The NBA schedule is here and we have a lot to talk about (and we needed it in the lull of the offseason). We have already listed the 20 games you can’t miss.
Now let’s get into the details, the analysis, and the breakdown of the entire schedule. Let’s see who “won” the schedule release with the fewest back-to-backs and who is on national television the most (you probably could have guessed that last part… and sorry, Thunder fans).
Here’s a breakdown of the NBA schedule.
• The league knows what people want to see – LeBron James and Stephen Curry. Here are the teams with the most nationally televised games (ESPN, TNT, ABC and NBA TV):
Lakers39
Warrior 36
Celts 34
Curtsy 34
Mavericks30
Sun 30
Nuggets 29
Dollars 27
76ers27
Timber Wolves 25
Thunder 25
• Remove NBA TV from the list (not everyone has that channel or the cable to receive it) and limit yourself to ESPN/ABC/TNT games, and the list shifts a bit (Boston jumps to second). Here are the top 10:
Lakers29
Celtics26
Warrior 24
Curtsy 24
Mavericks 23
Nuggets 22
76ers21
Suns 19
Dollars 18
Timber Wolves 18
• The league does not allow teams to play the day before or after “high-profile, nationally televised games.”
• Eleven teams have the most back-to-back wins (16): Hawks, Cavaliers, Nuggets, Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Pelicans, Thunder, Suns, Kings and Wizards.
• Six teams have the fewest back-to-back games on their schedule with 13: Celtics, Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Magic and Trail Blazers.
• The league average for back-to-backs is 14.9.
• Again, there are no 4-in-5 night situations.
• Positive Residual (a must for serious NBA fans) broke down the schedule by opponents, travel, advantage/disadvantage games, back-to-back games and more and concluded that these are the five teams with the easiest schedule:
Denver
Indiana
Orlando
Boston
new York
• Positive residuals The five toughest schedules are based on the same criteria:
Portland
Los Angeles Clippers
Houston
Phoenix
Brooklyn
• Positive Residual also has the best value of +4 for the Warriors and Bulls in games with residual advantage (compared to games with residual disadvantage) in the league.
• The Suns are -4, the worst in the league in games played with the rest advantage (based on the same metric).
• The Suns and Clippers have the toughest first two months of the season (October and November) based on opponents’ winning percentages last season. The Suns face teams with an average winning percentage of .55.7 last year, while the Clippers have an average winning percentage of .528.
• The Bucks are on a season-long winning streak of 13 consecutive games against teams that were above .500 last season.
• Most miles traveled, as always, go to somewhat isolated Portland with 50,000 (in the coming years, when the league grows and a team is based in Seattle, that will help the Blazers).
• The NBA has a tripleheader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (January 20) with games: Dallas vs. Charlotte, Minnesota vs. Memphis and Boston vs. Golden State. Similar to Christmas Day, there are no Thunder games on MLK Day (they feel left out by the league).
• The Clippers have zero afternoon home games this season after winning by double digits in each of the past two years – an advantage of now owning their own building and not being the third tenant behind the NHL’s Lakers and Kings.
• For the third consecutive year, there will be no games on election night, Nov. 5, as the league continues to encourage fans to vote. However, all 30 teams will be in action the day before the election, Nov. 4.
• There are no NBA games on other days:
November 28 (Thanksgiving)
December 18 (the day after the NBA Cup Final)
24 December (Christmas Eve)
14th-19th February (All-Star break)
April 12 (eve of the regular season finale)
