David Stern: Injuries Not Related to NBA Lockout, Compressed Schedule

With the rash of injuries to major NBA stars of late, David Stern faced the press and shot down the notion that they have anything to do with the lockout and resulting hectic game schedule. Per ESPN and NBA.com: “NBA commissioner David Stern said Monday that he doesn’t believe Derrick Rose’s ACL tear, or the other major injuries plaguing the league this season, had anything to do with a schedule condensed by a lockout. ‘I don’t think it’s related at all. Zero,’ Stern said. Some players have speculated that a season that was reduced from 82 games to 66 with one day off between the regular season and playoffs played a role. ‘When anything happens, that’s going to happen,’ Stern said of people trying to find a cause-and-effect relationship. ‘But I was just reading something from a doctor who said that he just doesn’t believe it. There’s no evidence that the wear and tear … and on Derrick it’s kind of interesting, it was horrible to watch, but he was out. He missed 27 games earlier this year, so he only played in 40 of those games that we had in this quote condensed schedule. So what’s your suggestion?’ […] ‘What we’re trying to do is get facts and so we asked doctors. Derrick Rose actually missed 27 games. But far be it for me to ask (the basketball pundits) to have some facts to support anything. It’s really shocking to me. I searched (ESPN’s NBA show) for a fact. All we got were opinions. I think we’ve averaged about five ACLs a year. Over this past weekend we had two. We’re not looking to average it out, believe me. Facts would be good, though. Information will free you. And I wish our broadcasters would use it … We care deeply about the health of our players,’ Stern said.”