It’s hard to argue that the NBA’s schedule doesn’t have the most grueling impact on its players. Football places a physical toll on its participants, but it’s rare a team plays more than once in a week. Baseball plays 162 games over a season, an obscenely high number at a first glance; though, MLB teams efficiently play away opponents multiple times in a span of several days at the same venue to cut down on continuous travel and the physical toll on players is minimal. In the NBA, where teams often play back-to-back games on the road and sometimes even four games in five days, scheduling minutes to preserve players’ health throughout the entire season (and potentially the playoffs) is a crucial component of coaches’ game plans.
How the 2016-17 NBA schedule uniquely favors the Memphis Grizzlies
