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AP Photo / Ashley Landis
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James offered his thoughts on Wednesday, as the NBA Playoffs will lose another superstar.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports that Kawhi Leonard will be out indefinitely due to what the Los Angeles Clippers fear may be an ACL injury. James wished Leonard well on social media:
LeBron James KingJames
🙏🏾 to 🖐🏾Klaw
The four-time player of the year also expressed his general frustration with the intense schedule for the 2020-21 season:
LeBron James KingJames
Not all of them wanted to hear me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I just wanted to protect the players’ welfare which is ultimately the product & amp; The benefit of our game! These injuries are not just “part of the game”. It’s the lack of PURE
LeBron James KingJames
Works all year round It’s me! I’m talking about the health of all our players and I hate to see so many injuries this time of year. Sorry fans I hope you guys see all your favorite players now. 🙏🏾👑
LeBron James KingJames
And I know all about the business side too/factors, so don’t even try it! I get it.
Leonard joined forces with Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Mike Conley, Tra Young and Kimba Walker in picking up an injury or lost time during the playoffs. And that’s to say nothing of stars like James, Victor Oladipo, and Jamal Murray, who are out for short periods of the regular season.
On June 8, ESPN’s Baxter Holmes shared data from teammate Kevin Bilton that showed 5.1 players were out in every game this season, the highest number since at least 2009-2010. The trend is amplified when limiting the range to top players:
“The All-Stars this season missed 370 from 1,944 potential games (19%), the highest in a single season in NBA history, according to Elias Sports Bureau research. They’ve missed an average of 13.7 regular season games this year. .”
David Weiss, the NBA’s vice president for player affairs, questioned the narrative that there was a greater frequency of injuries:
“Injury rates this season were almost the same as last season, and any suggestion to the contrary is inaccurate. The number of serious injuries this season was lower than last season. Although more players this season missed a single game due to injury or rest were injuries that resulted from misses. Many matches are in line with normal historical trends. Running this season safely in a pandemic has been both physically and mentally challenging for everyone involved, and players and teams have risen to the challenge and avoided an increase in serious injuries.”
Holmes reported the situation last April, writing, “Several teams [fear] The player’s health has reached boiling point. An assistant coach said the 2020-21 slate was “the worst schedule I’ve seen in 25 years in the league” and “utterly insane”.
Last week, Holmes reported that executives and medical workers were concerned about soft tissue injuries as they could be related to fatigue and stress. Players weren’t given much time between games, their training affected by NBA health and safety protocols, and they had to navigate the season during the coronavirus pandemic.
Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press reported Thursday that the league has sent a note indicating its desire to start the 2021-22 season. While that will allow the National Basketball Association to return to its traditional calendar, players will once again have a shorter season. It is usual, especially those who made it to the NBA Finals.
This will inevitably lead to the same questions about player health next year.
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