In the Cleveland Cavaliers 108-78 loss to the Clippers, LeBron James missed his 6th game of the NBA season, 5 of those Games due to rest. This has stirred a lot of controversy from players, fans, the media, and the league. While resting games has been proven to improve performance and decrease injuries, in the most important stages of the season, it is also a subject of much scrutiny. It can be at times unfair for the fans who pay the money to go see players, and the NBA who televise games to an audience in a desire to showcase certain key players.
LeBron's statement
LeBron James had questions thrown at him after he was surprisingly rested in the game against the Clippers, which was a nationally televised prime time game. LeBron said: "Certain guys need rest... And it's a long, strenuous season and the NBA does a great job of putting the schedule together as best as they can." LeBron does believe that the season is a long 82-game schedule before the playoffs start, and having your team in full health is the number one priority in the playoffs. LeBron wants his team to be at 100% in the most important games of the season, the NBA playoffs and possibly the NBA finals.
LeBron added: "You're going to have back-to-backs. You're going to have certain games where certain things fall on certain nights, but a coach's job is to figure out a way for their team to compete for a championship, not compete for a game."
Fans perspective
While rest games maybe be effective for teams and players, those who receive the biggest loss are the fans.
Many fans pay big money for great seats in hope to watch superstars like LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving play, live in person. So when it's decided they will rest or not play last minute, the fans can be very disappointed, and feel they did not get what they paid for. The NBA currently doesn't have a system in place to refund the fans tickets, although a lot of fans feel a refund is what they deserve.
I guess it makes sense, imagine paying a lot of money to buy great seats and go to your first Cavaliers game with your family. Just to find out right before the game that the players you were most excited to watch were resting. Instead of watching LeBron, Kyrie and Love. You will be forced to watch Kay Felder, Richard Jefferson and Tristan Thompson. While they still may be entertaining to watch, it wouldn't stack up to the experience of watching King James and Uncle Drew putting on a show!