The 2015-16 NBA Schedule was released not too long ago and with its release, it is time to analyze what we can expect from the schedule this season. There are some new trends with the schedule, some alarming facts and some questionable moves that can only be proven to be correct as the season goes on.
Check out the top 5 interesting facts about the 2015-16 NBA Schedule that could affect the final standings going into the playoffs.
5. Knicks have the most favorable back-to-back schedule, Raptors have least favorable.
The New York Knicks and Toronto Raptors were two franchises that went in opposite directions last year. The Knicks did all they could to get to the bottom of the barrel in the NBA standings in order to get a better draft pick and the Raptors did all they could to find a way to be atop the Eastern Conference standings last season.
While both teams had their season end earlier than fans would hope, both the Knicks and the Raptors will be playing a lot on back-to-back nights. But the schedule favors one team more than the other.
Using the data provided by NBAStuffer.com, New York plays just 17 back-to-backs, tied for seventh-fewest in the NBA. While the Knicks might not have the least amount of back-to-back games, the Knicks opponents are on a back-to-back a league-high 25 times. The schedule maker is working on the side of New York to give them an NBA-best +8 difference in back-to-backs.
On the other side, much like the Knicks, the Raptors play 17 back-to-backs. But Toronto’s opponents are on back-to-backs just 10 times, giving the Raptors a league-worst -7 difference. It’s odd that these two teams have vastly different schedules based on them both being in the same division. This could just be another sign the NBA is leaning towards eliminating the divisions all together.
4. There’s less four-games-in-five-nights.
Last season, the NBA was ravaged by injuries to top flight talent across the board. Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant missed a large amount of the season due to in-season injuries and LeBron James even took some time off to step away from the game for two weeks.
The four-games-in-five-nights trend in the NBA was reaching an alarming rate, so much so that there was rumblings that the amount of games played in such a short amount of time was a factor in some the big name injuries.
When the first rumor of the 2015-16 NBA schedule having a reduced amount of four-games-in-five-days, the NBA community rejoiced. Last season there were 70 times teams had four-games-in-five-nights, a majority of which were almost always spent on the road. For the 2015-16 NBA schedule, there are just 27 of those occurrences including eight teams having none of the four-games-in-five-nights including the San Antonio Spurs. A team notoriously known for resting players when they need rest, regardless of their opponent.
This season teams have an average of 17.8 back-to-back games, down from 19.3 last season. The number of “long distance” back-to-backs, or those back-to-backs stretching across different time zones, went from 111 last season down to 84 for the 2015-16 NBA season.
Eliminating back-to-backs isn’t an achievable goal, yet. The Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers still each have 20 back-to-backs in the 2015-16 NBA Schedule but this is a good start.
3. You Won’t See the Pistons, 76ers or Nuggets on National Television this year.
For good reason, the Philadelphia 76ers and Denver Nuggets won’t be making an appearance on national television this year. Both teams will be projected to finish near or at the bottom of their respective conferences and with proper reason. They did nothing major in the offseason to warrant a reason for people to tune in to their games this year.
On the flipside, the lack of Pistons games on TNT, ABC or ESPN is borderline questionable and even upset Pistons star Andre Drummond. The Pistons are an interesting team this season and with new young pieces like Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Brandon Jennings returning from his achilles injury and Andre Drummond along with Reggie Jackson still leading the squad, that is surely enough to warrant at least one or two games on national television.
Who knows, maybe as the season comes to an end, they will become a team people will enjoy watching fight for a playoff spot, forcing the television and NBA executives to make a late change. Or they could be just the same Pistons of the last five years and just hang around at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.
2. Cavaliers, Warriors have the most nationally televised games.
For proper reason, the two teams that squared off in the NBA Finals, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, will have the most nationally televised games this year on TNT, ESPN and ABC with 25 scheduled appearance each, including a Christmas Day finals rematch. Following them on the list of most nationally televised games are the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder with 24 appearances, the Chicago Bulls with 23, the San Antonio Spurs with 21 and rounding out the top five are the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers with 19 national television appearances respectively.
Some teams with abnormally low national television games include the Washington Wizards, who are currently only schedule to appear on national TV five times, Milwaukee Bucks will only appear four times and the Toronto Raptors are only scheduled to appear twice. All of those teams made the playoffs last year and have improved over the offseason so not seeing them on national tv is a little strange.
1. We’ll Only See some Premiere Conference Matchups 3 Times this Season.
Matchups within the conference between top team can dictate a lot going into the playoffs. We saw last year how big a game-winning shot from Anthony Davis against the Oklahoma City Thunder early in the season ended up being the biggest play of the New Orleans Pelicans season when it came down to playoff time. The Portland Trail Blazers lucked out, due to divisional seeding, and avoided dropping out of the fourth spot in the Western Conference, but they couldn’t capitalize on their opportunity.
In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors won their division but it didn’t matter to the Washington Wizards who were the ‘underdog’ in the four-versus-five matchup. A series in which the Wizards swept the Raptors. For Bucks, winning games early in the season against the Boston Celtics proved to be pivotal in their matchup against the Chicago Bulls, avoiding the Cleveland Cavaliers, and fighting hard against the Chicago Bulls. The Brooklyn Nets squeaked into the eight spot in the East due to their good record against the Indiana Pacers.
So in the 2015-16 NBA Schedule, some of the top matchups that could dictate standings next year in both conferences, will be relatively scarce in comparison to their importance.
Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat will play each other only three times this season.
Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards will play each other only three times this season.
Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies will play each other only three times this season.
Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder will play each other only three times this season.
New Orleans plays the Golden State Warriors and Oklahoma City Thunder only three times this season.
San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers will play each other only three times this season.
Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors will play each other only three times this season.
