Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
New York, NBA Headquarters.
In the reception room, Adams, the President of the NBA, was meeting with guests. These guests were representatives from the major sponsors of the NBA. It could be said that they were the sources of the NBA’s wealth.
In the face of these people, Adams did not dare be inattentive. He personally received them in the reception room and listened to their thoughts.
One of the representatives said, “Mr. President, we have a small request. We are negotiating with ESPN with the hope that they will broadcast more Clippers games. The negotiations are not going well, so I hope the NBA can help us put some pressure on them.”
“That won’t be difficult. ESPN needs to negotiate their broadcast schedule with us. It’s not difficult to change the one or two games a month.” Adams nodded and then asked, “But the Clippers are not a strong team. Their record is very bad and they don’t have stars players. I don’t understand why your company wants to increase the number of broadcasts for them.”
“We also know that the Clippers are not a strong team and that they don’t have stars players, but their games always go into overtime. We have ads that our company puts on ESPN. If more games go into overtime, it will help promote our products,” the representative said.
Adams understood his intention.
When NBA games were broadcast on TV, advertisements were inserted during timeouts and breaks. If there were overtimes, there would be advertisements shown during the timeouts between the overtimes and the breaks before the overtime starts. This was something the sponsors would be happy to see.
Under normal circumstances, a game lasted 48 minutes. The number of timeouts and breaks between quarters was fixed. The number of advertisements shown was also fixed. If there were overtimes, it meant that the sponsors were able to advertise their products several times for free. The more overtimes there were, the more the sponsors gain.
The ratings during overtime were often higher than the ratings during the normal game time.
If two games started at the same time, they would end at the same time. The difference in when they ended would not be more than a couple of minutes apart. However, if one of the games went into overtime, that game would end later. People who were watching one of the games on TV or watching live webcasts would very likely watch the game that was still ongoing.
Therefore, advertisements during overtime were seen by more people. This meant that the sponsors were putting in half the effort but getting twice the results. It was a very cost-effective transaction for the sponsors.
Adams understood the sponsor’s intentions. He nodded, “I understand. I will arrange for an increase in the nationwide broadcast of Clippers games. This will ensure a high rating. The broadcast schedule for next month has already been confirmed and it has been announced in the United States, so your company’s request will not be implemented until the month after the next.”
“I understand. Mr. President, thank you very much for your help,” the representative from the sponsor said.
However, Adams hesitated for a couple of seconds. He then said, “I have to remind you that, even though the Clippers have managed to go into overtime in almost all of their recent matches, they might not be able to keep doing this.”
“I understand this. Competitions are always filled with uncertainty,” the representative from the sponsor said.
“Not only that, but there is also the problem of physical fitness,” Adams said. “The pace of NBA games are very fast. It is very hard on the body, so the games are very intense. If only one or two overtime games are played occasionally, it won’t be a problem for the athlete’s physical fitness. If every game goes into overtime, two or three overtimes no less, I don’t think athletes will have enough physical strength to play.”
…
A program about the NBA was playing on the TV.
“We just enjoyed watching the best dunks, the best shots, and the best steals from yesterday’s games. Next, we will be discussing a pretty hot topic in the NBA recently, that is ‘Los Angeles’ Overtime Team.’ We have invited the famous basketball commentator Mr. Blair as our guest!” The host waved his hand, and the scene switched to the other side of the stage. It showed the guest commentator, Mr. Blair walking into the studio.
“Mr. Blair, in yesterday’s game the Clippers went into overtime again. The Clippers have been given a new nickname by the fans: ‘Los Angeles’ Overtime Team.’ The Clippers have now broken the NBA record of most number of overtimes in a single season. What do you make of this matter?” The host asked.
Blair cleared his throat and said, “If I hadn’t witnessed it myself, I really wouldn’t have believed that there could be so many overtimes. It’s incredible. I can’t figure out why the Clippers have been able to play so many overtimes both from a technical and empirical point of view. I am certain of one thing, this is only temporary. It won’t last long.”
“Why would you come to such a conclusion?” the host asked.
“Physical fitness,” Blair said calmly. “The players can’t sustain playing so many overtimes. NBA games are very intense. If a player played two or three minutes extra per game, if accumulated, it would consume a huge amount of the players’ strength. At present, the main players of each team play for about 35 to 40 minutes per game. The main players of the Clippers play more than 45 minutes per game. In games with overtimes, the play time of the main players could reach an unbelievable 60 minutes. Obviously, the players cannot withstand such a long-term consumption on their physical strength.
“Now, we’re in the second half of the regular season. After the players have played for more than half the season, their bodies have entered a stage of fatigue. We can see that, recently, players have been getting injured more frequently. This is one of the symptoms of physical fatigue.
