Wiley, I don't know how old you are but let me assure you aging has nothing to do with being tired when it comes to pro sports. It has to do with recovery times both from playing games and recovering from injuries. It has to do with muscle and tendons not having the same strength power and explosion they once had. It has to do with the body not responding to what the brain wants it to do. It has to do with an overall erosion of body, mind and skills.
Once NBA players get past the age of 31 to 32, on average, they begin to decline because they are past their peak physical performance and ability. Taking time off and playing fewer minutes helps to maximize those continuing to erode capabilities. And recovering from injures, injuries you are more prone to due to....well I'll let the doctors deal with explaining that....aging, is a part of aging and decline.
I think your view is a bit off if you think that the Big Three are not in decline in any way and are just recovering from injury. Personally I think both are occurring though in varying amounts for each player.
Yes Nick, I think I put too much percentage of decline into tiredness as oppposed to actual bodily breakdown, which are often completely different issues. At a certain age, players have to start relying on smarts more than explosiveness, etc...
And energizer bunnies are good examples of those who eventually quit to due to poor quality of play as opposed to being too tired to go on.
But tired is a major issue, too. A heck of lot of tennis players retire, while still dominating the sport, due to complete burnout as opposed to busted knees, elbows, etc.. Burnout can happen quickly when the effort it takes to win suddenly doubles, then quadruples, etc..due to simple aging. At that point, tired is an issue, and losing, the player recognizes, is right around the corner....
I do believe decline of all types happens and is inevitable at some point. If it weren't, a trade KG this offseason thread would result in chinese water torture for the one proposing such an idea....Not sure a GM ever got fired for trading a 34 year old.
So If people, in talking about KG's "decline", are talking about his knee, then I can't argue with them (when it's an old man's injury we talk about age, when it's a young man's injury we talk about luck, which is natural, slower recovery for the aged, fear of the end, etc..)....What I don't like is the sense I get that they are
not talking about KG's knee, as it is so often written: KG's knee injury
and decline. This I do have a problem with. How can you measure a decline in his play when he was in peak form at the time of injury (just
one year ago)
"Tired" is something that can imo relate to decline significantly, via minutes played in a career (as you pointed out), number of playoff minutes played, and intensity of one's play (KG verses Sheed....I don't see Sheed injuring himself any time soon). In other words, tired in the sense of burned out. And I think exhaustion can lead to injury.
So while decline, as you say, is certainly there in a general sense for anyone in their 30's, I think it's used a bit too freely, and I would argue for saving it for players who aren't clearly dealing with an injury....I really do believe that injuries prevent a sound analysis of decline.
In KG's case, I would have had to see decline
before his injury in order to cal it decline now, as I said, just one year later....