I'm beginning to see more time management by teams than in the past. Too many of the injuries that happen are due to tired legs. The idea that having to win 60 games or more to make the fans happy is less important than saving your team for the end of the season, and the playoffs. You don't win with the big guns sitting in the stands, no matter what your season record was. It was tired legs and injuries that killed the Bucks three years ago.
The game has gotten so fast. It's a sprint between whistles. They could drop the clock to 18 seconds and not much would change.