The NBA season is not yet a month old and the questions surrounding player rest — or “load management” — have already come to the forefront. The Los Angeles Clippers have been central to that due to Kawhi Leonard's presence on their roster.

On the issue of resting players and letting their record sacrifice, Clippers head coach Doc Rivers makes it a point to emphasize that he values health over playoff home-court advantage any day of the week.

“I value it [home-court advantage]. You want to get it, but I will never take home court over health,” Rivers told Tomer Azarly.

The idea of teams already looking ahead to playing at home during the postseason seems a bit far-fetched, as the Clippers entered Wednesday 9-5 on the year and currently fourth in the Western Conference standings.

However, Rivers and Los Angeles have already been front and center as it pertains to the league's policy of resting players during nationally televised games. Rivers has insisted that he will monitor Leonard's workload significantly as the All-Star continues to work his way back from a quad injury that cost him the vast majority of the 2017-18 season.

Last season, the Toronto Raptors did not play Leonard on both legs of a back-to-back at any point during the year (the Clippers have done the same to this point). That decision had Leonard fresh for the playoffs where he ultimately carried the team to its first NBA championship.

For a Clippers team that reached the postseason last year as a No. 8 seed, a casual onlooker might think that they'd be happy just getting back in 2019-20. Nonetheless, Rivers is setting the stage not just for success during the regular season, but also for April through June.