NBA schedule more player friendly with fewer back-to-back games

Jeff Zillgitt | USA TODAY Sports

Show Caption Hide Caption NBA schedule highlights: Finals rematch on Christmas USA TODAY Sports' Larry Berger breaks down the biggest games on the recently-released regular season slate.

Reducing the number of back-to-back games and four games in five days that NBA teams play was high on Commissioner Adam Silver’s agenda.​

Without extending the season by a week at the start or a week at the end, Silver made a dent in those numbers in an effort to reduce fatigue, wear and tear, including injuries, and increase the level of competition.

Back-to-backs have been reduced to 17.8 per team for 2015-16, down from 19.3 last season, and no team has more than 20 back-to-backs this season.

Long-distance back-to-backs have been trimmed from 111 last season to 85 this season; back-to-backs that cross a time zone have also been cut from 194 last season to 160 this season.

Four games in five days have been reduced to .9 per team for 2015-16, down from 2.3 per team last season.

The NBA reduced the number of miles traveled per team by 2%.

“I think this is the best schedule that we’ve ever produced,” NBA senior vice president of basketball operations Kiki VanDeWeghe told USA TODAY Sports. “We are extremely mindful of player rest, recuperation and we were able to reduce four games in five nights and back-to-backs to all-time lows. …

“We want to be mindful of putting the best product on the floor that we possibly can. The rigors of an NBA season are tough. Nobody denies that.”

MORE: COMPLETE 2015-16 SCHEDULE

The league made a serious dent in those four-games-in-five-days sets, cutting those from 70 last season to 27 this season – a 61% decrease.

How did the league do it without adding days to the regular season? Input from the NBA’s front office, teams and National Basketball Players Association; data-driven analysis; flexible arena dates; and help from TV partners ABC/ESPN and TNT helped the league draft a more palatable, player-friendly schedule.

Thursdays generally had been a light schedule night in the NBA, allowing TNT to take center stage with its coverage of two games. But there are several Thursdays with at least four games, including six on Dec. 3, Dec. 31, Jan. 14, Jan. 28, Feb. 25, March 31 and eight on March 17. ABC also will televise eight of its 16 broadcasts in primetime on Saturday.

Even with computer programs, creating the schedule is not easy, and the NBA continued to tinker with the schedule as late as Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s quite a task,” VanDeWeghe said. “You have 30 teams playing 82 games, and you’ve got 162 playing dates to get all that in.”

The champion Golden State Warriors open the season at home against the New Orleans Pelicans, but there is a small price to pay for being the champs. Golden State is in high demand for TV appearances, and has one more back-to-back (20) than it did last season, and the Cleveland Cavaliers have one less (19) than they did last season.

The San Antonio Spurs benefitted from the approach to this season’s schedule. Last year, the Spurs had 21 back-to-backs and have 16 for 2015-16. And the Spurs are one of eight teams who do not play four games in five days. The others: Charlotte, Detroit, Indiana, New York, Golden State, Houston and Memphis.

Five teams, however, have two sets of four games in five days: Atlanta, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Portland and Denver.

The league will continue to explore ways to improve the schedule, and Silver said in April the NBA was discussing extending the season by a week at the end of the regular season. That won’t happen in 2015-16, but it could happen in the future.

“We’re leaving no stone unturned, and everything is one the table,” VanDeWeghe said. “Adam is certainly open to looking at everything and is very sensitive to our players’ needs.”

Christmas day schedule: New Orleans at Miami (ESPN), Chicago at Oklahoma City (ABC), Cleveland at Golden State (ABC), San Antonio at Houston (ESPN) and Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN).

Noteworthy season openers: New Orleans at Golden State; Cleveland at Chicago; New York at Milwaukee; Dallas at Phoenix; San Antonio at Oklahoma City; and Denver at Houston.