Are minutes really that big of a deal?

[cdif911]

A lot of people talk about players getting heavy minutes being worn out for the playoffs.  I'm not sure if I actually buy this...

The NBA is a 48 minute game.  There are a ton of timeouts and breaks during the game.  These guys practice considerably more than they play - 2 to 3 hours per day often, (but the level is a little lower admittedly) 

Looking at the top 20 players for minutes per game last year we see:

NBA Minutes Leaders
RK NAME GP MIN MPG
1 Andre Iguodala, PHI 82 3269 39.9
2 Stephen Jackson, GSW 59 2339 39.6
3 Joe Johnson, ATL 79 3124 39.5
4 David West, NOR 76 2982 39.2
5 Kevin Durant, OKC 74 2885 39.0
6 Dwyane Wade, MIA 79 3048 38.6
7 Caron Butler, WAS 67 2585 38.6
8 Chris Paul, NOR 78 3002 38.5
9 Antawn Jamison, WAS 81 3096 38.2
10 Jamal Crawford, GSW/NYK 65 2479 38.1
11 O.J. Mayo, MEM 82 3120 38.0
12 Chris Bosh, TOR 77 2928 38.0
13 LeBron James, CLE 81 3054 37.7
14 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 81 3050 37.7
15 Raymond Felton, CHA 82 3086 37.6
16 Gerald Wallace, CHA 71 2669 37.6
17 Paul Pierce, BOS 81 3035 37.5
18 John Salmons, CHI/SAC 79 2959 37.5
19 Al Thornton, LAC 71 2654 37.4
20 Tayshaun Prince, DET 82 3057 37.3

Only 4 guys missed more than 10 regular season games: Jackson, Butler, Crawford and Thornton - also none of these guys made the playoffs... Lebron, D.Wade, Chris Paul - all in the league leaders for minutes, I don't think anyone suggested they fizzled out b/c of this

Just wondering if others think the differenc between say 40 mpg and 30 mpg is really all that significant....

[GKC]

A lot of people talk about players getting heavy minutes being worn out for the playoffs.  I'm not sure if I actually buy this...

The NBA is a 48 minute game.  There are a ton of timeouts and breaks during the game.  These guys practice considerably more than they play - 2 to 3 hours per day often, (but the level is a little lower admittedly) 

Looking at the top 20 players for minutes per game last year we see:

NBA Minutes Leaders
RK NAME GP MIN MPG
1 Andre Iguodala, PHI 82 3269 39.9
2 Stephen Jackson, GSW 59 2339 39.6
3 Joe Johnson, ATL 79 3124 39.5
4 David West, NOR 76 2982 39.2
5 Kevin Durant, OKC 74 2885 39.0
6 Dwyane Wade, MIA 79 3048 38.6
7 Caron Butler, WAS 67 2585 38.6
8 Chris Paul, NOR 78 3002 38.5
9 Antawn Jamison, WAS 81 3096 38.2
10 Jamal Crawford, GSW/NYK 65 2479 38.1
11 O.J. Mayo, MEM 82 3120 38.0
12 Chris Bosh, TOR 77 2928 38.0
13 LeBron James, CLE 81 3054 37.7
14 Dirk Nowitzki, DAL 81 3050 37.7
15 Raymond Felton, CHA 82 3086 37.6
16 Gerald Wallace, CHA 71 2669 37.6
17 Paul Pierce, BOS 81 3035 37.5
18 John Salmons, CHI/SAC 79 2959 37.5
19 Al Thornton, LAC 71 2654 37.4
20 Tayshaun Prince, DET 82 3057 37.3

Only 4 guys missed more than 10 regular season games: Jackson, Butler, Crawford and Thornton - also none of these guys made the playoffs... Lebron, D.Wade, Chris Paul - all in the league leaders for minutes, I don't think anyone suggested they fizzled out b/c of this

Just wondering if others think the differenc between say 40 mpg and 30 mpg is really all that significant....

The minutes are not about injuries, but is about the amount of minutes you get to play in the playoffs.

Playing 10 less minutes a game for an entire season means almost playing 20 less games; that's a lot of fresh legs.

Pierce and Ray looked noticeably tired, which would have been less so if they played less int he playoffs. It also affects veterans more than it does youngsters. Joe Johnson especially played considerably worse in the playoffs.

[celticinorlando]

did you see Pierce and ray in the orlando series...spec. games 6 and 7? yes minutes are that big a deal

[wiley]

fatigue = turnovers.  The warhorse mentality is fine and admirable, then come all the turnovers.

[Brickowski]

Minutes are a huge deal, not for the stars, but for players 6-9 in the rotation.  No minutes=no money.

[LB3533]

I think it deals more with the type of minutes being played.

40 minutes per game playing with KG is less exhausting than 40 minutes per game without KG.

[GKC]

fatigue = turnovers.  The warhorse mentality is fine and admirable, then come all the turnovers.

also fatigue = bad defense. Most of team defense is about effort and energy

[guava_wrench]

Where is the age column in that minutes list?

Another problem with extended minutes is players will take plays off to conserve energy.

[LooseCannon]

The problem is that Pierce played 41mpg in February and 39.4 in March.

Playing 50+ minutes in three straight games in the Chicago series might have been just as big a factor, however.

[CoachBo]

did you see Pierce and ray in the orlando series...spec. games 6 and 7? yes minutes are that big a deal

Indeed they are. And if you can reduce them an average of three or four minutes a night, you've accomplished something.

Just scanning that list, the vast majority of those players are younger players.

It's pretty simple: Find a quality 2 or 3, or the result's not going to be a lot different next year. There will be injuries. Count on it.

[GKC]

Where is the age column in that minutes list?

Another problem with extended minutes is players will take plays off to conserve energy.

Absolutely. You can kind of tell Paul Pierce wasn't trying to take over the offense early in games during the playoffs.

[star18]

Pierce is the oldest guy on that list.  Made no sense why he played that many minutes last year.  It was ridiculous if you ask me.  We were 27-2, what was Doc going for a 75-7 record? Pierce and Ray should have gone fishing from Jan-Mar then they wouldn't have gotten to go so early in May.  We could have handled plenty of teams from Jan-Mar with Bill W, TA & Pruitt.  We weren't going any less than a 3 seed anyway.  So we got homecourt against Orlando to do what, fall flat in the 4th of Game 7 because Ray & Paul were exhausted.

[Prof. Clutch]

mintues, how 'bout posts?  Mister 4 away from another star!

[cdif911]

back to the original point - do those minutes really take that much of a toll on your body?  I can see keeping guys fresh by sitting them for a game maybe.  But these are world class athletes and the difference between 30 and 40 mpg doesn't seem huge to me... there's so much downtime during a game (especially a playoff game) that the body can recover as you go as well... from ft's to tv timeouts to halftime to quarter breaks...

[cdif911]

mintues, how 'bout posts?  Mister 4 away from another star!

now 2 away...I have to savor it though...