Christmas Day is a big day for NBA basketball.
Sometimes in the NBA, the schedule gets to be a lot with all these events, busses, planes and games. But once that's gone, you miss it so bad.
The best example is the NBA, with high intensity and long breaks. During the season, the NBA teams play every three days. That's a lot, and they also travel far. But from the end of May until October, they have their break.
Every night you have different match-ups, and you have 82 games, so physically you are going to get tired. You have to be ready mentally to bring your energy and bring the juice every night.
My first 10-day contract in Dallas. It was long because we had five games in 10 days. Players get called up on a 10-day and their team might only have a schedule of three games. So I got to play in five games and I was fortunate for that.
It's a tough grind sometimes. Playing 82 games and the travel, it can wear you down. It's definitely something you have to learn and adjust to. If you don't, you can play your way out of the league very quickly.
I think fans oftentimes get an inferior product on back-to-back games, and I think that has to be the number one thing that gets addressed for the fans and for the players - the elimination or the drastic reduction of back-to-back games.
If you have less games, less back-to-backs, the product's better. The fans will appreciate it more. You see those college guys playing so hard, but they play 36 games in the same amount of time we play 82 almost.
The NBA Schedule was made up by one man, Eddie Gottlieb, who had owned the Philadelphia Warriors. Eddie had a Buddha-like body and a crinkly smile, and because he had also been an owner in baseball's old Negro leagues, he was known as the Mogul.
Everybody's schedule is crazy in the NBA, so that can't be an excuse.
