Kai Sotto being rested in preparation for looming NBL regular season
MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto is unlikely to play any more games with the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL Blitz, the Australian NBL's preseason tournament.
This due to the fact that 36ers coach CJ Bruton wants to manage Sotto's load with the NBL regular season fast approaching.
"I don't think we'll be seeing him anymore between now and our first game," Bruton told Philippine media in a press conference organized by TapDMV on Thursday.
"It's more of managing him and making sure that he's healthy and able to do everything and get across the line of ticking all the boxes that we want every player on our roster to do and make sure that everyone's healthy," he added.
Sotto saw action for Adelaide in their first NBL Blitz game against the Cairns Taipans, playing decently with seven points, five rebounds, one assist and one block as the 36ers won 91-87 in overtime.
He played 20 minutes as a starter.
But the Philippine basketball phenom sat out Adelaide's next two games and will also likely miss their remaining match-ups in the Blitz.
"Managing everyone is important for us. Caring for, as a coach, as you would as a parent or as a sibling of making sure that every member of your team is fully healthy and able to compete at an elite level and give their best is what we're asking for," Bruton said.
Despite his lack of minutes of the floor, though, Bruton said Sotto remains constant in his development as his regular season debut looms.
"Every day, he definitely puts in the work with our strength and conditioning coach and when he's at practice he's competing and doing everything that's asked of him as well," Bruton said.
Adelaide wraps up their NBL Blitz campaign with two more games on Friday and Sunday against the Perth Wildcats and the Brisbane Bullets, respectively.
They open their NBL regular season on Friday, December 3, going up against the Wildcats.
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