DETROIT — The Cavs are facing the latter half of their first back-to-back of the season on Monday against the Pistons. It’s also their third game in four nights. A stretch that’s quickly becoming a microcosm of a growing problem around the NBA.

The league’s 82-game grind is consistently taking its toll, maybe more now than ever.

Injuries are mounting everywhere, with a startling spike in Achilles tears that has shifted the NBA landscape, particularly in the Eastern Conference. Tyrese Haliburton, Jayson Tatum and Damian Lillard all suffered the devastating injury last season and are expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2025-26 campaign.

It’s led to an increasingly unavoidable question: Should the NBA shorten its season?

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson believes the answer is yes, and

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