Starters automatically get 36 minutes. I'd have expected less with garbage time, which would have been a huge plus heading into the playoffs.
In fact, your bright side isn't that bright. In walkovers there's actually an increased risk of injury. The game still takes place, you can actually watch them, and because of the team being full of lucky fans, in fact, there's a vastly increased foul rate. Since injuries only happen on fouls, there's a corresponding increase in the chance of injury. So maybe I should consider myself lucky.