Taking issue with the NBA’s questionable load management claim

The NBA recently released a statement saying, more or less, that resting players to prevent injury was no longer supported by the data. This is alarming for several reasons, some of which might be more troubling and less obvious at first glance.

Initial reactions to this probably land somewhere in one of three camps. Those who have perpetually believed the opposite, are probably skeptical. “How can that be right? Fewer games = fewer injuries. The modern game is so dynamic forcing players to play will result in more injuries or shorter careers.”

Those that sat somewhere in the middle most likely felt something to the effect of: “Well maybe resting too much makes some players more prone to injury? Or perhaps some injuries really are random and are bound to happen no matter how many games. After all, players get injured in practice and warm-ups.”

And the third is in line with the NBA’s statement from Joe Dumars.

"“We’ve gotten more data, and it just doesn’t show that resting, sitting guys out correlates with lack of injuries, or fatigue, or anything like that,” Dumars said. “What it does show is maybe guys aren’t as efficient on the second night of a back-to-back.”"