No Rest For The Weary, Seriously, Don't Even Think About It (Looking At You, LeBron)

As the NBA regular season quite literally limps to a close, teams are resting their more important players to heal any nagging injuries and prepare for an extended run in the seemingly endless playoffs. As we pointed out a few days ago there are some folks that are against resting players because they feel like it is unfair to the fans who shell out good money for tickets, only to see Lebron and company wearing various plaids and pea coats on the sideline for the last handful of games.

Fear not Joe Hardhat, the NBA has got your back! According to Cleveland.com, the NBA will investigate resting players at an upcoming Board of Governor's meeting. Que the obvious question, "What can the NBA possibly do to a team for resting THEIR OWN guys?" I'm glad you asked:

There was an incident at the end of the 1989-90 season when then-Lakers coach Pat Riley was fined $25,000 on April 25, 1990 for not playing Magic Johnson and James Worthy in the final regular-season game. The Lakers were preparing for their first-round series against Houston, and they fell to the Blazers 130-88 in a finale that was the most one-sided Lakers loss in franchise history.

The Lakers still finished that season with the NBA's best record. That game had no impact on the standings, yet cost Riles 25 large. I can understand wanting to see the best players out there, but wouldn't you rather have that happen in the playoffs when the games mean something? For every fan who cries, "Boy, I wish they'd play Lebron" there are three crying, "Boy, I wish they hadn't played Brandon Roy."

We see resting in other sports all the time. When the Colts rested their players against the Jets last year it ended their pursuit of perfection and helped the Jets get into the playoffs. The NFL's response? Bupkis, because they know that the playoffs is where you make your money, not the last few games of the regular season. As long as Lebron is back in time to carry the Cavs deep into the playoffs when everyone (not just Joe Hardhat) will be watching, the NBA has nothing to complain about.