mtswThe NBA's "load management problem" is that the league made regular season games essentially irrelevant, and players and teams correctly identify them as being so.
It doesn't seem like it would be that hard to design a system in which regular season NBA games were something other than glorified exhibitions/warm-ups for the playoffs but if you want players and teams to treat them like that, you'd have to actually do that.
This is very similar to the problem baseball has with pitchers not wanting to throw in the WBC or D1. If performing the activity causes attrition on your ability to perform it, you start looking at playing time as an exhaustible currency, and of course you're going to spend that currency on games that have the most value.
A time-tested and effective method for making games "count" for teams at the bottom as well as the top of the standings, but never implemented in the USA because our system of pro sports prioritizes protecting regional monopoly rents for a handful of billionaire team owners over creating a compelling contest.
RT @todwest
@mtsw NBA should implement relegation and promotion. MLB and NHL too. I might start watching again.
Trojan Duck@mtsw Oh, and protecting billionaire profits is why MLS is one of only a couple of association football leagues in the world that don't have it. The owners are deathly afraid that if they allow it in MLS, it will cause fans of the other major leagues to demand it in those sports as well. They are doing everything in their power to make sure it never gets started on American soil.
Elon Musk’s Horse Wallet@slackerzombie @mtsw Yep. all American major league sports are a fraud, essentially. And I say this as someone who was an avid fan for decades. Once the scales fall from your eyes there's no going back.
@todwest @slackerzombie im not gonna pretend like european soccer is some paragon of fairness either but i definitely prefer their system to ours overall, especially how it works for marginal or smaller teams/markets
@mtsw @slackerzombie Indeed. FIFA and UEFA have huge problems, but the problems are not on the pitch.
@todwest @slackerzombie i can't believe people in indianapolis or las vegas or whatever genuinely prefer having their baseball team be an affililated reserves/development team rather than a second division one that's actually playing for something.
@mtsw @slackerzombie I've been a Chelsea supporter for 45 years and have lived through two relegations to the 2nd division. It's intoxicating.
Will Stokes@mtsw I kinda think this is trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist. Play in games introduce a lot of late season drama. I actually want the best players rested and uninjured for the playoffs and don't really care about watching bad teams.
@stoke123 i kind of agree and this is also why i basically never watch regular season NBA games.
@mtsw I would much rather see Joel Embiid in the playoffs than have his knee fall off because he has to play every game. The real issue is season length, which won't be changed for the same reason we won't have a relegation system: $$$.
Robin 
@todwest @mtsw well the guy who originally developed Mastodon intentionally didn’t create a way to do quote tweets so that (among other reasons) people wouldn’t be able to dunk on others. Which is not what is being done here, but I think it was also to try and have better discussions through having it be more in replies.
Mike Habegger