PHOENIX — One of the major talking points around the NBA as its cup schedule wrapped up on Tuesday was the sense that injuries are on the rise. Some suggested it is partially caused by the schedule tweaks to accommodate said cup.
The Athletic outlined a sentiment from many teams feeling worn down from an increased schedule pace to begin the year. The publication suggested, but didn’t outright prove, that soft-tissue injuries could be up because of it, and stars are missing more time. That led to the league feeling it was necessary to release a statement with data that says the amount of injury-lost games to occur is not only normal so far, but this season has hit a recent low for the number of star absences due to injury.
While those numbers are there, the soft-tissue injury data is, too.
Yahoo! Sports’ Tom Haberstroh showcased that the year-to-year jump of games missed specifically due to calf strains has tripled. The real concern here, a doctor part of the NBA’s medical committee told Haberstroh, is that calf strains can lead to Achilles tears if not rehabbed properly.
The doctor goes on to note that “the NBA is very concerned, as are all doctors.” He adds that the increased pace and athleticism in the game are possible contributors, while also citing the demands of the schedule.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke on Tuesday, echoing the concern while also providing the league statistics on the overall number of injuries being down. He wants to be “true to the data,” which he added does not back up the suggested tweaks such as a shortened season helping.
The Phoenix Suns thus far haven’t had a problem with calf strains, but Jalen Green has missed all but five quarters this year due to a hamstring strain. Devin Booker had a groin strain pop up as well. Every team is dealing with soft-tissue injuries, and the question is whether this is something that will get worse because of how much the sport and its athletes have changed, all while they play the same 82 games.
Suns guard Grayson Allen is proof of a league veteran at least feeling the need to prepare differently because of what he’s being asked to do on a night-in and night-out basis.
Allen got in the best shape of his career, all due to what a perimeter player has on their exhaustive checklist each possession.
“I think it was more of noticing the trends of what guys are being asked to do and how difficult it is to (do) … In a perfect world nowadays, (you) pick up full (court), you’re guarding multiple actions and cutters, rebounding, pushing the pace and crashing,” Allen told Arizona Sports. “Doing all of those things, I think it was just more of a feel of, ‘Hey, if I’m going to be asked to do all of those things or if this is how guards are being asked nowadays.’
“If you have a four-minute stretch and you want to be able to do (all of) that, it’s a different level of shape than what I’ve done the first six, seven years of my career.”
Does he think that is part of the causation for the soft-tissue injuries?
“I think it definitely plays into it,” he said. “I think people argue that the pace of the game is different now, but it’s been matched in older seasons. I think [it’s] what’s happening with half-court offenses offensively — the game doesn’t rely on post-ups (anymore). We’re pushing the pace, but it’s also heavy drive-and-kick, a lot of downhill movement, a lot of movement offensively. And then defensively, you’re guarding closeouts and heavy drives, and you’re asking to push the pace and you’re asking to crash.”
If anything, Allen said the game is putting more of an emphasis than ever on what players do in the back-half of the offseason.
So, what about solutions the league can take? Tweak the schedule? Make it shorter?
Allen wasn’t there yet with that.
“Teams just play deeper,” Allen said. “You end up going deeper into the bench. I don’t think I see teams asking the players to play 40-plus minutes a night. … It feels like the successful teams who do like the physical and fast game at a very high level go deep into their bench. I think that’s probably the answer before changing the structure of the season.”
Allen’s saying that inspired the thought that perhaps teams just have to have bigger rosters now, avoiding the circumstances of a few squads already having to sign extra guys using “hardship exemptions” because too many players are injured. Allen thought the roster size was fine, too, but sparking the idea speaks to how the NBA will have to hone in on this to make sure further trends don’t develop.
And if they do, then it’s what has to change to protect its players and keep the best product on the floor.