During first half of the NBA season, 32 games across 27 teams were postponed due to COVID-19. The second half schedule is picking up that slack.
Now, as more and more injuries pop up across the league amid the overwhelming stretches, some general managers, coaches and training staff members reportedly fear the compressed schedule is seriously impacting player health.
“Several NBA general managers and team health officials say the unorthodox and compressed schedule, attempting to make up games postponed due to COVID-related issues, has led to a rash of injuries around the league, with several teams fearing player health has reached a boiling point,” ESPN’s Baxter Holmes on Wednesday reported.
“While drawing cause-and-effect correlations to injuries is complicated, a number of executives and team health officials point to the abbreviated schedule and say the two issues are, at the very least, related.”
The story comes on the tails of the announcement that Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray would be out indefinitely after tearing his ACL in a game Monday night.
“Playing every other day for six weeks is a problem,” one GM reportedly said about the format.
Another added: “I’ve never experienced anything like our injury spate… Every dumb soft-tissue (injury) that can happen is happening and will only get worse.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, via Holmes, 2021 All-Stars have missed 15% of games this season, on pace to be the second highest rate ever.
