The Golden State Warriors are in the middle of a tough stretch in their schedule. Head coach Steve Kerr has argued that the NBA should shorten its schedule, but his most recent plea could certainly come off as sour grapes.
After the Warriors lost to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night, Kerr reiterated his belief that the NBA season should be shorter. He believes that the faster pace of the game has led to more injuries as star players have gone down with regularity this season, along with going back to last postseason as well.
Steve Kerr's schedule comments could come off as sour grapes
Kerr said this is a topic he has brought up to the league a lot, but he acknowledged that any reduction in games is unlikely given the amount of money involved. Owners would be very unlikely to approve any reduction in the schedule because it would mean less money and lost revenue, but Kerr argues that it would raise the quality of the product on the floor.
On the one hand, his critique is valid because there have been a lot of injuries as of late and it stands to reason that fewer regular season games should mean less injuries, largely because players would not be so strained physically and would have more time to recover.
Plus, less games could mean that fans get a greater chance of seeing star players like Stephen Curry who may not have to sit out as much for rest or precautionary reasons. Curry is already dealing with an ankle injury that will see him miss Golden State's lone visit to Miami on Wednesday.
Still, it's not a great look for Kerr and the Warriors when it could be interpreted as him complaining about the schedule amidst a tough stretch for his team. Kerr has tried not to use Golden State's rough schedule as an excuse when they have lost winnable games, but people will leap on his comments to make it seem like he's pointing fingers at the league.
The truth is this schedule has been tough on an aging Golden State roster. Kerr has to manage the difficult balancing act of resting his stars, while also trying to be competitive which isn't always easy to calibrate correctly.
Still, every team has to play 82 games and every team has to deal with difficult stretches of the schedule. The Warriors just have to suck it up and try to push through this particularly tough period, and hopefully make up some ground when the schedule opens up later on.