LeBron James, Lockers will manage the load like crazy as the NBPA agrees to speed up the 2020-21 season

A typical NBA office, roughly, takes between three and five months, depending on how far you progress in the playoffs. This is not a typical office. The Los Angeles Lakers On October 12 Orlando won the 2020 Championship at the Bubble. On Thursday, the NBPA approved the franchise proposal to start the 2020-21 season on December 22, at a time when the lucrative Christmas Day Games TV Slate was being created.

So do the math, it’s nine weeks between last season’s final game and next season’s first game. Throw in training camp, it’s a month and a half vacation for lockers Heat, And two more weeks நகட் And Celtics, Both of which concluded the conference.

This is a short turn, especially considering the uniquely severe conditions in the bubble. No, teams don’t have to travel, that’s a big deal. But they had to play basically every day through the playoffs. The players did not like the idea of ​​starting next season soon, not yet, but they agreed for one simple reason: money.

By pushing the start of the 2020-21 season a few more weeks into January it is estimated that the league will lose half a billion dollars, and players will know that those losses will be pushed into their pocket books. As it stands, they will play 72 games starting Dec. 22, 10 less than the normal 82-game slate, which will allow the season to end on a normal timeline, and more importantly, just in time for the start of the 2021-22 season, the epidemic will be a thing of the past. , And the league could return to its normal fall ways.

Until then, expect to see a lot of load management by multiple teams LeBron James And lockers. LeBron enters its 18th season. He will be 36 years old on December 30th. He won his fourth championship and knows he has the right shot to finish 5th this coming season. He’s not going to waste his feet pushing himself in the early part of a quick schedule.

Why? A little more playoff seed? There is no other way. Anthony Davis Even takes time. My guess is that the NBA will soften its stance on healthy stars sitting in games, which they have tried to prevent in recent seasons, despite varying success. You’d think the league’s product would be important to players reaping its celebrity financial rewards, but they’re not going to risk their bodies for a Tuesday night game in January or a Wednesday night game in February, they’ll miss the big parts in between. Here are three games. A week there. Who knows.

LeBron went tough last season. He played in 67 of 71 regular season games, recording nearly 35 minutes per game. Yes, there was an extended interval from March to August because the league stopped the game in the middle of an epidemic, but in some ways it was tough. LeBron and everyone had to be in shape not knowing when the season would start again, so it really was a full calendar year, from October 2019 to October 2020, which they could not completely separate from NBA basketball. It is a mental grind as well as a physical. LeBron will not be alone at the start of this quick 2020-21 season, otherwise most of the way.