TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | February 26

Yes, PGA Tour players are the ultimate load managers and have been for years. They skip tournaments where the purse is low or the travel is difficult. They stack their schedule with proper tune-ups for the Majors, usually getting within the same time zone to practice for the course the Major will be played. When the season starts, some of the previous year’s tournament champions even skip the Sentry Tournament of Champions and blow-off the Hawaii portion of the West Coast swing in order to extend their winter vacations, stay with family or work on their games in preparation for the California and Arizona portions of the Tour.

This weekend, after two tournament with enhanced purses of $20 million total and $3.6m to the winner, the Honda Classic has a less than impressive field with only three Top 20 players. The gradual fall of the Honda came with an announcement last year, but as of this weekend no future sponsor has been announced to take the prestigious slot in late February, clear of NFL Football and before March Madness dominates the sports TV calendar.

Honda, one of the best known auto-makers on the planet, sponsored this event for 42 years, the longest-running sponsorship on the PGA Tour.

“It’s disappointing on many aspects of it,” said PGA Tour pro and Florida native Billy Horschel. “I’m sort of disappointed in the PGA Tour in the sense that — I’m not going to say they didn’t prioritize the Honda Classic, they prioritize every sponsor that we have. … But, you know, when I was out on tour early in my career, this was a hot event. I mean, you had all Top 20 players in the world playing here (Palm Beach Gardens.)”

The next two weeks, the top ranked players will flock to Bay Hill and then to The PLAYERS Championship for the big bucks. The Honda will be offered-up to a slew of PGA Tour sponsors awaiting their chance to join the party.

That brings us to … (drum roll, please) … Load Management in the NBA.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The NBA is getting crushed with criticism after a lackluster 2023 All-Star Weekend and ensuing team announcements of (players listed as DNP- (Coaches Decision-Rest) on boxscores throughout the land this week (and in general, all season long).

“This isn’t a new issue,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver when asked to share his viewpoint during his annual NBA All-Star State of the League address with media. “There’s nothing particularly happening this season that we haven’t seen happening over the last several seasons. I understand it from a fan standpoint that if you are buying tickets to a particular game and that player isn’t playing. I don’t have a good answer for that other than this is a deep league with incredible competition.

“But the mind-set of our teams and players these days, it’s not just a player issue, is that they should be optimizing performance for the playoffs. The difficulty is fans of that team, of those teams, want them to do that, as well. Just think about some of the injuries we have now going into All-Star. I think for fans, if you had said that if Steph Curry had missed these two games at this point earlier in the season, if it was that formulaic and people said, therefore, he would be healthy today and he would be here, maybe people would take that trade-off. It’s something that, I don’t think we’re approaching it necessarily in an adversarial way with the Players Association. We’re working collectively together with our doctors, our data scientists, and trying to see if there’s an optimal way for player performance.

“I’ll say one thing, added Silver, “I know that talking to players, I think part of the realization these days in playing in this league is that this is a year-round pursuit now. I think part of injury avoidance means how players are treating their bodies year-round, how teams are interacting with players year-round, and using the best data to conclude what is it that will allow players to stay healthy and on the floor as long as possible.”

That all makes perfect sense, just as you would expect when Silver digs-in deep and provides the media with his straight-forward and always honest point of view.

Since he shared his POV, the author of WWYI will share his, no holding back.

NBA players and their agents rule the roost. A young player drafted into the league or beginning as an early-entry to the draft, play under the “Rookie Scale” of the NBA’s multi-faceted Collective Bargaining Agreement. If the player’s talent or potential is significant, they score a larger contract after completing the “Rookie Scale” portion. That second player contract is quite handsome in terms of salary, incentives and it provides some security.

The fact of the matter, however, is that a player’s THIRD contract (and beyond, if they are good enough and stay healthy) is the REAL DEAL. Whether it be earned via Free Agency or by staying with his incumbent employer, it’s that third NBA contract that breaks the bank acount wide open, usually called “Max” (as in maximum amount allowed under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement’s flavor of the day.

There’s not a player agent in the land who isn’t aware of the bonanza of a player earning and signing a “max” contract. Important to note, is the fact a player has to get there with a work ethic and talent level far beyond any normal pro athlete. They’ve endured for 12-month, 365-days-a-year preparation, much via their NBA team, some via off-season workouts with trainers who make them seem bionic.

