EDMONTON—There was a time — back when load management was for engineers designing buildings and not NBA teams protecting the bodies of their best players — when “deep” teams used 10, maybe 11 players on a regular basis.
The end-of-the-roster spots were reserved for good guys who were quite happy to watch games with little complaint, veterans playing out their dotage and “in case of emergency, break glass” prospects.
It is so much different now that players take nights off to rest, injuries seem to occur at a more rapid pace and the ever-present COVID-19 might knock a guy out for a week or 10 days.