“Physically? Yes, I Can. But I Work For The Pelicans.” - Zion Williamson Set The Record Straight Why He Sits On Back To Backs While Also Making A Great Point About Load Management

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It's not exactly a secret that the NBA has a "load management" problem. It's not a new problem, but it's something that I'm not sure will ever get solved. Despite the league creating the 65 game requirement for NBA Awards and All NBA etc, you can't put that toothpaste back in the tube. Teams are always going to be overly cautious when it comes to their best players getting rest, especially if that player has a brutal injury history. No games played minimum rule nor even the amount of games in the regular season is going to change that. Even if the schedule were trimmed down to say 60 games, you're still going to see guys sit. That's just the way things are now and I don't see how that ever changes.

As a fan, this obviously blows. Going to games is expensive, even if you sit in the nosebleeds and that's if you're just going by yourself. You add in taking a date or a family and it's even pricier. One would hope that if you commit to going to watch an NBA team play, that their best players would be available so that in theory, your money was well spent. But now, nobody has any idea who will be available on any given night. Guys are being held out longer just to be safe, players are sitting regardless of if it's a big time National TV showdown or a random regular season game against a bad team. It's a bit of a giant middle finger to the fans, but at the same time you can understand why these teams are overly cautious about their hundred million dollar investments.

Recently, we're starting to get these "back to back" rules where some players are just flat out banned by their teams from playing in both games of a B2B. For some, those rules make sense. Al Horford for example is a billion years old. There's no need for a player like him to play in B2Bs at this stage of his career. Joel Embiid is someone who also was given this set of rules, and maybe you think that's lame because he's much younger, but his injury history is a disaster (as we're currently seeing). It's not inconceivable that the Sixers would want to try and protect him.

Which then brings us to someone like Zion. An even younger player than Embiid who has just as brutal of an injury history. I'm pretty sure every single season of his career has been derailed by something, most commonly a hamstring issue. Zion was asked about this plan by the Pelicans today and him not playing B2Bs and I found his answer to be really insightful as to how this all works

Often times I think the blame for load management and guys sitting out is put too much on the players. These guys are competitors above all else. I really do think it if were up to them, especially the younger players, they would play as long as they are healthy. Guys like Steph have said as much

In the Zion situation, could anyone blame the Pelicans for going this route? As you can see, if it were up to Zion he'd be playing as much as possible, but at the same time at no point in his NBA career has he shown the ability to stay healthy. While it definitely sucks for anyone who enjoys watching him play, it technically is the "smart" move from an organizational standpoint. Who knows, maybe if he continues to get in shape he can build up a tolerance for the grind of the NBA season, but with some players, this is just the way it goes. As a team, you have to protect them from themselves, and it's partially why I am begging Brad Stevens to force Jayson Tatum to have a rest day right now. If it were up to him he'd never sit, and any Celts fan watching their games right now can tell you he desperately needs a day off. 

Hearing Steph and now Zion talk about load management and how things aren't really in the hands of the players is why I don't think we'll ever see an end or even an improvement to the load management issue. Even with the 65 game requirement and the National TV sitting out rules, it still exists. If you're someone like the Pelicans that has big time money and big time years left on Zion's contract, you are going to do everything you can to protect and get the most out of that asset, fans be damned. Because if you don't, the next thing you know he has another season-ending injury and you have another lost season.

The next question is does this even work? I'm not a doctor and a scientist so what the fuck do I know, but I will say it does feel like guys are still getting hurt at the same rate. Kawhi is still dealing with his stuff despite all his load management, same with Zion, same with Embiid, same with Porzingis, etc. 

At least it's refreshing to hear Zion be open and honest about how he is physically capable and healthy enough to play B2Bs, and that if it were up to him he would. As we know, once that dude is on the floor he's an absolute monster

and as a basketball fan, all I care about is the team doing whatever they can to ensure he's on the court for as many games as possible. I'm sure for Pelicans fans it might be annoying that he doesn't play B2Bs, but think of the alternative. He's young enough to where I can't imagine that will be the case for his entire career, but it's probably best for now.