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It sucks." That's LeBron James' view on what we're not seeing in these NBA playoffs.
"It's terrible that we don't have Derrick Rose, and now Russell Westbrook, David Lee, and a lot of guys that's just not in the lineup," he said of the nightly view from his couch. "Amare Stoudemire is another one."
When it comes to the schedule, James said this is a case where less-is-more might have its merits.
Teammate Shane Battier was among the first to express that line of thought.
"I think 60 is the perfect number," Battier said this past week. "I've said that for many years. It's a long season."
James picked up from there.
"It's tough and it's a lot of wear and tear on our bodies," he said. "An 82-game season is a lot. I'm not one to say we should have fewer games than we have. But 82 games, with the traveling we had, going to China before the season, it's been a lot on us."
The counter from management is that fewer games would require a commensurate drop in salaries.
"I think that's a conversation to be had with the players' association, the players and the owners," James said. "I love to play basketball. We always get the opportunity to go out every night and showcase our talent, but I think that's a business question to go over. It benefits some people, some people it doesn't benefit."
Teammate James Jones, secretary/treasurer on the union board, said there is another option, one that would include seldom-used players such as himself: teams actually using their entire 15-player rosters, instead of wearing down their stars through the 82-game regular-season grind.
"Our rosters stand at 15, so teams have an option of carrying 15 guys," he said. "What you're seeing is just unfortunate. It's a string of injuries. It's kind of an anomaly. It's not something that happens regularly. But I think teams and players and coaches should be more conscious of managing guys' minutes and using their full roster."
That's not to say that if Heat coach Erik Spoelstra had used Jones, Mike Miller and Rashard Lewis more often that it would have saved Wade from aggravating those knee bruises. But it might have.
Jones said the 2013 playoffs ultimately might be a teaching point.
"I think you'll see fewer and fewer teams having a rotation-heavy and top-dominant rotation, where they only go eight, nine guys," Jones said, an approach the clearly would enhance his own role. "I think you'll start to see teams go 11, 12, possibly 13 [deep]. Because that's the only way, if you're seriously going to contend deep into the playoffs, that's the only way you'll be able to have guys fresh at the end."
To ignore the fact that these playoffs are not offering a maximum star-appeal payoff, Battier said, would be a disservice to the game.
"The bottom line is there are occupational hazards associated with this job," he said. "And being worn down and physically beaten down make your more susceptible to injuries, no question. But that's what we signed up for. And you feel bad for the fans. We're getting compensated. We're OK. We understand what the deal is, and we're getting compensated for that risk. But you look at a city like Chicago and Derrick Rose, or David Lee with Golden State, and it's a letdown for the fans."
SOLID FOOTING: Granted, the Heat and San Antonio Spurs probably would have breezed through their opening-round sweeps anyway, considering their opponents. But it was curious that the two teams that placed the greatest priority on regular-season rest for their stars also made the quickest work of the opening round. That doesn't mean Commissioner David Stern still doesn't have reservations with the approach. "I think we're going to have to come to grips, somehow, with the issue of resting players," Stern said at an Associated Press Sports Editors symposium of commissioners. "We have to recognize both sides of that issue, in terms of not telling a coach how to manage his lineup while at the same time trying to deliver to our fans what they've come to expect. Historically, when you're resting a 36-year-old player or a player with a history of injuries, that's fine. But when that player gets to be 26 and it's a wholesale sort of an elimination of rosters for a game, that's less about resting and more about something else going on."
