Jordan criticized resting, but is he right?

Recently, Jordan talked about the topic of many players taking frequent breaks in the NBC series "MJ: Insight into Excellence". He was not very tactful, but directly expressed his inner thoughts. His views are generally based on three points: The first is that fans spend money to buy tickets to watch players play. If the stars do not play, the fans will be disappointed. Then there are minor injuries that don’t need to be taken care of, such as fever or sprained feet. As long as your body allows, you can play. Finally, playing with injured players can make the team more united. Many fans agreed deeply after hearing this, especially when these words came from the highly respected Jordan. But even for Jordan, is his view necessarily reasonable now? Let us analyze it together.

Times have changed

Many fans now are so-called ancient braggarts. They blindly praise how fierce the basketball competition was in the 1980s and 1990s, and even say that the stars who shoot crazy three-pointers now will not have a chance to play in that era. In fact, fans who have watched the game videos at that time will know that many players at that time were not very good at dribbling the ball, and the rhythm of the game was also very slow. The physical exertion was very small. There was almost no need to use substitutes in a game, because most of the time they were playing in the position and there was little need to play fast breaks. The defender slowly dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, and then everyone rarely ran frequently, and there were relatively few tactical changes. At that time, it was not difficult to average 40 minutes per game, because the stars did not need to turn back and run frequently during the entire game.

The current game style is completely different from the past. Modern basketball advocates high rounds and quick scoring. First of all, it requires a strong cardiopulmonary ability of the players, because in the process of playing fast, it is inevitable to perform multiple turnarounds. Sometimes a round is completed in less than 5 seconds. After a round is played at the speed of light, players need to retreat quickly to prevent the opponent from scoring on a fast break. Therefore, slow centers will basically not have many opportunities to play in this era. After all, having one more slow player on the court is equivalent to four-on-five. In the small ball era, players have to run back and forth much more often than before. The average playing time of about 35 points per game is already very impressive for stars. Human physical ability is limited, and it is basically impossible to run back and forth at high speed on the court all the time. Therefore, the style of play in this era requires more ability from the bench.

If you want to win the championship, you must avoid injuries.

Because the number of rounds in the small ball era has increased and the speed has become faster, players will inevitably be more susceptible to injuries. After all, the body can easily lose balance during high-speed movement. Once there is a fall or collision, the risk of injury will increase, and even an injury will be a serious injury. Moreover, the long physical exertion of 82 games in a season makes it easier for players to get injured in the playoffs. Excessive exertion often puts the body on the verge of injury. Therefore, many teams now pay great attention to the rotation management of players to avoid excessive consumption in the regular season, because the playoffs are the key, and the championship will be remembered by fans.

The league has produced 7 different championships in the past 7 seasons. Many teams have missed the championship due to injuries. For example, the injuries of Durant and Klay in 19 years prevented the Warriors from winning three consecutive championships. After 19 years, Leonard’s multiple injuries made it difficult for them to win the championship. The Clippers were repeatedly eliminated. The injury wave of the Lakers in 2021 caused the team to be eliminated early in the playoffs. The injuries to Irving and Harden of the Nets in 2021 also made Durant unable to support himself. The most recent one was Haliburton's injury in the finals last season. The Pacers also missed the best opportunity to win the championship.

So if you are a team management, you will also try your best to keep the core players healthy during the regular season, otherwise the team's entire season's efforts may be in vain. In fact, in recent seasons, the teams that finally win the championship often have relatively good lineup depth and thickness, which can reduce the consumption of the main players in normal games. This is also the key reason why it is difficult to judge the championship every year in the small ball era, because no one knows what problems the team will have in the middle of the season.

Jordan is a Goat, and his standards cannot be met by ordinary stars.

In fact, these remarks by Jordan are regarded as his own requirements for the best player in NBA history. After all, if every star can do like him, wouldn't the God of Basketball become a wholesaler? From this perspective, if the average star wants to go further, he must strictly demand himself and keep his body in a relatively balanced state, which requires continuous strengthening of strength and core training off the court, which can also make his performance on the court go further.

Generally speaking, if Jordan's views on rotation are put to the present, they are really not in line with the trend. After all, the sport of basketball is constantly developing, and the way the game is played is also constantly changing, so resting is normal, as long as it doesn't go too far.