The Golden State Warriors have had the #1 seed in the Western Conference locked up for a while and the #1 overall seed in the league for at least the past week. Still, despite having nothing to play for until the playoffs, the Warriors continue to play each game like it's a playoff game. In Saturday's win against the Timberwolves, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson both played over 35 minutes and Andre Iguodala played 30 minutes. As for Thursday's win over the Trail Blazers, Curry and Thompson also played north of 35 minutes each.
While I understand the importance of having your team maintain momentum going into the playoffs, one does have to wonder whether or not Steve Kerr is playing his star players too much down the stretch. With less than two minutes to go in their game against the Timberwolves, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were both still on the floor, and as I saw that, the only thing I could think was "Why are they still playing?" They've played more than enough minutes to get into a rhythm and now all that can happen is something bad. Even if the odds are remote that something bad happens, why risk it? Why risk all the hard work you've done by having those guys play the final two minutes of a meaningless game?
To be fair, Stephen Curry has sat out the entire 4th quarter of 16 games this year, so it isn't like Kerr doesn't think about resting his guys. But what I don't understand is why he wouldn't be resting them in games like tonight against the Timberwolves or at the very least have them on a 24 minutes restriction. I don't care what excuses you make, 35+ minutes is too many minutes for those guys to be playing in a meaningless game against the Timberwolves.
It's not even about the risk of injury. It's about keeping them rested and mentally charged for the playoffs. Fatigue is a huge factor in the NBA playoffs, and I'm more concerned about Curry and Thompson getting fatigued in the playoffs than I am about them getting hurt.
One could certainly reply to me and say "So what? These guys are young. Does an extra 10 minutes per game really affect them?" My reply to this response would be that perhaps it really does affect them more than we think. The risk of injury certainly goes up and they certainly get a little more tired. Either way, I'm surprised more people aren't questioning Steve Kerr for not letting off the gas a little bit.
Perhaps he will rest them on Monday night against the Grizzlies and in their season finale, but even if he does, it doesn't justify the way he has allocated his minutes in these past couple of games. Even the most fit of athletes can benefit from a little time off and if there is any group of athletes who deserve a little time off, it's the guys playing for the Golden State Warriors.
---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news
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