seen Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in their regular clothes much more often than they actually are in uniform.
After making James Harden’s Blockbuster Tradethe Clippers added another superstar to their lineup. Not to mention, Russell Westbrook also re-signed with Los Angeles this offseason.
With four big-name players on the roster, it seems like it will be difficult for the Clippers to field them all year.
Golden State Warriors
No NBA team has more players on its “star” list subject to this rule than Golden State. The four stars leading the league include Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins and Chris Paul.
The Splash Bros are an icon in the NBA, so it’s disappointing that fans won’t be able to watch them play when they’re in town. They also didn’t last very long in the latter stages of their careers, so the NBA player rest policy has a significant impact on them.
Adding CP3 would make things interesting, but at 38 he could use some rest here and there.
Los Angeles Lakers
Both Los Angeles teams will have to adapt to the new rule changes. Ultimately, this policy is focused on NBA stars. Who were the biggest stars of the last 20 years? None other than LeBron James.
The Lakers will likely give Levlon a few breaks throughout the year, but the new rule could mean we’ll be seeing a lot more of the 38-year-old. This doesn’t just apply to King James, it also applies to Anthony Davis.
Davis has had serious health issues with the Lakers, so it will be interesting to see how he holds up throughout 2023-24.
