The 2024-25 NBA regular season is quickly approaching its end. Through 74 games, the Celtics are 55-19, second only to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
On Monday, the Celtics are on the road to face the Memphis Grizzlies. Boston’s Jayson Tatum has played in 67 of their 74 games this season. Recently, Collin Cowherd went on a rant about load management in the NBA. However, Cowherd praised Tatum for being the “heartbeat” of the NBA this season.
Jayson Tatum has only missed seven games for Boston in 2024-25
Colin calls Tatum the NBA’s ‘heartbeat’ for playing hard every night while others load manage
“He’s always the first guy on the floor in warmups. Locked in both ends. He’s not coasting, not pacing himself. He plays and plays hard every single night.“
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 30, 2025
Sports media personality Collin Cowherd shared his thoughts on the NBA’s biggest problem, load management. First, he mentioned how other major professional sports leagues have made adaptments along the way. For the NFL, their largest concern was concussions. This was a major issue in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s until billions of dollars were used to improve the game. New rules were also invented to help players’ safety.
Cowherd also mentioned baseball’s issue with steroids in the late 90’s. Much like the NFL, the MLB turned a blind eye to the glaring issue in their game. Eventually, steroids were banned from the MLB and that is no longer a widespread dilemma. Collin Cowherd explained how the NBA’s largest complication is load management. He mentioned how star players treat the regular season like a “suggestion” and not a “requirement.”
The league has tried to implement a 65-game minimum for players to be eligible for end-of-season awards. Cowherd called that move a “bandaid on a broken leg.” Load management has been a serious concern in the NBA and that issue is not going away. However, Cowherd used Boston’s Jayson Tatum as the prime example of someone who is not abusing load management. Tatum has played in 67 of the Celtics’ 74 games. He has only missed seven games this season and is readily available each night. If more players wanted to be like Tatum, load management wouldn’t be a widespread issue around the NBA.
