Colin Cowherd: “How does ‘Load Management’ play behind the scenes? What are coaches saying about it?”
Ric Bucher: “They’re not happy about it because they can’t do their jobs. They’ve been compromised as far as their authority in being able to push players. When you looked at medical staffs 10 years ago it was a team doctor and an athletic trainer. Now you got performance guys, conditioning guys -- the staff has expanded by 6 or 7, so they have far more weight and authority when it comes to players not playing. The difficulty is when you have young players. How do they get better and how do you coach your team if they’re not practicing?... Every player has his own doctors and his own advisors too. Coaches have moved so far down the list, and they’re the ones whose jobs are on the line.” (Full Audio at Bottom of Page)
Listen to NBA insider Ric Bucher discuss with Colin Cowherd the NBA’s uncomfortable craze with the now-infamously dubbed ‘Load Management’, as the league continues to withstand a wave of player empowerment that has players literally sitting out games while perfectly healthy.
Bucher explains why it’s the coaches that suffer the most from Load Management, as not only do they lose a lot of their influence and authority with their team, but they simply can’t even do their job a lot of the time with players missing out on valuable opportunities to get reps in practice and in the games due to 'rest'.
Check out the audio below as Bucher details why NBA coaches have never had less power with a team now commandeered by third party doctors.