This is getting silly now. And weirdly enough. I covered this during the offseason!
Remember when LeBron spoke for the players. Pleading for a longer All-Star break. Ask and you shall receive. Adam Silver gives the NBA players a nice long All-Star week! Not weekend. Week.
But it came at a price. With a longer All-Star break. The NBA had to put more back-to-backs in the schedule. The players agreed.
But according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com and also Dan Feldman of ProBasketballTalk. LeBron James is now asking for less back-to-backs! This guy just got a cookie and clearly has the stones to ask for less back-to-backs!
LeBron James, sources said, promptly responded with a plea to make the All-Star break longer and reduce the number of back-to-backs for each team.
Here’s the problem with all this and why he can’t have the wish of less back-to-backs granted. There is a schedule for the NBA and they have to cram 82 games for every team AND Playoff basketball. If you have a week off. Back-to-backs are the only option!
LeBron’s other request is a bit trickier. Because the league still must fit 82 games per team and a longer All-Star break in a short period of time, back-to-backs are up this season.
LeBron has offered a solution – reducing the number of games – but that would probably reduce revenue. I think we’ve found our limit on what Silver will do for LeBron.
Still, the commissioner is trying to accommodate by shrinking the preseason and moving up the start of the regular season.
So, is Silver going too far to please LeBron? Nah, these are just good ideas.
Thank you Dan Feldman.
Shorter games? Silver may be accommodating but he isn’t dim. There is only on solution. And I’ve been saying this ever since Silver became commissioner.
Lengthen the season by a month. Simple. More time equals less back-to-backs.
