Prior to the start of the 2017-18 season, the NBA made the decision to extend the season in order to better accommodate their players while addressing the situation of teams resting players.

One of those may have been indirectly aimed at was the San Antonio Spurs, who under head coach Gregg Popovich has been using the method of resting players sporadically throughout the duration of the regular season for several years.

With that in mind, Popovich finally issued his stance on the alterations on Monday night that the league has made airing that he has a clear understanding of why that decision was made, according to Chris Forsberg of ESPN.

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“Frankly, it's a little bit cloudy. It's all done in good faith to make your fans feel like they're seeing what they want to see for their money, which I understand,” Popovich said prior to Monday's game in Boston before deadpanning, “I'm just glad I was never one of those guys that rested people.”

Turning more serious, he added, “So the league, obviously, they've compromised a great deal. This schedule is great. The way they've reduced back-to-backs and four-in-five-nights and that sort of thing, Adam listened and I think that's huge. It speaks a lot for how much he cares about the players and the league. The fans are important, too, and we gotta understand that.”

As Popovich pointed out, the biggest difference in the schedule layout is centered on the spacing of the games that have completely eliminated four games in five nights while further reducing the number of back-to-back games. This alone should provide players much more time to rest and recuperate from the physical demands that come with playing in the league and the travel that comes with the territory.

At the same time, there are likely still a few adjustments that will be made down the line by the NBA in order to provide the best and most entertaining product on the floor on a nightly basis. If anything, this could be interpreted as a work in progress that is a step in the right direction at the moment.