In the age of load management in the NBA, players and coaching staffs handling injuries have become subjective. Some teams and players don’t believe in resting players and some players don’t believe in sitting for an injury. However, teams are all-in on load management, while some players don’t complain if given a rest day.
Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is a Kobe Bryant disciple: play by any means, win by any means. In other words, Irving isn’t going to ask for a load management program. According to Nets basketball coach Kenny Atkinson, Irving has been playing injured since sustaining a hit against the Utah Jazz Tuesday night. The Nets would lose that Jazz game and the following game against the Denver Nuggets. Needing Irving healthy, the Nets will sit Irving against the Chicago Bulls to allow him to recover.
“Definitely played through some pain starting after the hit in Utah and I think he gutted it out against Denver quite honestly. We all thought it was the best interest to give him a game here.”
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson on Kyrie Irving’s shoulder injury: “Definitely played through some pain starting after the hit in Utah and I think he gutted it out against Denver quite honestly. We all thought it was the best interest to give him a game here.”
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) November 16, 2019
Smart move by the Nets here. The purpose of load management is to allow players to recover from injury, and avoid wear and tear. While Irving wants to play like his idol Bryant, it’s never a bad thing to play the long game. The Nets want to make a playoff push this season and need Irving healthy for when Kevin Durant returns next year. While load management is subjective, what is clear is the purpose and intentions behind it.
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