The NBA schedule is a little bit easier on players.
Fans might be catching a break — and some more sleep — as well.
The league announced its 2019-20 schedule on Monday, featuring another dip in back-to-back games for teams and a major change in the number of nationally televised games starting at 10:30 p.m. on the East coast. Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers will start several games a half-hour earlier than usual, while broadcasters ESPN and Turner are going to earlier start times on many of their midweek doubleheader nights.
Such a change has been on NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's mind for some time, especially since roughly half of the nation's television homes are in the East time zone — but now, a number of the league's biggest stars play on the West coast.