A few days before All-Star Weekend, Adam Silver answered questions from the cleveland pressand the NBA boss mentioned several current issues such as the reduction in the number of regular season matches, a reform of the playoffs with a full table, without distinction of conference, and of course this famous mid-season tournament.
A full table in the playoffs
“It’s something we keep watching… The biggest problem isn’t the tradition but the travel. When we think about what this would entail for the teams brought to cross the country, it worries us. In fact, the health and wellness data and insights we review demonstrate that in some cases, when crossing time zones, lack of sleep is even more detrimental to gamers than we have previously understood. and that there may be a correlation with injury. We have not yet found a solution to this problem. One of the things I always talk about is the potential for faster air travel. This might solve part of the problem. For now, we will continue with the existing format. ”
A shortened regular season
“We looked into the matter and we decreased the number of games last season due to pandemic-related issues. I have to admit that I’m glad we shared this experience last year because it was less important than expected in terms of impact on injuries, player rest, interest. We retired ten games last season and no one really noticed. It’s always a balance. For teams and players, this represents a reduction in income and players have relatively short careers, so it does not work economically. It would probably work if we could demonstrate that we can keep players healthy and on the pitch longer, but the science isn’t quite as precise. ”
The mid-season tournament
“It’s less to do with cutting the season, but one of our internal discussions is about the idea of a tournament during the season. It could be interesting. It’s about finding formats throughout the season that make some of the regular season games more appealing. It could happen and it’s something we talk about with the teams, the players and the players’ union. This will not happen next season. This is something that is potentially on the horizon. We are inspired by European football”.
