Jason Kidd is the latest NBA head coach to express concerns that the earlier start to the season may be contributing to the leaguewide injury epidemic.
On Thursday, the Milwaukee Bucks coach discussed the league’s decision to bump up the regular season by 10 days, leading to a shortened training camp.
“We went extremely hard because of the shortened training camp,” said Kidd, per Chris Mannix of The Vertical. “We tried to get guys in shape. That’s one of the big things with a shortened camp. There’s a chance of not being in basketball shape, and you see a lot of injuries, a lot of guys out.”
Kidd’s comments come just days after Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra voiced a similar sentiment. The list of players suffering season-ending injuries or looking at indefinite absences to start the year continues to grow: Gordon Hayward, Jeremy Lin, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, Hassan Whiteside, Myles Turner, Milos Teodosic, and Seth Curry are only a few of the names.
The NBA made the decision to stretch out this season with an earlier start in order to limit back-to-backs and eliminate four-games-in-five-nights sets. But the unintended side effects have to make you wonder if it was really worth it.
