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The NBA Season Should Not Be Lengthened

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By @DSchultz89

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The NBA is rumored to be considering lengthening their season to where it could possibly stretch into July. The logic behind it is to limit the number of back-to-back games for teams, where each team currently has somewhere between 16-20 series each per season.

So far, one of the supporters of the idea is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who believes the league should definitely look into cutting these grueling series.

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, on the other hand, is a strong opponent of this idea, saying, “Count me out. Life is too short.”

I understand where both sides are coming from. We have seen a trend in the league recently, set mainly by the Spurs, of resting players on the second leg of a back-to-back series. And who can blame them for doing so? The regular season is an 82-game marathon that spans late-October through mid-April. For some teams, like the Spurs recently over the last two seasons, the playoffs last an additional two months on top of that.

While I can definitely understand the concern from the NBA’s perspective of wanting to make sure teams play their best players and not decide to rest them in between games, I do not believe extending the season is the best option. What is strange is that the league is rumored to be considering extending All-Star weekend in the future when it is largely unnecessary considering how little NBA fans care overall about the game itself. I am not saying the league should do away with the weekend all together, but extending it seems a little counterproductive, especially if one of their main goals now is to eradicate as many back-to-back games as possible.

Personally, I don’t think the season should be extended, and I love watching basketball. But is it in the best interests of both the league and its players to make sure they are getting as much rest as possible before preparing for another challenging season? I am not sure what the solution is currently, but lengthening the season so it runs into July is not the answer.

Dan Schultz is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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