News - Cavs' Kenny Atkinson supports the idea of trimming the NBA schedule.

The Cavaliers just completed their first back-to-back, their third game in four nights, and coach Kenny Atkinson believes that stretch says plenty about a bigger issue across the NBA. As Ethan Sands of Cleveland.com wrote, injuries are mounting throughout the league, and the grind of an 82-game schedule is catching up to players faster than ever. A spike in Achilles tears has changed the Eastern Conference landscape, sidelining stars like Tyrese Haliburton and Jayson Tatum for the season. Asked whether it’s time to rethink the schedule, Atkinson didn’t hesitate. “I think part of an NBA coach’s job is to manage this hellacious schedule,” Atkinson said before Monday’s win in Detroit, per Sands. “And I’ll just echo what Steve Kerr always says, if we go to 70 games, 72 games, the league will be more spectacular, more phenomenal. I think about that all the time.” Atkinson said a shorter season would help players deliver their best product every night. “Guys would just be able to perform at a higher level,” he said. “Donovan Mitchell, you’re getting his best three games in four nights. Are you getting the best version of him? I think the fans look at it like, ‘Oh yeah, easy to say, 34 minutes, 34 minutes, 34 minutes.’ But what are we getting that last night?” As Sands noted, Cleveland is already feeling the toll. Darius Garland (toe surgery) and Max Strus (foot surgery) remain out, and Lonzo Ball sat Monday for rest as the Cavs continue to carefully manage minutes. Across the league, it’s the same story. Teams start the year optimistic and healthy, but by midseason, rotations are patched together and “load management” has become survival mode. Fans spend to see stars who don’t play, and marquee matchups lose their appeal. Atkinson and others agree that trimming the schedule could improve the game’s quality and protect the players who make it great. As Sands pointed out, the NBA has evolved in nearly every way but one. That would be the number of games. And unless that changes, stretches like this one — three games in four nights, with key players already sidelined — will keep testing how much teams and their stars can really endure.