LOS ANGELES – It’s time to rethink one of the most recounted clichés in the basketball vernacular.
For a long time, people such as Clippers coach Doc Rivers classified the NBA season as an “82-game marathon.”
The logic is sound; there aren’t rings handed out for the best records in October or November.
But the realities of the Western Conference have changed the pace the competitors need to run. Marathon? Nope. The season’s not a sprint, but there’s just not enough time to stumble.
A bad loss here or there can be the difference between playing a Game 7 on the road or playing it at home.