On the flip side, the player has to exhibit the will to win and to prove that point by – well – winning. Or at least making his team better and advancing further into the NBA Playoffs. It is not done alone, as we’ve all witnessed the fact team play and trusting their teammates for the good of the club winning is what gets it done come June.

My personal POV, it’s nobody’s business other than the head coach of the club and the player on how they get to the promised land of NBA ‘W’s” as it’s such a long journey and learning process that requires a few things, such as:

1. Staying Healthy
2. Playing in a great environment, the buzzword is creating a “culture.”
3. Continuity in coaching, coaching/playing philosophies which must jive together
4. Support (from every direction imaginable). A few to consider? – Family, friends, teammates, fans, front-office staff, coaching staff, training, strength and conditioning staff – including good nutrition and life habits (rest, routine, hydration, and the ability to deal with PRESSURE.
5. LUCK! Yes L-U-C-K. It can come from a ping-pong ball bouncing in the NBA Draft Lottery to a great second-round draft choice who pans out (think TonyParker and Manu Ginobili – two Hall of Famers “to be” this September who filled-out the San Antonio Spurs roster nicely behind the two bouncing ping-pong ball gifts received by Gregg Popovich, R.C. Buford and the Spurs when they landed No. 1 Lottery picks David Robinson and Tim Duncan. … Luck also relates to staying injury free and many other factors which can make-or-break an NBA title contender.

Who is to say a day-off here and a rest day there doesn’t contribute to a positive relationship between player and coach? Yet, sometimes it comes with a downside of losing one game here and another there, to the point of homecourt advantage for a playoff series or for the NBA Finals. (Suffice to say, it’s no picnic thinking about player at Denver in the altitude come NBA Finals time).

This leads us back to the NBA All-Star Weekend (ASW), the three-ring circus just concluded in Salt Lake City where Commissioner Silver reported some 33,000 heads in beds were secured by area hotels all coming with a significant economic impact for the host city and the State of Utah.

Throughout the ASW and this week that followed, every basketball talking head was tossing out ideas to improve the experience.

• Former basketball coach turned media guy, Stan Van Gundy, suggested a USA vs. The WORLD game with a cool $1 million in cash for each player on the winning team – winners take all.
• One of the league’s all-time great GMs, Pete Babcock noted: “Twenty years ago, I made a proposal at the NBA Competition and Rules Committee meeting that we stage a mid-season “final four” tournament at the mid-year break. The teams with the four best records play on Saturday and the winners play on Sunday, with each winning player receiving a check for $1 million.” “My thought was and is, this would provide the fans with three actual competitive games rather than trying to come up with gimmicks to entertain,” said Babcock. … When we spoke this week, I brought up one major issue: “Hasn’t the League heaped enough PRESSURE on the athletes,” asked yours truly? Why can’t the weekend be an enjoyable weekend for everyone and maybe put competitive basketball on the side for two or three days?
• Yes, my point was to let the players enjoy themselves as much as the fans, sponsors and team executives while they play in a pressure free atmosphere and have some FUN.
• Over the many years, it seems some NBA All-Star Games end up being close down the stretch of the final quarter and the players’ competitive instincts kick-in. It isn’t fueled by the money in a winner’s or loser’s share, but rather in pride.
• That pride-factor was lost a bit when EAST vs WEST went out the window for choosing up sides, a concept which was fun for a year or so. Last week, we all jumped further down that rabbit hole when the sides were selected just prior to the game – playground style. That move removed the one team practice conducted for each squad, always held Saturday.
• It also made the job of Coaching nearly impossible, as each head coach had NO IDEA who was going to be on their respective clubs and could not plan for some offensive sets, playing combinations or some defensive schemes to combat a size or speed advantage. Not that the All-Star Saturday practice was a session of “Red on Roundball,” but c’mon, at least give the coaches a day or two advance instead of less than an hour.
• The perpetual lay-up line and hoisting of three-pointers resulted in a 29-for-66 3PT FG by Team Giannis and a 17-of-60 (.283%) debacle for Team LeBronprovided a 184-175 victory for Giannis but an all-time low TV rating for the game itself. Only the fans of Boston’s Jayson Tatum (22-for-31 FG; 10-of-18 3FG and an all-time NBA All-Star game record of 55 points) were entertained by the “game.” Tatum was awarded the All-Star Game MVP for his efforts.

