NBA eases up on player sked
THE NBA sent out a memo outlining changes to its upcoming schedule that are meant to ease the burden on players, according to ESPN.
These alterations are made possible by commissioner Adam Silver’s decision to cut the preseason and begin the regular season about a week earlier.
Per ESPN, here are some of the important changes detailed in the memo provided to teams last week:
l Key national TV games are protected against players taking healthy rest games by ensuring the competing teams aren’t playing on back-toback nights.
l Stretches of four games in five days and 18 games in 30 days will be eliminated
l Stretches of five games in seven nights will be reduced to just 40 instances across the league, down from last year when it was on the schedule 90 times
l The number of back-tobacks will be reduced to 14.9 per team, down from 16.3 per team.
l Single-game road trips will also be reduced, including those with trips that are over 2,000 miles.
l Weekend games will be increased from 549 to 568, with much of the boost coming on Saturdays. Previously the NBA avoided Saturdays and Sunday afternoons during football season.
These changes come on the heels of star players — namely LeBron James and Steph Curry — resting during national TV games. ABC and ESPN recently paid $24 billion for the right to broadcast such games.
The league previously announced that it’s starting the regular season on Oct. 17, cutting the preseason by almost a third. Three years ago, Silver, the player-friendly commissioner, extended the All-Star break from four days to eight, as requested by LeBron because the forward wanted more days off.
Who is hurt by the new schedule changes? Anybody who loses money with the elimination of up to three preseason games per team. In other words, anybody associated with the arenas who host these games (owners, staff, concessions, parking, TV crews, etc.)