ORLANDO, Florida. — Golden State Warriors Coach Steve Kerr said he is “very concerned” that the increased pace of NBA play combined with a shortened 82-game schedule is leading to an increase in soft tissue injuries.
Over the past two days, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a groin strain, and San Antonio Spurs announced that the center Victor Vembanyama has left calf stretch and protection Stephon Castle has a hip flexor strain.
Five more NBA players are currently out with calf strains: Anthony Davis, You, Jerome, Dylan Harper, Ja Morant And Jrue Holiday.
“[The Warriors' medical staff] believes these injuries are influenced by wear, speed, pace and mileage,” Kerr said.
The league is playing at its fastest average collective pace since the 1988-89 season, according to ESPN Research. This season, players also drove 34.3 miles per game at an average speed of 4.43 mph, the longest average distance and highest average speed since player tracking began in 2013-14.
“Everyone around the league understands that it’s easier to score if you beat your opponent in the floor and get out in transition,” Kerr said. “But when everyone does that, the games become much more dynamic. Everyone has to travel up to 25 feet because everyone can shoot three-pointers. We have all the data. Players run faster and further.” [than] to. We try to do the best we can, but essentially we have a game every other night. This is not an easy matter.”
Kerr was a strong proponent of reducing the NBA schedule from 82 games to 72 or fewer, believing that a little extra rest and practice time over a few months would pay dividends.
“We literally didn’t have a single practice this trip,” Kerr said. “Not one. We were gone for a week or longer. Eight days, not a single workout. It's just a game, a game, a game. So not only is there no time to recover, but there is also no time to train. What was different was that day you had four [games] in five nights, which wasn't very good, but then there would be four days between games. You could take a day off and practice a couple of times.”
The Warriors are already playing their fifth straight game in the first month, playing in Orlando on Tuesday night and Miami on Wednesday night to complete a six-game road trip. After the Miami game, they will play 17 top-tier matches in 29 days in 12 cities.
But Kerr expressed skepticism that the league would seriously consider shortening the schedule due to the financial implications.
“The challenge is that all voters would have to agree to lower revenues,” Kerr said. “In 2025 in America, I wish you good luck in any industry. Imagine some big company saying, “You know what, we don't care that much about our stock price. We're really concerned about employing people, giving them stable jobs and improving our product.” This doesn't happen. You know that.”
