Get rid of defensive 3s violations. Allow hand checking.
The game gets uglier, but there would be less injuries.
Yes, essentially slow the game down. That directly addresses one of the points that was brought up in the video I posted from jxmy highroller, as well. Slow the game down, reduce the amount and extreme impact of cuts and stops. In essence allow players to play some defense. We have offensive explosions every other night because we have so severely neutered defenses, and so they have to move a lot more since they cannot in any way touch the offensive player. Get back to basic defense and it will slow the game down a bit. Another option would be to move the 3 pt line out a bit, so it is more of a gamble to shoot a 3, then the focus would come more on getting to the rim, tightening up the game bit more, even with longer shots being taken. As they are less efficient overall then the focus moves away from the 3 as much and more to the inside game. Would definitely help to do these kinds of things but I don't see that ever happening, they are just making too much money with more offense. I imagine we will see fouls even get worse as they try to continually amp up the offense.
That is where I said the likelihood of the game slowing down, and of players not focusing on the game from the time they are little kids, will not change. It just won't. The NBA wants the faster high octane game. And kids' parents who see potential in their kids are still going to get them hyper-focused to get into the NBA, because the payoff is just too big to pass up. So the mileage part won't change either. So the last component is either fewer games overall, again highly unlikely, or training, conditioning and practices need to be adapted to give them the best shot they can have to stay healthy despite everything going on around them.
And now they added MORE games with an in-season tournament that is meaningless other than to bring in more revenue, and yet it adds needless extra miles for the players. How ****ing stupid is that? But it is obvious the NBA doesn't care about any of that as long as the product sells, and frankly the players don't either as long as they continue getting the obscene paydays. They are happy to rehab for part of each year, or sit out a high percentage of games, as long as it doesn't cut into their $100 million salaries. We can rail on it all we want but as long as the actual participants, meaning the league, owners, and players, are making money hand over fist regardless of the injury issue, then what incentive do they have to change anything that might even marginally cut into that payday? None. No incentive whatsoever.
Here is something to think about. Guess who this is?
Answer? Greg Oden. Barely played at all, and was even in an era of lower salaries overall, yet he made TWENTY-FOUR MILLION DOLLARS, for his potential. And now, even for a guy in the mid-first round, not even a top pick, that would be dramatically higher. So with paydays like this, even if they have career ending injuries, what incentive is there to do anything different if it means it might be a lower amount. Part of it is the insurance factor against injury, so they still get taken care of, but again, it is a gamble and the money is just too great to worry about missing games as long as the paychecks come and remain obscenely huge. The money is the x-factor in all this, and what really drives it all in the end anyway.
Here is a better one even...
Curtis Borchardt. Still made 5.5 MILLION playing essentially no meaningful games at all. And that was two decades ago. Imagine what it would be now.