*Important note and in full transparency of being a former 25+ year employee:

The NBA finds itself in an incredible conundrum. Do they keep trying some new ideas as they come along? Counting the fact they scrapped the longtime tradition of East vs West; then pivoted to naming Team Captains and choosing up sides; then, installed the famed “Elam Ending” to decide the game; and this year, went to the length of choosing-up sides only minutes before tip-off, among some other ideas past and present – many discarded.

By virtue of the TV ratings forecast, the NBA All-Star Weekend seems to be going backwards, although highlight views of the Slam Dunk and other assorted clips remain the rage of the Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok and other forms of stealing highlights (with the NBA’s full-fledged nod). In-arena feedback was mixed while home viewing obviously suffered the most.

In conclusion, the NBA conundrum lies with the “basketball traditionalists; the coaches and those closest to the game itself” all wanting a much more competitive exhibition game. That comes regardless of the extra pressure, strain and potential injury to the best 24 players in the league. They are ready to plop $1 million in cash in 12 briefcases to up the ante – winner’s take all – a premise that has no chance of clearing the legal team at the NBA Players Association.

The “non-basketball crowd” is okay with the exhibition game as it is and the photo op that the entire weekend has fast become, as long as the beer is cold and the buffet tables serve shrimp. Maybe that’s the way original NBA PR man Haskell Cohendreamt-up the idea – as a big Photo Op?

There is NO in between.

USA vs The WORLD sounds nice, but that is really FIBA’s domain for the FIBA World Cup of Basketball and the Olympic Games. It is also a pressure cooker for the players as only 12 USA players will be recognized as “NBA All-Stars,” a sure issue for the NBPA and the incentive-laden player contracts with an All-Star selection worth a cool million incentive. In addition, the team ownership and GMs would prefer that their players NOT be subject of added PRESSURE AND POTENTIAL INJURY but rarely admit to it – with the exception of Dallas’ Mark Cuban.

NBA on ABC commentator and former NBA head coach Jeff Van Gundy suggested a weekend full of fun and parties, but, “just don’t PLAY that Game.”

There’s been discussion on having a mid-season tournament, call it a “Cup,” and that might replace the game formerly known as All-Star. That is an interesting concept for sure, as it simply steals the idea from European futbol competition so well accepted. Once again, that heaps the PRESSURE on the teams, players and coaches while it surely creates a BILLION dollar TV programming pot.

I’d be game to see what the “Cup” looks like, but failing that concept and a very serious break in the season and the reduction of regular season games, I’d rewind the clock, go back to EAST vs WEST with the fans selected the starters and the respective conference coaches selecting the reserves. Cut Thursday games out of the schedule, allowing everyone to fly to the All-Star city on Thursday with team meetings Thursday evening. Two mandatory and closed to the public practice sessions (Thursday eve walk-through and Friday), then, an open-day for the All-Star Game players on Saturday to let them enjoy the festivities. Hold a very basic (and private/closed) shoot-around at 11-12 Noon (ET) Sunday and then toss it up at about 6pm (ET) on Sunday evening with two teams of 12 who play until one team scores 125 points. (The Al Domenico rule +25 points).

TID-BIT: The Boston Bruins acquired Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway on Thursday in exchange for veteran Craig Smith, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick and a 2025 second-round selection all going to the Washington Caps. The move stated clearly, the Bruins are “all-in” for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and a possible return to play for the Cup. It also stated the Caps were folding the deck for 2023. … The question at hand, but hardly uttered, will the Bruins locker remain as one and fully bonded with the addition of Orlov, a Russian player who hob-nobbed with Alex Ovechkin, his former teammate with Caps and known-to-be supportive of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the psuedo dictator and the man behind Russia’s attack of the Ukraine, war crimes included. … The Boston locker is populated by its talented players from the Czech Republic, including leading goal-scorer David Pastrnak, and centers David Krejci and Pavel Zacha among others. Just how will they blend with the newly acquired Russian player with the animosity towards his land so high throughout Europe and the USA? … The Bruins also acquired the rights to Andrei Svetlakov, a top 26-year old prospect currently with the CSKA club but was drafted by the Minnesota Wild back in 2017.

The most likely occurrence is for the Bruins players to put politics aside and for Orlov and his talents to be accepted as a player who can contribute to the one goal the Bruins have in front of them – and that is their desire to hoist the Stanley Cup in June.