Karl Malone rips NBA players for resting: 'Get your a-- playing'
Yet another person has come forward to denounce teams resting healthy players.
Utah Jazz legend Karl Malone is the latest to criticize the practice, especially in light of professionals in other fields who are perhaps more deserving of breaks.
"If you don't have at least 10 years (of) experience, get your a-- playing," the 53-year-old said, as quoted by ESPN's Sage Steele. "It's not work, it's called playing. Besides, tell our underpaid service members and police and first responders to rest. Dammit, they can't."
"The Mailman" displayed exemplary durability and longevity over his 19 NBA seasons, playing all 82 games five times and missing two or fewer contests in 17 campaigns. He suited up until 2003-04 when was 40 years old, and was still a productive player. In all, he averaged 25 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game over his Hall of Fame career.
However, he isn't representative of the vast majority of guys who've come and gone in the league. Others have had the misfortune of having their careers cut short due to a variety of factors, including injuries.
"DNP-rest" has become a regular part of today's NBA as it's believed that taking nights off, often on the second night of back-to-back sets, helps to avoid injury and prolong playing careers.
The Cleveland Cavaliers held out LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love in Saturday's 108-78 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, to the dismay of the league, according to Cavs GM David Griffin.
Many members in the NBA family have spoken out against healthy scratches, including current stars John Wall and Marc Gasol, Hall of Famer Allen Iverson, and commissioner Adam Silver.
Related: Wall says NBA has 'gotten a little softer' with healthy players resting
Clippers coach Doc Rivers said scheduling changes are required to stop clubs from resting stars, even though schedule-makers already cut down on back-to-backs for every team in the league this season to make the 82-game grind a little less grueling.