The GOAT surprised by the talk of shortening season

[Angel Face]

Michael Jordan was surprised and a bit bewildered to hear LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki suggest Wednesday that they'd like to see the NBA's 82-game regular season shortened.

"I love both of those guys, but as an owner who played the game, I loved playing,'' Jordan, who owns the Charlotte Hornets, told ESPN.com during a telephone interview. "If I wasn't playing 82 games, I still would've been playing somewhere else because that's the love for the game I had. As a player, I never thought 82 games was an issue.

"But if that's what they want to do, we as owners and players can evaluate it and talk about it. But we'd make less money as partners. Are they ready to give up money to play fewer games? That's the question, because you can't make the same amount of money playing fewer games.''

When asked about the NBA's experiment with a 44-minute exhibition game Sunday, as opposed to the usual 48 minutes, James and Nowitzki said they'd prefer a shorter season to shorter games.

"It's not the minutes, it's the games," James said before the Cavaliers' preseason victory over Indiana. "The minutes doesn't mean anything. We can play 50-minute games if we had to. It's just the games. We all as players think it's too many games. In our season, 82 games is a lot.''

Nowitzki said he'd recommend that the season be cut from 82 games to the "mid-60s.''

Jordan also didn't see the point in shortening games by four minutes.

He said the league informed its clubs of its intention to play a 44-minute game but that it was not presented as something the league is seriously considering instituting in the regular season.

"I would never shorten the game by four minutes,'' Jordan said, "unless guys were having physical issues.''

Jordan said basketball players generally don't incur the same long-term physical ailments as football players so he can't understand the talk of a shorter season or shorter games.

"It's not like football,'' he said. "We don't really have to worry about concussions and some of the physical damage that football players deal with after they retire. I can understand football players wanting to play fewer games from a physical standpoint. But basketball's not the same. I'm not diminishing the fact that we go through a grueling season. But I wouldn't want to shorten the game or play 15-20 fewer games.''

Both James and Nowitzki said they understood a shorter season would cut the league's revenue and therefore the players' salaries.

"I think you don't need 82 games to determine the best eight in each conference," Nowitzki said. "That could be done a lot quicker, but I always understand that it's about money, and every missed game means missed money for both parties, for the league, for the owners, for the players. I understand all that, and that's why I don't think it's going to change anytime soon."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11...g-season-games

[Da Doc04]

if they shorten the season... then they need to shorten the offseason too. aint nobody trying to wait from march until october for the NBA season

[StephHamann]

They could start the season a month earlier and stop playing back to back games.

[DMV2]

I don't think I've heard players complain this much about the season until recently. You're paying paid $10-15 million a year, shut up and play!

A better alternative would be distributing minutes to your teammates like the Spurs did last when nobody on their team played more than 30 MPG. Nobody got 20 PPG but they all got a ring out of it.

Unfortunately, most of these superstar want their 30 points, 10 rebound and 5 assists as much as a championship ring. So they won't sacrifice their minutes but rather they want less and less game so they can keep their superstar per game averages.

[DMV2]

LeBron's midget mentality is rubbing off on everybody. Even Dirk!

[T_L_P]

It's fine the way it is. Injury prone players will always miss time. Maybe if some of these guys conditioned themselves properly they wouldn't be out for a couple of weeks every few months.

44 minute game idea is ridiculous though. Does nothing for the fans except make us watch more ads. When the reporter asked Duncan about it he looked confused. NBA games should always be 48 minutes.

[wally_world]

he's an owner, of course he thinks that

[sportjames23]

if they shorten the season... then they need to shorten the offseason too. aint nobody trying to wait from march until october for the NBA season

If they shorten the season, they need to shorten them paychecks, too.

I bet players will change their minds quick about that.

[ninephive]

Just make sure there are enough games for the Spurs to win 50.

[ninephive]

It's fine the way it is. Injury prone players will always miss time. Maybe if some of these guys conditioned themselves properly they wouldn't be out for a couple of weeks every few months.

44 minute game idea is ridiculous though. Does nothing for the fans except make us watch more ads. When the reporter asked Duncan about it he looked confused. NBA games should always be 48 minutes.

I don't like the idea of major changes that make it even harder than it already is to compare eras.

[sportjames23]

he's an owner, of course he thinks that

He also played the game, and with the exception of his second year with a major injury, rarely missed a game. 82-game seasons, 48-minute games. Dudes didn't complain about length of the season or games back then like these punk bitches today.

[BuffaloBill]

if they shorten the season... then they need to shorten the offseason too. aint nobody trying to wait from march until october for the NBA season

I think they would space the games out more rather than shortening the time frame. That way the season would still start and end at the same time, there would just be less games per week for teams, and probably no back to backs. But I doubt they would make any big time changes like that. Not anytime soon anyway.

[BuffaloBill]

Just make sure there are enough games for the Spurs to win 50.

[T_L_P]

I don't like the idea of major changes that make it even harder than it already is to compare eras.

Yep, this is one of the main things too.

You could never compare 66 game season players with Bird or Magic.

[Nikola_]

you know something is up when bran is saying those things