Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Rockets head coach Kevin McHale have different views on resting players.
Resting your players at opportune moments in the NBA season has become somewhat of a common practice, but not for every one. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and Houston Rockets head coach Kevin McHale have differing beliefs on the matter. Kerr is clearly in favor of rest as Golden State rested Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogut, Klay Thompson, and Andre Iguodala this month.
From Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN:
Of the trend toward resting players, Kerr said, “They have access to a lot more data now than they did 20 years ago. We keep track of everything.”
He then pivoted to a belief in progress itself: “It’s like anything else. Medicine improves, science. People learn more. We learn better ways to take care of our bodies. Not just athletes but people in general. So, anytime somebody starts a comment out with, ‘In the old days,’ it’s usually not that great. Well, in the old days, guys played 48 minutes. Well, we’ve made advancements. We don’t go backwards with this stuff. We go forwards.”
Here were McHale’s thoughts, via Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle:
“I don’t know, I’m not one of those guys who thinks the panacea for life is taking a game off on a Tuesday night in March and all of a sudden you are 21 years old,” McHale said. “I don’t know. As a player, I never thought that made a difference truthfully.”
As far as resting his players, though, McHale said he has no intention of pulling anyone out with the playoffs this close.
It sounds like McHale just has that old school, gut-it-out mentality which is translating into his coaching philosophy. Kerr, meanwhile, clearly has more of a willingness to adapt.
There’s nothing wrong with McHale wanting to see his guys fight for every possible minute, but considering the grind of the NBA season, you obviously don’t want players physically and mentally worn out by the postseason. Kerr has a group that is especially injury prone, so understanding your personnel is an element to this as well. All things considered, the value of rest at any capacity is invaluable in today’s league.
