Blazers to Avoid the Herd, Dodge Load Management

The Trail Blazers star-studded backcourt of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum have managed to dodge the NBA’s growing trend of load management. Despite the compliments that the organization delivered to the re-tooled bench rotation, it appears that skipping scheduled rest in the form of sitting games out is a trend that will continue in Portland.

On Friday, The Oregonian’s Joe Freeman spoke with Terry Stotts about resting star players. Stotts, who is entering his eighth season with the Blazers, admitted that the approach should be considered in a case-by-case manner.

“They are doing what they think is best,” Blazers coach Terry Stotts said, referring to teams who employ load management. “I don’t necessarily want to have a herd mentality. You do what’s in the best interest of your team and the player. And you don’t want to overuse them. But you also have to appreciate the fact that if a guy is able to play 35 minutes a game and play 82 games, that’s fine, too.”

Lillard defended the Blazers’ decision to avoid load management by pointing to the stacked field in the Western Conference.

“We’re not some big super team,” Lillard said. “So I don’t think we have the luxury to sit out, especially with how competitive the West is going to be.”

Lillard and McCollum combined for 5,213 regular season minutes in the 2018-19 campaign.

You can read the full story from Freeman at Oregon Live.