Should the NBA have a games component to post season awards

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I believe one thing they could do which sounds almost counterintuitive is something like this.

Have a rule that a player can sit out 1 game only 2 separate times during the season.  Any other time they sit out a game they must sit out a minimum of 3 games.  That would immediately eliminate all of the random days off because a random day off would cost a player 3 games.  I'd also allow an exception for the last 2 games of the regular season.  But that is it.  If you take a game off, it become 3 after the first 2 times.

That's a very outside the box idea. Did you come up with that yourself, or here something that gave you that idea?

[Moranis]

I believe one thing they could do which sounds almost counterintuitive is something like this.

Have a rule that a player can sit out 1 game only 2 separate times during the season.  Any other time they sit out a game they must sit out a minimum of 3 games.  That would immediately eliminate all of the random days off because a random day off would cost a player 3 games.  I'd also allow an exception for the last 2 games of the regular season.  But that is it.  If you take a game off, it become 3 after the first 2 times.

That's a very outside the box idea. Did you come up with that yourself, or here something that gave you that idea?

came up with it, though that doesn't mean someone else also may have come up with it as well.

It allows teams to pick and choose a couple of games of rest, but otherwise makes them play healthy players or have them sit out multiple games, which isn't going to happen unless they are actually injured. 

I'm sure teams would try to game the system (a guy playing 5 minutes instead of sitting out), but just have a progressively more extensive fining system (with a shot at losing 1st rounders for real bad offenders) and I think that gets around it. 

[LilRip]

Games and minutes played. I like the more stringent cutoff in games (66 sounds like a good number) and a more loose cutoff in minutes (24mpg sounds like a good number)

So 66 games and 1,585 minutes played in the season to qualify for an award

[bdm860]

I'm sure teams would try to game the system (a guy playing 5 minutes instead of sitting out), but just have a progressively more extensive fining system (with a shot at losing 1st rounders for real bad offenders) and I think that gets around it.

Actually might be tough to game the system with how much players (and award voters) care about averages.  I don't see many star players agreeing to go out there for 5 minutes and tank their averages.


I would extend your proposed rule to the team level: only 1 player can use his free rest game at a time.  If you want to rest 2+ players, only 1 qualifies to use his free game off, the others have to sit for the 3  games.  That would hopefully stop teams from resting all their starters on the same night.

edit - I think the complexity comes with DNP-CD's.  Aaron Nesmith shouldn't have to sit out 3 games every time Ime doesn't play him.  But if Tatum, Brown, Horford, etc. are in uniform and get a DNP-CD, clearly taking a rest day, how do you police that?

[Who]

Link pay to games played.

No play, no pay.

Even though you got injured while working for us, we're not going to pay you.  You think that's a good idea and will work?

No, I don't think it'll work.

In Europe, with injury prone soccer players trying to get jobs after multiple injury plagued seasons they are often forced to settle for "no play, no pay" jobs. They get a small weekly salary but only get that high salary rate if they are fit and able to play. Sometimes only if they actually play well enough in training to get the coach to play them in games. And sometimes when linked to minutes played. So a partial payment for getting into the game and a full payment if you last 2/3rds (60min) of the match.

It actually works pretty well for dealing with these injury plagued guys who are fighting to convince folks they can still play professional soccer but it is not workable for regular players who are used to guaranteed paydays like today's NBA guys are.

A fanciful suggestion.

[Moranis]

I'm sure teams would try to game the system (a guy playing 5 minutes instead of sitting out), but just have a progressively more extensive fining system (with a shot at losing 1st rounders for real bad offenders) and I think that gets around it.

Actually might be tough to game the system with how much players (and award voters) care about averages.  I don't see many star players agreeing to go out there for 5 minutes and tank their averages.


I would extend your proposed rule to the team level: only 1 player can use his free rest game at a time.  If you want to rest 2+ players, only 1 qualifies to use his free game off, the others have to sit for the 3  games.  That would hopefully stop teams from resting all their starters on the same night.

edit - I think the complexity comes with DNP-CD's.  Aaron Nesmith shouldn't have to sit out 3 games every time Ime doesn't play him.  But if Tatum, Brown, Horford, etc. are in uniform and get a DNP-CD, clearly taking a rest day, how do you police that?

Common sense.  Players don't go from playing to not playing because of a DNP-CD.  That is in part where teams will try to game the system, but the reality is no one cares if the 10th man takes a day off for rest.  They care about the stars and that is what you'd look to curb with the policy.