“It’s crucial,” McCollum said Thursday, referencing avoiding the play-in. “Being able to get some rest is extremely important. You don’t want to limp into the postseason. We played in the play-in game in the past and had a short turnaround, and that led to a lot of fatigue, and then we ended up having some injuries in the playoffs. So I would love to be able to work on my game a couple days and not have to play in an actual game. Be able to practice some stuff. And I’m sure the coaches would like to go over some stuff as opposed to preparing for a game every day. I think the teams that are able to get a break are happy about it and will use that to their advantage.”
