Players sitting out games for the purpose of rest is a common occurrence in today’s NBA. Another common occurrence: Debates about whether players resting is right or wrong. The arguments:
- Rest ’em: Players should be able to rest games as much as they like. 82 games is a lot to play in a season, and a player like LeBron James, who is 32 years old and top-two in the NBA in minutes per game, deserves to rest whenever the hell he pleases. Besides, fans will get a better quality of basketball in the playoffs if stars are better-rested during the regular season.
- Anti-rest: Players shouldn’t be able to rest. Far too often, fans pay their hard-earned money to watch these guys play. Who wants to spend these prices to watch the Cavaliers without LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love? Or the Spurs without Kawhi Leonard? Or the Warriors without their big four? You get the point
Both sides of this argument are understandable. John Wall falls on the Anti-Rest side, he tells CSN Mid-Atlantic’s J. Michael:
“The only time I would sit out a game is if I’m injured, or if I can’t go. I’m not the type to just sit out a game,” Wall said. “I think it’s important for me to be there for my team. And especially for the fans, there may be certain fans that come to the game and that might be the only time they see you play. If I’m able to play, I’m going to play. If it’s something that I shouldn’t play through, then I will sit out. Other than that, I don’t really like the games of just resting. That’s not me.”
It doesn’t sound like Wall said this to take a shot at any players in particular, or anything like that. He’s simply giving his position on a much-discussed issue, probably in response to a question about it.
