The consensus around the NBA is that the league's shortened offseason and condensed 2020-21 regular season schedule was the leading cause of widespread injuries to star players and inconsistent play.
But former NBA head coach and current Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Lionel Hollins isn't subscribing to that narrative.
"Injuries happen every year. You can never predict injuries," Hollins told The DA Show on Wednesday. "We have a lot of load management, we have a lot of resting, and all that goes on. But we still have injuries. I don't think anyone can prevent injuries... Things happen. Even LeBron -- who's such a physical specimen -- somebody falls on his ankle the way he does, and he's hurt. There's no amount of preventative care that can stop those types of injuries.
"So, I can't say [the condensed scheduled led to injuries]. I'm sure there's an effect of playing every other day and very little rest and traveling. I believe last year in the bubble, every other day was easy because you'd just play, get on the bus, and go back to the hotel. This year, we're traveling to different cities and all of those things that wear your body down took place. But to say [the condensed schedule is] the reason, that's kind of a shallow thought process."
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this season's All-Stars missed 370 of a possible 1,944 games (19-percent), the highest percentage in a season in NBA history. In addition, there were 2,909 games lost due to soft-tissue injuries this regular season, according to data from certified athletic trainer Jeff Stotts that was recently shared with ESPN.
The most recent injury to a superstar came during Game 4 of the East finals last week, when Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo exited early against the Atlanta Hawks with a hyperextended left knee.
In less than 24 hours, Antetokounmpo's status for Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night changed from doubtful to questionable to active, and he surprisingly scored 20 points with 17 rebounds in the Bucks' 118-105 loss to the Phoenix Suns.
"I never was surprised when it finally was announced that he was going to play," Hollins said of Antetokounmpo. "And then everybody was like, 'Woah, he's playing uninhibited.' Well, he has been getting treatment, and I'm sure that he's bandaged. And whatever it was, wasn't bad enough for them to be able to keep him out of the game. So, I expected him to play uninhibited and I expected him to play well, and he did both."
The entire NBA conversation between Hollins and DA can be accessed in the audio and video players above.
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