LBJ+Future=Injury Prone?

[aaronr]

There are two issues involved in this thread. One is the relationship between minutes played and the risk of injury. Somebody who averages 42 minutes a game is more likely likely to be injured than someone who plays, say, 36 minutes a game, and by more than the 16% difference in minutes played because the higher the fatigue rate the greater the probability of injury. The other is the relationship between minutes played and efficiency. My assumption, without a scintilla of evidence to back it up, is that the incremental gain in minutes played is offset by declining efficiency for those minutes as fatigue affects variables like shooting percentage, turnovers, defense, etc. In other words, I think we'd be better off next year playing James fewer minutes per game.