Injuries are piling up and the 2026-27 NBA season is not even one month old.Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards and both Jalen Williams and Chelt Holmgren at Oklahoma City Thunder are among the high profile names already ruled out for an extended period.Jalen Williams will miss all of the 2026-27 NBA seasonGettyAnthony Edwards has also been ruled out in the early weeks of the seasonGetty Images - GettyExperienced players like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and James Harden are being more selective with their rest time and the amount of games they play.Head coaches are using stronger and younger benches to deal with the load but it has prompted renewed debate about the length of the season, and the length of the games.Debate continues to rage over cutting games to 40 minutes but also a reduction in the mammoth 82 game regular season.That is before things get to April and a two-month postseason, that – in extreme circumstances for the champions – could feature an extra 28 games.Attempts to shorten the season have always been shot down quickly by the league.On top of that The Association is in the midst of expansion talks that is likely to end with two new teams as almost $20billion worth of deals in Las Vegas, Seattle or Mexico City edge closer to fruition.That is likely to result in more games, and a realignment of the conferences, in short create upheaval that just puts more pressure on the players.Broadcaster Bill Simmons has long been critical of the length of the NBA season, and in a debate about the changing face of the league with Kirk Goldberry and the toll injuries are taking, he wasted no time in taking aim at NBA commissioner Adam Silver.“It’s inexcusable and semi-reprehensible that whoever is in charge of this league – and I think it’s Adam Silver – that he doesn’t care,” Simmons declared on a recent episode of The Bill Simmons Show.“All the franchises values have gone all the way up, all the owners are getting $16billion in expansion fees that they don’t have to share with the players.Bill Simmons used his podcast to criticize the elongated NBA season@BillSimmonsNBA commissioner Adam Silver is closing in on bringing in two expansion franchisesgetty“And yet everyone is ‘we can’t lose games’ because we lose too much money, too much revenue.”“At some point, you’ve got to look at this holistically and be like ‘Alright, well, you’re adding these five home games for everybody, but you’re ruining your players,” “You’re making their sport worse. And you’re hurting careers, you’re shortening careers.“This should be a 70-game season, and if you talk to literally everybody who plays basketball, all of them would say that the season needs to be shorter.Tyrese Haliburton was out for more than a year after Achilles injurygetty“If you don’t do it at this point, I think it’s negligence. I think it’s actual negligence and greed. And those are the two words.”A league that earned more than $4billion in operating revenue is expected to raise a minimum of $16billion in new franchise owners in Las Vegas, which is the hot favourite to land a team by the end of this year.The Knicks played 101 games on their way to their first NBA championship in more than 50 yearsGettySeattle leads the way for the second expansion franchise, but a return to the Pacific North West has attracted less of an auction than the Las Vegas bidding – which is likely to be won by Bill Foley’s bid.He is expected to pay $9.5billion for the rights to bring a team to Sin City, while a return to Seattle is likely to bring in $7.5billion, with the teams entering the league in time for the 2027-28 season.That all means an extra $500million to line the pockets of owners who raked in more than $14billion across it’s current 30 teams.Edwards was ruled out for two months after undergoing knee surgery in October, Haliburton’s return from a year out with an Achilles injury has been hampered by a hamstring injury.Even the loaded roster of the Thunder is being tested, with Jalen Williams ruled out for the whole season with a fractured fibula and dislocated ankle, and Chet Holmgren is also out for up to 10 weeks.Sign up for talkSPORT Stateside, the YouTube channel dedicated to passionate US Sports fans.Will Gavin, Brian T. Smith, former NFL star Efe Obada and a collection of special guests debate the biggest talking points across the NFL, soccer, NBA and more.