Detroit — Reducing the number of back-to-back games in the regular-season schedule has been a focal point for the NBA in recent years, realizing the strain that it puts on players, with travel and physical recovery.
It affects the players and also leads to more instances of load management, which is a newer term in the NBA vernacular, with teams looking to rest some of their top veterans, saving them for later in the season.
How the schedule makers decided to put back-to-backs in the preseason still is a head-scratcher, but it’s how the Pistons will finish the five-game preseason slate this week, on Tuesday at Philadelphia and Wednesday at Charlotte.