Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, said that while Westbrook positively impacted the Lakers' win total, he's not sure how interested any of the top teams will be during the regular season.
"That's why you see the highest total at an unusually low 54.5," Pullen told ESPN. "All that matters is keeping players healthy. Just no reason to go all out in the regular season anymore. Load management is the name of the game."
Cheating fans of their money is a new reality. Ticket-buyers are not going to get discounted prices on games the stars sit out. Load management in the Association is not a brand new reality, it has been going on for several years but not too long ago then NBA Commissioner David Stern went bonkers on the San Antonio "Spurs" and Miami "Heat" for load managing a Christmas Day game.
The obvious solution is to cut back on the number of regular season games but the owners won't allow it (decreased revenue). Stern's successor, Adam Silver, has even added to the game load with an in-season tournament modeled after those in European soccer.
