NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes the league and the NBPA need to consider whether 82 is the "right number of games" for the regular season with more players sitting out due to load management. Silver was in Houston for last night's Warriors-Rockets Game 4 and noted the NBA has "changed in dramatic ways, especially over the past decade." He said, "If players can barely play in all those games, maybe the schedule's too long and maybe we've got to take a fresh look at how we structure the season." The league has played an 82-game schedule since the '67-68 season. Silver said a potentially shorter season would be considered because the "fan has to be first." Silver: "The fans vote every day by deciding whether to listen to your telecast or watch us on television or buy a ticket. I have to be very careful -- this is a fragile ecosystem. Ultimately, the fans are saying, 'We're not going to pay for those games and we're not going to watch those games where your players aren't playing'" ("Warriors-Rockets," ESPN Radio, 5/6).
