Reactions from the NBA Schedule Release
The 2017-18 NBA regular season schedule was announced yesterday and there is plenty to take a look at speculate. Granted, we still don’t know how good or bad every team is going to be and what injuries, trades, signings, etc will occur, we have an idea of what to expect. Plus, it’s August and just a few weeks away from the sports world picking back up, so it’s still something sports related to talk about and that’s all that matters. Season starts October 17 and ends on April 11. Let’s get into it.
Labeled by week for first time:
This was the first thing that stood out when I looked at the schedule release. There are 1,230 NBA games throughout the regular season. The NBA never really organized their schedule, but rathat said here it is. That changed this time as for the first time ever the schedule is now broken out by weeks. There are 26 weeks in the NBA calendar with it running from Monday through Sunday. It’s an easier read to look at the week and see what’s going on, similar to an NFL type schedule than it is just to look at it loosely.
Minnesota has to travel, a lot:
This is always something important to look at, as former front office member Bobby Marks points out. Teams look at travel and back-to-backs quite a bit when it comes to resting players, etc. The back-to-backs have been cut back (more on that later) but travel will always be a key part in the season, especially with the addition of games in London and Mexico. It’s no surprise Portland will always be up in the top portion of distance traveled simply because of location. They don’t have a near by competitor and times on the road just means it’s going to be a hike. This year though it’s Minnesota who gets to travel the most despite being a Midwestern city. Knowing Thibs, he probably loves it though.
Back-to-back games diminishing:
The NBA cut back-to-back games by 13% from last year. That’s a pretty drastic first step, but obviously needs to continue to grow as this is something that teams look at. Almost all teams will have 14-15 back-to-back stretches with the exception of six teams. The Cavs, Lakers and Pelicans will have 13 while the Jazz, Grizzlies and Kings will have 16. All in all this is a big first step for fans and most importantly sponsors. There was an effort to keep big games just that, big. The NBA wanted to reduce back-to-backs before their primetime games and we see that with Christmas, where the Warriors and Cavs both have off the 24th and 26th. That means there’s actually a decent shot we’ll get to see the teams at full strength barring an injury. More importantly the 4 games in 5 days stretch is now eliminated. People will complain about the season being too long, which sure, if you’re not a basketball fan, I get. But, this is about stars and the NBA is a star-driven league. Teams go all-out to keep stars happy and we’ve seen you can only win with a star on the roster. This is a good step for the NBA.
FTE:
What the hell does FTE mean? It means fresh, tired and even, something the NBA used while scheduling. Simply put it’s the way the NBA charts how tired one team can be while facing another based on travel and scheduling of games. The goal is to not put a fresh and tired team together. As reported, instead of asking teams for 50 available dates to play home games, the schedule makers got away from that and followed the FTE standard. You’ll hear this acronym quite a bit during the season, so this is what they are talking about.
NBA wants to win opening night:
It’s no surprise the NBA is hoping to draw viewers in from the very first game of the season with the Cavs/Celtics and Rockets/Warriors on opening night. All four teams are expected to be top-2(maybe 3) in their respective conferences and it’s a great back-to-back for TV and fans. The other thing the NBA is doing here is setting up the storyline right off the bat. Everyone really believes it’s Cavs/Warriors pt. 4, but let’s say one of them lose on opening night, it leaves the window for people to talk about it the next day. You’ll hear things like ‘maybe LeBron James is washed up,’ ‘maybe there’s too much turmoil in Cleveland,’ ‘Golden State has a hangover.’ Bullshit like that. Is it dumb? Yes. It it smart by the NBA? Yes.
Christmas Day is still about the player names:
I think it’s awesome what the NBA has done with Christmas. They’ve turned it into a day with big games and a day where people know the NBA is on. It’s another good marketing idea and this year, again, we’re seeing it headlined by names everyone is familiar with. Even the undercard is Knicks/Sixers – two teams nowhere near title contenders but have names that everyone including the casual fan is familiar with. From there we have Cavs/Warriors, Wizards/Celtics, Rockets/Thunder, Timberwolves/Lakers. People will tune in to watch those games and players and you get the storyline to sell for each one. Finals rematch, two teams who hate each other, two teams with big offseason trades, then Jimmy Butler/Lonzo Ball. My only wish is the Spurs were playing on Christmas Day, but this schedule is an A+.
LeBron Going to LA late:
It’s been the speculation everyone has loved to talk about this offseason. LeBron James leaving Cleveland for the Lakers after this season. Ironically enough he gets to play in LA against the Lakers on March 11. We’ll see how the Cavs and Lonzo Ball look leading up to then, but if the Cavs have been shaky at all and Lonzo is living up to the hype, it will be talked about all week. We’ll see photoshops and ‘leaks’ about him talking to Magic Johnson or something dumb like that.
Young rivalry on the main stage November 22:
De’Aaron Fox vs Lonzo Ball is a rivalry that everyone should be here for. They were two top-5 picks last year and the dudes went at it pretty much their entire lives, including twice in college. There was the missed summer league game by Ball which upset a ton of people who just wanted a glimpse of what to come. Personally I think both of these guys are going to be really, really good pros for a long time and we get to see them on prime TV on November 22. You know both will want to get the best of each other so look for Fox to try and attack Ball off the bounce.
It could come down to the final night out West:
There are a handful of teams that are expected to play for 5-8 seeds in the West. They include the likes of the Blazers, Pelicans, Timberwolves, Nuggets and Jazz. It just so happens on the final night of the season Portland plays Utah and Denver plays Minnesota. If there’s a win and in situation, that is awesome scheduling by the NBA. People love game 7 dramas and that’s essentially what we’d be looking at here.
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Ultimately it’s all about the story line:
The NBA thrives on story lines. It’s how the offseason has become such a big thing for the NBA. Speculation about what players are leaving to form a super team, is there mutiny in a locker room and what players can make the jump to be a star. That’s what we’re looking at with the schedule. You can look week by week and find a story line that sticks out pretty obviously, the question is which one do you prefer. Do you want the guy who left returning home? We have plenty of that. Do you want the potential future place of employment? We have that. Do you want to see individual head to head matchups? Sure thing. That’s what makes the NBA awesome. Yes, I know, Golden State and Cleveland seem like clear favorites again, but the NBA is doing just fine despite this lack of parity – something we see across all sports really.