The Golden State Warriors will be resting four stars during their nationally televised game as a statement to the league.
The San Antonio Spurs spoiled Kevin Durant’s Golden State Warriors debut. They completely demolished the Dubs in Oracle Arena back in October. It was a tough reminder that continuity matters and nothing would come easy for the Warriors.
The rematch was on everyone’s mind. The star-studded Warriors raced to the top of the standings and dominated like how everyone expected them too. They were the best team on both ends and, despite a few minor hiccups, were rolling.
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Despite their expected success, they weren’t running away with the Western Conference like they were supposed to. The San Antonio Spurs were right on their tail, matching nearly every win. Then the Warriors started to fall apart, giving San Antonio a window of opportunity.
Kevin Durant went down with injury while Kawhi Leonard firmly planted himself in the MVP conversation. Then the Warriors kept losing while the Spurs were doing things like overcoming nearly 30 point deficits to win games. It was all building up for their showdown in San Antonio.
Leonard sustained a concussion on Thursday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder and it was announced that he wouldn’t play against Golden State. After the Warriors suffered another tough loss, this one to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Steve Kerr announced that he would be resting his stars.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Andre Iguodala will be sitting. After an arduous road trip, Kerr is letting his players give their minds and bodies a break. But perhaps it’s more than just that.
Including the San Antonio game, the Warriors will have played seven of their last eight games on the road. Golden State has had three back-to-backs over that stretch. They’ve traveled all across the country.
This is a nationally televised game in what was supposed to be a marquee matchup. Instead, not a single star player will suit up for either team. While the Spurs are dealing with a few key injuries, the Warriors planned on sitting players.
Kerr could be making a statement. He’s flipping the league a bird. He’s hitting them right in their pockets.
The NBA wants to see stars playing during the biggest games on national TV. Kerr isn’t giving them the satisfaction. He’s making the product bad on purpose.
Everyone goes on tough road trips, but this ridiculous schedule needs to be fixed. Perhaps Kerr feels like he can open the NBA’s eyes. In order to prevent something like this from happening again, the league would have to take a look at what they’re doing.
There needs to be fewer preseason games so the season can start earlier. There should be less back-to-backs and a more reasonable travel schedule. This is a major grievance that Golden State should have.
The scheduling problems that have them flying all over the place in a short amount of time aren’t new. Last year, Golden State traveled the most miles in the NBA last season. They’ve had to spend a lot of time on planes.
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The Warriors are frustrated that they aren’t playing well, but they also have to believe the road trip has them exhausted. Kerr is giving the league a middle finger for putting them in this situation where they’re broken down and tired.
The race for the one seed is not going to be determined tonight. The Warriors will have to handle their business once all the stars return to the court.