Taking plenty of games off to rest up from an injury is very in in 2021. That isn’t to say that knocks picked up by other stars are nothingburgers, but there isn’t much heat to be picked up by any one player if they skip a week or two of play to make sure they’re fully right.
Why shouldn’t Giannis Antetokounmpo take advantage of this new system and take a few more games off? Knee trouble is nothing to gloss over, even if they’re only moderate aches and pains, and for a guy as springy and explosive as Giannis, a slight issue could reduce his effectiveness in a big way (see: the uncontested OREB he let Jayson Tatum grab in the second Boston game last week).