Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr believes a 72-game regular season would mostly eliminate the need for rest games after choosing to sit his stars against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday.
The Warriors were coming off an overtime loss against the Boston Celtics on Thursday where reigning NBA Finals MVP Stephen Curry played 43 minutes, while his future Hall of Fame team-mates Draymond Green and Klay Thompson both eclipsed 36 minutes.
Asking them to jump straight on a plane after the game and suit up again 24 hours later against the Cavaliers was too unrealistic, according to Kerr, who was apologetic about the fact that paying fans would not get the opportunity to see the headliners in action.
Speaking to the media before the game, Kerr made it clear these situations are avoidable if the league would be willing to shorten the 82-game regular season.
"I feel terrible for fans who buy tickets expecting to see someone play and they don't get to see that person play," he said. "It's a brutal part of the business. It's why I'm going to continue to advocate for 72-game seasons.
"You take 10 games off the schedule – it always feels like with 10 games left in the year everybody's sort of had it anyways.
"That creates enough rest where we don't have to have some of these crazy situations. I think you'd see way fewer games missed from players."
He added: "We have so much more data, so much more awareness of players' vulnerability. It's proven that if guys are banged up, back-to-backs, players are much more likely to get injured and miss more games – and that's why you're seeing it league wide.
"Everybody is being cautious when a guy is banged up. You're just playing the long game."
Dallas Mavericks star Doncic out at least one week
Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Dončić will be sidelined at least one week due to a strained right wrist, ESPN reported Thursday.
Doncic said after Dallas' 132-91 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday that he hurt his wrist in the first quarter, though he remained in the game and told reporters afterward he believed the injury to be "nothing serious."
The 2023-24 NBA MVP finalist had his wrist checked out Wednesday, according to ESPN, which revealed the strain.
Doncic is set to miss the entirety of Dallas' three-game road trip that begins with Friday's clash with the Denver Nuggets, as well as the Mavericks' next home game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
Doncic has missed just one of Dallas' first 15 games of this season, though his numbers are slightly down compared to his consecutive First Team All-NBA campaigns of 2022-23 and 2023-24. The five-time All-Star has shot 43.5 per cent from the field and 32.4 per cent from 3-point range while averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.
The 25-year-old averaged 33.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 8.9 assists over the course of the previous two seasons while shooting 49.1 per cent from the field and 36.5 per cent from beyond the arc.
Doncic's injury comes after the Mavericks were starting to gain traction following a sluggish start to this season. Tuesday's win was Dallas' third straight after it lost four consecutive games to fall to 5-7 over its first 12 contests.
The Mavericks are coming off a highly successful 2023-24 season in which they reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2011. Dallas then made one of the offseason's more notable moves by acquiring four-time NBA champion Klay Thompson in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors.
George hyperextends knee in latest injury blow for Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers could be without Paul George for several weeks after he suffered a hyperextended left knee during their defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday.
The Sixers' miserable start to the season continued as they suffered their 12th defeat in 14 games – and their fifth in a row – at FedExForum, going down 117-111.
Philadelphia fielded star trio George, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey together for the first time after the latter recovered from a hamstring injury, but George was forced to exit early in the second half.
George previously missed five games of preseason after hyperextending the same knee, and head coach Nick Nurse believes he could face a similar spell on the sidelines.
"I think they said it was similar to last time, which was a bone bruise, I think," Nurse said.
"He was actually fairly close to coming back in the game, but then it kind of stiffened up as he got out a little bit more, so I decided not to, and now we got to take a look at it, make sure."
However, Nurse was more upbeat when asked if the team could rule out structural damage to George's knee, saying: "I think so."
George only managed two points, four rebounds and two assists in his 17 minutes on court, going 1-of-6 shooting.
Despite Philadelphia continuing to be hamstrung by fitness concerns, Nurse admitted they had not done enough to warrant a better result.
"Listen, it's certainly not easy," Nurse said. "Tyrese was just getting back and didn't really have a feel tonight, and Paul going out...
"It's certainly not easy but we didn't put enough together again for 48."
The Sixers have seven games in the next 14 days, starting with Friday's home encounter with the Brooklyn Nets and ending against the Orlando Magic on December 6.
NBA: Brunson, Towns combine for 70 to keep Knicks hot
Jalen Brunson scored 36 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 34 and the New York Knicks rolled over the Phoenix Suns 138-122 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight win.
All five Knicks starters scored in double figures. Josh Hart had 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.
Devin Booker scored 33 points on 12-for-23 shooting and Jusuf Nurkic had 14 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-depleted Suns, who have lost five straight.
New York never trailed, hitting its first eight shots, including four 3-pointers. The Knicks carried that momentum to a 44-28 advantage after one quarter and a 76-58 lead at halftime. Brunson had 23 points before the break on 8-for-9 shooting, including hitting all four 3s.
The Suns cut the deficit to 88-77 midway through the third quarter, but the Knicks responded with an 11-2 run.
Phoenix star Kevin Durant missed his seventh straight game with a left calf strain. Teammate and three-time All-Star Bradley Beal was out for the fifth straight game, also because of a strained left calf.
The Knicks shot 18 for 23 (78.3%) in the first quarter, including 8 for 11 (72.7%) from 3-point range.
Sengun stars as Rockets win again
Alperen Sengun had a season-high 31 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Houston Rockets to a 130-113 win over the Indiana Pacers.
The Rockets used a big run in the third quarter to push the lead to 21 entering the fourth and cruised to their sixth victory in seven games.
Jabari Smith Jr. added 23 points for the Rockets for his second 20-point game in the last four, and Fred VanVleet had 18 points and six assists.
Quenton Jackson had a career-high 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Pascal Siakam had 19 points at halftime but only scored two more points the rest of the way.
A dunk by Myles Turner got the Pacers within three with about eight minutes left in the third quarter before the Rockets used a 12-3 run, with 3s from VanVleet and Sengun, to make it 82-70 less than three minutes later.
The Pacers made just 5 of 22 3-pointers, while Houston made 12 of 36 attempts.
Antetokounmpo powers resurgent Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 41 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 122-106.
Brook Lopez scored 21 points, Damian Lillard had 20 points and 10 assists, and AJ Green added 18 points to help the Bucks win for the fourth time in five games following a 2-8 start.
Zach Lavine scored 27 points and Torrey Craig added 15 for Chicago, which dropped to 3-8 this month.
The Bucks led by 18 and seemed to be in control after a 16-0 run from the end of the first quarter and into the second, but the Bulls chipped away and pulled within one in the third. The score remained close until midway through the fourth when the Bucks once again pulled away with Antetokounmpo dominating inside.
After being held to 13 points in the first half, Antetokounmpo scored 25 of Milwaukee’s 29 points in the third quarter. Lopez scored 20 or more points for the third time in four games.
Green swished a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, from the corner with 6:49 left in the game to push the Bucks' lead to seven. Lillard and Lopez followed with 3s of their own to extend the lead to 13.
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