Injuries are a coach’s worst nightmare, and for an aging roster like the Golden State Warriors, they are bound to give Steve Kerr sleepless nights. His team has had a rough start to the season, facing a tough schedule with most games on the road. Kerr didn’t hold back in criticizing how modern NBA conditions affect players’ health, though not everyone agreed with his take.
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The former Chicago Bulls icon explained how the pace of the game has started affecting soft tissues of players, who, in this demanding schedule, aren’t able to take too much time to recover. Plus, with all the three-point shooting around the NBA, Kerr feels that modern NBA players are forced to cover more of the court while defending.
On SiriusXM NBA Radio, Larry Brown was asked about Kerr’s comments on how today’s NBA is harder on the players’ bodies. Unsurprisingly, the Hall of Famer disagreed with the Warriors head Coach.
“I love Steve Kerr,” Brown said. “But I don’t buy it.”
Brown didn’t just dismiss Kerr’s concerns for the sake of it. He had his reasons. He felt that the teams, instead of practicing, focus too much on load management.
“We don’t practice, everyone’s doing load management in games, load management in practice, I think if you don’t practice, you’re gonna get hurt,” the 85-year-old added.
It’s not an absurd claim. Sitting out of games and practices for longer stretches, just for the sake of protecting one’s body can have negative effects. Load management may prevent injuries, but at the same time, decondition athletes, who are otherwise conditioned carefully to play 82 games a season.
Legends like Michael Jordan have also insisted that load management is something that teams shouldn’t focus too much on. Jordan, arguably the best in NBA history, feels that it’s the players’ jobs (quite literally) to play basketball.
“You play basketball two‑and‑a‑half, three hours a day. That’s your job. What are you doing the other 21 hours?” the six-time NBA champ said in a recent interview.
That said, Kerr knows what he’s saying too. He’s led the Warriors to four NBA championships, dealt with heartbreaking injuries to his players, and was at the forefront of the ‘three-point revolution’ that Stephen Curry brought about to the NBA.
Old-timers may find it hard to accept, but the NBA is faster today. But is that what causes so many injuries? Kerr was the first to say so. Let’s see if he turns out to be the last.
