The discussion surrounding players resting has reached a fever pitch in recent weeks, with NBA commissioner Adam Silver even sending out a memo to the owners saying it was a “significant issue.”
Countless players have weighed in, but few have come with such a strong take as Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley. After the Rockets lit up the scoreboard against the Oklahoma City Thunder, winning 137-125, Beverley sounded off about players taking games off to rest. Via ESPN:
“I think that’s bulls---. I think that’s a disgrace to this league. I think that fans deserve better. I could care less about coaches ask players to rest or not. It’s up to you to play or not, and if you don’t you’re disrespecting the game. And I don’t believe in disrespecting the game, because there was a time where I wasn’t playing in the NBA and I was trying to get here. So me resting I feel like is disrespecting me, disrespecting the name on the front of the jersey and disrespecting the name on the back of the jersey.”
One of the most hard-nosed players in the league, Beverley never takes a play off when he’s on the floor, and apparently he doesn’t take interviews off either. This was some heat. I guess when you play as hard as Beverley does on a nightly basis, you earn the right to sound off once in a while.
