Draymond Green is not down with a recommendation from LeBron James for the NBA to add spacing between the end of the regular season and start of the playoffs to further condition players for the postseason. James opined on the idea during an episode of the Mind the Game podcast, describing the physical toll an 82-game season takes on players.
"If they're going to allow it to be as physical as it is, you've got to give us a little time to prepare for it," James said. "Maybe 12 to 15 games left in the regular season. Like a month. Give us a month to prepare for it. Because it goes from zero to 100."
Green sees things differently.
"I know Bron talked about there being a month off before the playoffs, (but) I don't know that that's possible," Green said during a recent episode of The Draymond Green Show. "A, guys will get a bit out of shape and can have an adverse effect, guys getting back in, and all of a sudden, you pull something because it's been a month."
Green previously called the modern NBA "very boring,", signaling the league's love affair with 3-pointers and transition baskets and has been outspoken on various states of the game in the past.
While NBA commissioner Adam Silver previously labeled himself an advocate for shortening quarters, there's no plans to shorten the regular season or go with James' idea of creating space before the start of the playoffs.
A reporter asked Silver if recent postseason injuries to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Warriors guard Stephen Curry made the league rethink its previous takes on the regular season.
"I mean, there's a certain cadence to the playoffs. If anything, there is more spacing in the playoff games than when you and I grew in the NBA," Silver said ahead of Thursday night's Game 1 of the NBA Finals. "We used to frequently play playoff games back-to-back on the weekends."
Silver acknowledged the league will continue to look at data points during the offseason and move appropriately.
"I don't think there's any magic bullets here. In fact, injuries are considerably down this playoffs from what it's been historically," Silver said. "I think it's our second lowest in 10 years. We have pretty healthy teams coming into the Finals now. We look at it very closely. This question comes up a lot. I don't want to make a change just to make a change. People are asking should we shorten the season, spread the games out over a longer period of time.
"I don't necessarily think we should reduce the number of games. If we had more days to work with, there is no question that if players are better rested, putting aside injuries, that that potentially leads to a little bit of heightened competition. I think a little bit what you see in the playoffs, too, because they're better rested. We're up against also players needing to take time off, needing to have an offseason. We will continue to look at it."
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