Is the NBA too fast? The new, modern style of the basketball league, with fast breaks and transitions, makes the sport more exciting: the quicker the players move, the more points they can score, and the more entertained the viewers are, but this could come at a cost. According to NBA analyst Álvaro Martín, the current pace of the NBA is seriously risking the players' health.
"The NBA is playing at an unsustainable pace. The fast break, the transition, the quick play—all of this is understandable. Studies say that the faster you get to the basket, the higher your shooting percentage is, but it involves wear and tear like the kind that crippled Luka Doncic's hamstring", the Puerto Rican analyst told news agency EFE.
NBA is reaching its physical limits
Martín explains that counter-attacks at every opportunity cause the players a tremendous physical cost, "not to mention that never before in NBA history have you had to cover the entire half-court", which means they are reaching the "physical limits of the league". The over dependance on the three-pointer, frequently criticised by many fans and expert, also means that players need to keep braking and accelerating over and over.
In his opinion, the more physical style of the 1990s allowed for greater consistency among players without so many injuries, and praises that some coaches, like Ime Udoka from Houston Rockets and Joe Mazzulla from Boston Celtics are taking steps to mitigate this risk with a slower style of play, "dramatically reducing the number of possessions because they've realized that you can't reach the playoffs with a healthy team if you're going to run so much".
Finally, Martín asked for a overall change in philosophy, abandoning the idea that "points equal entertainment" (signalling that this season the NBA broke records for most games decided by 30 points or more and for largest average margin win of 13). "The NBA must take action because if they continue running like this, many more players will continue to get injured".