Detroit Pistons: Pros and cons of the silly new NBA rules

Pro: Fans should get to see more stars live

I mostly think about the fan experience when it comes to load management. Ring culture and obsession have devalued the regular season, so we can’t blame teams and players for following the evidence and playing their stars less in an effort to keep them healthy for the playoffs, which we’ve been told repeatedly are the only thing that matters.

But it sucks for fans who buy tickets for games against the Lakers, Warriors, Suns etc… to see stars like LeBron and Steph play, but often end up having to watch the bench instead. It’s not like it has led to wins for the bad teams, by the way, and coaches like Gregg Popovich have been using “rest” games for years in order to get bench players reps in high-profile games, which is smart.

Theoretically, fans should feel safer buying tickets for these games, as it should increase the likelihood they’ll get to see the players they bought seats to see.

This is a big deal for most fans, many of whom only get to attend one live game in a season and don’t want to watch the scrubs while the stars smile and laugh on the bench.

These new rules could help, though I suspect they won’t. We shall see.