There has been a lot of talk recently revolving around the NBA’s new rules about postseason awards. Starting this year, a player can only be named MVP, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man of the Year, and more if they participate in at least 65 games.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors called this new rule “b——t” and claimed it led to Joel Embiid being injured the other night. On First Take, Stephen A. Smith pushed back against Green’s claim.
In his monologue, Smith said the rules were not created to punish truly injured players, but were instead created to stop people from taking advantage of the system.
The rules were put into place after years of fans and analysts bemoaning how much time players missed because of load management. Adam Silver and the league thought this rule would force players to be in more games and it was welcomed by many.
Of course, this does mean that if a player is legitimately hurt often, they won’t be able to be named MVP. That is the case with Embiid, whose chance of claiming back-to-back trophies is quickly slipping away.
Silver and the league were aware that this would punish players who were truly hurt but that was a risk they were willing to take. The goal was never to penalize people who are wounded but instead limit load management. Unfortunately, it seems that both are happening at the same time.
Green isn’t the only one opposed to the 65-game rule. Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers also recently called the rule “stupid” and others don’t agree with it either. But this rule is here to stay and others, like Smith, will keep defending it.
