NBA Changes Finals Schedule to Give Teams More Days Between Games
The NBA's push to give players more rest between games has been extended to the NBA Finals. The Association announced Wednesday that it was extending all travel breaks for Finals games to two days, per Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group.
In the past, there had been a mix of one-day and two-day breaks. The announcement allows for a more normalized scheduling system while also avoiding some of the fatigue problems that have come up in past Finals matchups.
From a fan's perspective, the only disappointing aspect of this announcement is that the Finals will now have more extended breaks. The standard Thursday-to-Sunday swing fans often complain about will now be the norm.
Still, it'll likely only amount to an extra day or two over the course of a seven-game series and falls in line with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's desire to make things easier on players.
The 2015-16 schedule has already seen a marked cutback on back-to-backs and stretches of four games in five nights. The Association cut instances of four games in five nights by more than half from the 2014-15 slate, while it shaved back-to-backs by nearly two per team.
"Our focus was really on players' rest and recuperation," Kiki VanDeWeghe, the NBA's senior vice president of operations, said last month, per Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. "We've worked hard with the teams, the broadcast partner and the venues to get the overall travel down and more time between games."
Of course, having more scheduling breaks is a mutually beneficial arrangement for players and owners.
The more well-rested players are, the fewer injuries there will be. Fewer injuries means more time in the spotlight for star players, which equals bigger ratings and more exposure for the NBA. It's also a smart way for Silver to ingratiate himself with players before the league and the National Basketball Players Association sit down for serious collective-bargaining talks.
These scheduling changes might not mean much to the common fan but could prove vital to creating a more harmonious relationship between players and owners. As anyone who sat through the 2010 lockout would attest, that's a good thing for all parties—fans included.
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