“At the same time, we all know that the second half of the NBA season is much more intense than the first half of the season, especially in the last two months. This is the key moment for teams to make the playoffs, the combative nature of the games will grow. When the players’ bodies are under such intense physical pressure, going to overtime will be a risk for players. Those with poor physical fitness will be especially vulnerable to injuries. Therefore, if the Clippers continue to play in such a way, most of their players would inevitably be facing injuries. In the worst case scenario, they might not even have enough players to rotate their lineup.”
Blair talked on and on. In front of the TV, Raul, who was watching the show, nodded frequently. It was clear that he was in agreement with Blair’s statement.
He talks too much. If the Clippers continue to play like this, even if they don’t get injured, they will die from exhaustion! Damn those four overtimes…
Raul couldn’t help but curse the game where he had to play four overtimes. After four overtimes, he was too tired to get an erection.
It was a nightmare for Raul. Although the Nuggets beat the Clippers, Raul left a nasty reputation in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles’ Overtime Team? Humph. Continue to play like this. Let’s see how long before you guys collapse! Raul took joy in the Clippers’ misfortune.
…
Cassel put down the newspaper in his hand and smiled disdainfully.
“Looking forward to seeing us have physical problems? You guys might not see us have any physical problems until the end of the season,” Cassel said to himself.
As second in command on the Clippers’ coaching staff, Cassel was very familiar with the physical condition of the players. He spent most of his time with players on the training ground, so he knew that the Clippers’ players had no problem with their physical fitness whatsoever.
If it were another physical fitness coach, the players would’ve been exhausted a long time ago. A large number of our players might’ve also suffered from injuries. Coach Li is currently responsible for our physical fitness training, so there are no problems with the physical fitness of our players. In other words, there is a reason why Li’s physical fitness training center is so famous. If he weren’t good, he wouldn’t have become famous. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration if one were to say he is the best in the world.
In basketball, Dai Li was indeed inexperienced, at least from Russell Cassel’s point of view. His basketball coaching ability and understanding of basketball were far above Dai Li’s. Although Dai Li had been the Clippers’ head coach for a while, he was still an entry-level coach in terms of basketball. Everyone on the Clippers’ coaching team was better at coaching basketball than Dai Li.
When it came to physical fitness training, Cassel was convinced of Dai Li’s skill. Recently, the Clippers had played many overtimes and they were still very comfortable. No one had been injured. In Cassel’s view, this was miraculous. As far as Cassel knew, there weren’t any physical fitness coach who could do as well.
When he thought about the overtimes, Cassel couldn’t help but scratch his head. “Come to think of it, we have really played a lot of overtime ever since Coach Li came. The amounts of overtimes I’ve played recently is more than all of the overtimes I’ve played in my entire life. How peculiar.”
…
Many people in the media predicted that many of the Clippers’ players would be suffering from injuries soon. Some even believed that the Clippers would suffer from large-scale injuries due to a lack of physical strength.
However, after a few games, the Clippers’ players did not show any signs of problems with their physical fitness. They were still up and running. They had not been plagued by physical fitness problems.
The Clippers’ players were getting used to going into overtime. For other teams, overtime was the most intense and exciting thing, but for the Clippers, it was business as usual. On the contrary, if they did not play any overtimes, they felt uncomfortable.
As time went by, news of the Clippers eventual collapse became less and less. Those sports commentators were not fools. Since their predictions were not accurate, trying to prove otherwise would be equivalent to shooting themselves in the foot. It was better to try to talk about something else and shift the topic.
Many people were also trying to figure out how the Clippers were able to play so many overtimes.
The NBA kept very rigorous statistics on the data of games, so people quickly discovered that when the Clippers faced the weak teams who were ranked at the bottom, they didn’t go into overtime. When they faced the stronger teams, they would definitely go into overtime. It was obvious that the Clippers and the stronger teams were not able to get along.
For strong teams, if the opponent were a team that was ranked lower in the league, they would naturally hope to end the game as soon as possible. It was best if the key players could stop playing within the first three quarters and then rest for the rest of the game. While they were at it, they could let the substitutes gain more experience in real matches.
However, when facing the Clippers, who often went into overtime, key players would definitely have to go onto the court to play during the overtimes. Not only did they not have the chance to rest in advance, but they also needed to increase their physical exertion. When both of those conditions were put together, it significantly increased the possibility of getting injured.
The teams that were likely to enter the playoffs would become desperate, especially in the last ten days of March. The top-ranked teams were working hard to get the home-court advantage in the playoffs. At this time, as the Clippers always went into overtime, they had become the team that the stronger teams were most unwilling to play against.
At this time, the Clippers were like a hedgehog. They didn’t seem to be very strong. They could easily be bullied but, if one were not careful, they would prick themselves on the spikes and bleed.