Marc Gasol hates mandatory rest

The new wave of teams resting their players has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, and Marc Gasol is one of them.

Winners of their previous six games, the Memphis Grizzlies entered the first night of a back-to-back against the Cleveland Cavaliers playing their best basketball of the season. Gasol was posting a ridiculous line of 25 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists to go along with two blocks over the win streak. The Tuesday matchup was sure to be a competitive game between two of the best teams in their respective conferences.

Until Gasol - the best player Memphis has - was told he had to sit.

"I don't like it. I don't like it one bit," Gasol told Ronald Tillery of the Commercial Appeal. "It's not my decision or anywhere close to my decision."

The Grizzlies lost that game 103-86, thus ending their streak and squandering the momentum they'd built up after losing Mike Conley to a back injury. The home-and-home series continued the following night with the Cavs traveling to Memphis, except without their three best players: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. The Grizzlies took Wednesday's game 93-85.

Players and fans excited to see two of the league's best teams compete were frustrated that neither side was at full strength for either matchup.

The 31-year-old Gasol doesn't enjoy this new method of managing player wear and tear, but said he understands the logic behind it.

"You bite your tongue, say 'Yes, sir,' have a glass of wine, and try to sleep a little bit," Gasol said. "Obviously, you've got to buy into it. I still don't like it. I don't like to rest.

"But you have a lot of guys spending a lot of time looking at the data so you've got to trust them. These are guys with a lot of experience and education on it. They know better than I do."