J.B. Bickerstaff's Thoughts On NBA's Load Management Dilemma, Cavaliers News

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, understands the NBA's viewpoint on load management.

The NBA has struggled with the dilemma of "load management" for a number of years now. They finally addressed this in the middle of September as NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced a new policy for teams and players. 

Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was asked about all of this on Sunday and took a realistic approach to the predicament.

"I know the NBA wants to put their best product on the floor. There's so many things at stake and our game is based on our fans and our fans want to see the best players on the floor playing as much as they can. So, I understand that from where the league is coming from completely. Just like, all of us analytics people, we can make the numbers dance how we want to."

This comes on the heels of Joe Dumars (NBA Executive Vice President Of Basketball Operations) saying “We’ve gotten more data, and it just doesn’t show that resting, sitting guys out correlates with lack of injuries, or fatigue, or anything like that. What it does show is maybe guys aren’t as efficient on the second night of a back-to-back.”

There are two sides to this coin. One side is the NBA and fans who want to watch the superstars of the game every night and the other is the league's players who have a lot at stake including their health and contracts.

Nov 2, 2022; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) argues a call with referee Rodney Mott (71) as head coach J.B. Bickerstaff looks on during the second half against the Boston Celtics at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports / © Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

No matter what decisions are made, or what is said on the topic, one side isn't going to be happy. Bickerstaff's comments see both sides of the story realizing what's at stake for everyone. 

Will there ever be a perfect solution for load management? Will the NBA's Player Participation Policy work? Time will tell, but each side will continue to brainstorm ideas so that everyone is pleased.