Early start awaits NBA season
Raptors kick off 2017-18 on Oct. 19 as league prioritizes rest
TORONTO — The NBA was determined to raise the quality of its product by building more rest into its gruelling schedule.
It appears that mandate was a success based on the 2017-18 blueprint released Monday evening.
The league has completely eliminated stretches where teams play four times in five nights (down from 20 last season and 70 in 201415) and the number of back-to-back contests have been reduced from 16.3 per team in 2016-17 to 14.4, an all-time low for the third consecutive year.
The Toronto Raptors play 14 backto-backs, down from 17 and about five fewer than the norm of just a few seasons ago.
More rest results in better performance by athletes and the NBA is cognizant of that fact. The bad press from teams deciding to sit out superstars for high-profile games in recent years also spurred on the changes, which include not scheduling any games involved in back-to-backs on the U.S. national TV schedule.
The campaign kicks off earlier than ever with the Raptors hosting the Chicago Bulls Oct. 19 at the Air Canada Centre followed by an Oct. 21 visit from the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors will then embark on the longest road trip of the season from Oct. 23 to Nov. 3, heading to San Antonio, Oakland (against the defending champion Golden State Warriors), Los Angeles, Portland, Denver and Utah.
The regular season concludes on April 11, which is also the earliest in the club’s 23 seasons of existence.
Friday will be the busiest day with 18 games, including 12 at home. No surprise there with the rising Maple Leafs locking down Saturday nights. In a mild throwback, the team will play a couple of Sunday matinee contests at home, including a tilt with MVP Russell Westbrook, Paul George and the revamped Oklahoma City Thunder.
The longest stretch at the ACC is four games from Feb. 2 to 8.
LeBron James and Cleveland only make one Canadian appearance on Jan. 11. Vanquished first-round opponent Milwaukee, featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo, arrives for a New Year’s Day battle, the Warriors hit Toronto on Jan. 13, the Lakers on Jan. 28 and Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 30.
The Raptors’s schedule includes 12 U.S. national television appearances, including four on ESPN and one on TNT.
The always complex Canadian television schedule will be released at a later date.