The compressed 66-game schedule is going to present plenty of schedule quirks that will really put teams behind the 8-ball.
Every team will be subjected to at least one back-to-back-to-back, while 11 teams will have two of them. Some teams will play five games in six nights. Yet when you factor in travel, the quality of opponent and other games that surround the stretch, some teams really got screwed.
Here are the four toughest/strangest stretches of the 2011-2012 season:
End of January/ Early February for Chicago
Beginning on the 29th of January, the Bulls will play the Heat in Miami.
That marks the first of a nine-game trip over the span of 15 days, which has a four-game-in-five-night stretch in their as well.
They can thank the circus for that.
February for San Antonio
The Spurs aren’t a young team, which is a good thing considering how homesick they could get. The annual rodeo that comes to San Antonio really hurts the Spurs this season. They will be leaving town on Monday the 6th and won’t be playing another home game until the 29th.
That’s a nine-game road trip including six against playoff teams.
March/April for Denver
In an “only because of the lockout” moment, the Nuggets have been awarded a nine-game home stand that stretches from March 5th to the 21st. They immediately proceed a seven-game road trip from the 23rd to April 4th.
It’s a cross-country trip that finds them in cities like Utah, Chicago, Toronto and Orlando…all in the span of 12 days.
December/January for Houston
Nobody has a tougher slate right off the bat than the Rockets. Seven of their first 10 games are on the road.
They will play a ruthless three-night set against the Spurs (home), the Grizzlies (road) and the Hawks (home), followed by road games against the Lakers and the Clippers, then back-to-back games against the Thunder.
They could be buried before the season really even begins.
