SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr has been consistent about one action he’d like the NBA to take to improve the product: shortening the schedule.
Kerr first mentioned the possibility publicly, at least this season, in November before a game against the Orlando Magic, in the context of how many soft-tissue injuries some NBA players were dealing with.
Kerr hasn’t been publicly campaigning for the change since then, but his desire to see the league cut down the number of games came back into focus before Monday’s game against the Utah Jazz when he was asked what the first thing he would address would be if he were the commissioner.
“I know this will not be a popular opinion in the league office,” Kerr said. “But I will continue to say it because it’s obvious: We need to play fewer games. We need to take 10 games off the schedule. I think it would be great for the league. And I get it, it’s revenue, and you’d have to get everybody to agree to take a little less money, and that’s a really hard thing to do.
“But what I know about the league, about coaching, about how hard it is to play the modern game with the pace and the space, I think it would be a more competitive and healthier league if we played fewer games.”
Kerr has repeatedly praised NBA commissioner Adam Silver for his leadership, but the veteran coach has been consistent about his reasons for wanting fewer games on the schedule. He expounded on those thoughts before Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls.
“My number one concern is the quality of the NBA product,” Kerr said. “I think limiting the schedule would encompass a lot of issues. Player health, player availability, tanking. I think all of that stuff would improve. And I think the quality of play would improve. We don’t practice much at all. If we had those extra days for practice and a fresher team, the quality of the product would be better.”
Kerr, having won a combined nine championships as a player and a coach, has the clout to continue to draw attention to this idea. As he has noted several times this season, the NBA now has a rhythm where teams largely play every other day throughout the year, instead of in the past, when teams could potentially play as many as four games in five nights but then have more time to practice on the days off in between. The NBA has tried to limit back-to-backs in recent years, but the consequence is that teams don’t get to practice during the season.
Kerr said he understands that the idea that games will ever be clipped from the schedule is a long shot at best.
“I know that it’s a question of revenue,” Kerr said. “I’m not an idiot. We would all, everybody would have to agree — to improve the product, we would actually have to make a little less revenue. It’s not really an American concept anymore, but I’m of the belief that it should be. I think quality is gonna matter long term, and I think for the long-term health of the league, we need to think about this. And that means everyone would have to consider the ramifications.”
The Warriors are in the midst of a season defined by injuries. All-Star forward Jimmy Butler was lost for the year in January after tearing the ACL in his right knee. Star guard Stephen Curry has missed a month and a half because of runner’s knee, and it is unclear whether he will return this season.
But Kerr, who is never afraid to share an opinion he believes in, would be beating the same scheduling drum whether his team was healthy or not. It’s an opinion that has taken shape throughout his own career as the game has evolved and become even faster. It’s also an opinion Kerr knows may not get full support from everyone around the league.
“So of course it’s about money,” Kerr said. “But you have to be careful, too. Having more of something doesn’t automatically mean you’re going to make more money if the product isn’t good. I know it’s a controversial subject, but I’m gonna keep speaking my mind because I think it’s important.”