David Stern disputed the growing speculation that the NBA's lockout-shortened season have contributed to major injuries.

"I don't think it's related at all. Zero," Stern said.

Derrick Rose and Iman Shumpert tore their ACL on Saturday in non-contact injuries, while Dwight Howard had season-ending back surgery this month.

"When anything happens, that's going to happen," Stern said of people trying to find a cause-and-effect relationship. "But I was just reading something from a doctor who said that he just doesn't believe it. There's no evidence that the wear and tear ... and on Derrick it's kind of interesting, it was horrible to watch, but he was out. He missed 27 games earlier this year, so he only played in 40 of those games that we had in this quote condensed schedule. So what's your suggestion?"

Rose came into the season missing just five games in his NBA career, but suffered various injuries throughout the year.

"When you think about it, that's the only thing that changed," Rose said about the schedule recently. "The way I work out is usually the same, even though I ran more than I usually did in the past. But I really don't know what to blame it on. Where they're just like freak accident, freak injuries, where it's just happening."

The NBA's medical consultant doesn't believe the compressed schedule is related to the injuries.

"There is no evidence that wear and tear, or that kind of issue, playing too much, really has any correlation with ACL injuries in any sport that we've ever studied," Altchek said Sunday. "In fact, I think if you're tired [from a condensed schedule], you're a lot less likely to tear your ACL because you're not going to be as explosive."