In the midst of the NFL starting and the drama surrounding it’s top players, the NBA gave sports fans a temporary moment of relaxation by releasing the schedules for each NBA team. There are several key facts to note, so here are a few of the biggest takeaways from the NBA schedule release.
NBA Schedule Release Takeaways: Key Matchups and Returns
The first takeaways of the NBA schedule are the key matchups and returns stars will make. The NBA will feature several key matchups to highlight the NBA season. Starting with opening night, NBA fans will immediately get a taste for the battle of Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers face off for the first time this season on October 22. It’ll be the late matchup of the evening. This will give NBA fans a chance their first taste of arguably the top two dynamic duos in the league. LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the supporting cast will play Kawhi Leonard, Paul George (if healthy), and the rest of the Clippers.
Thats not the only big opening night game. Fans will get their first true feel for Zion Williamson as the New Orleans Pelicans will take on the Kawhi-less Toronto Raptors in the early matchup of the two games. The #1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft will get his chance to spoil the Raptors’ ring ceremony during his first NBA action.
Following an intense summer of player movement, several players will make their star-studded returns to their former teams and arenas. Kemba Walker will make his return with the Boston Celtics to Charlotte to play the Hornets on November 7th. Jimmy Butler on November 23rd will return to Philadelphia as a member of the Miami Heat. Anthony Davis will return to New Orleans on November 27th and Kyrie Irving will return to Boston as a member of the Brooklyn Nets on the same day as Davis to round out the November returns.
Leonard will make his return to Toronto to face the Raptors on December 11th, which should be an emotional matchup. In his one year run in Toronto, Leonard led the Raptors to the franchise’s first NBA championship.
In one of the most anticipated returns, former Oklahoma City Thunder guard, Russell Westbrook, who was traded to the Houston Rockets, will return to Oklahoma City on January 9th.
To round out the year of returns, Paul George will make his return to Oklahoma City on March 3rd.
Marketability
Two teams in the NBA will play over 40 national TV games. Those teams are the Lakers (43) and Golden State Warriors (42) who will play the most. Not far off are the Clippers and Rockets, who both will play 38 games on national TV. The Philadelphia 76ers (36), Celtics (34), and Milwaukee Bucks (34) round out the top six teams in national TV games. National TV games are considered games that will be played on ABC, ESPN, TNT, or NBATV.
What does this mean?
The NBA continues to understand that fan interest is continuing to rise. So placing the teams with the highest interest level on national TV will only help the NBA’s popularity.
The NBA also reduced the start time for some of the popular west coast teams such as the Warriors and Lakers. The Lakers will now have the 10:30 PM EST start time 10 times this year, which is down from 19. The Warriors will only have the 10:30 PM EST start 11 times. It’s a decrease from last season’s total of 18.
Another key note is the sudden rise of the Pelicans national TV games. The Pelicans will play 31 games on national TV, with 10 of the games being played on NBA TV. So why has the rise happened so quickly?
The Zion Williamson Effect.
It’s hard not to think that Williamson doesn’t have much to do with the rise. The #1 pick will look to be a consistent highlight real and the NBA has captured the moment to place the potential next big star in the league in his best available way to be seen.
Rest Matters
Of all of the takeaways of the NBA schedule release, this particular one stands out the most. For the fifth straight season, the NBA has reduced its amount of back-to-back games. As a result, the league average now is at 12.4 games out of the 82 game schedule. This is also a decrease from last year where the NBA back-to-back average was 13.3. In addition to that, the percent of five games in seven nights has reduced to 9.5 percent.
The NBA may have now started to realize and even more importance on player rest. With several star players making mention of “load management” in order to prepare themselves for strong late season playoff runs, the NBA continues to make the right moves in order to not only give their players more rest, but still keep a solid balance for fans to watch the players actually play. Leonard also benefited from load management, which he missed 20 games last season. As a result, it helped the Raptors tremendously in their championship run.
Now with the NBA schedule being released, the anticipation for next season has been elevated. Just hang in there hoops fans, as we are only two months away from what should be another fantastic year of NBA action. And a healthy dose of dynamic duos in the league.
