With the NBA schedule unveiled, we can look at the difficulty of the program that awaits each franchise. To gauge whether a schedule is difficult, there is of course the number of “back-to-backs”, but also the accumulated rest days, or the length of travel. Here is some data.
Back-to-back
On average, the 30 franchises will play 15 back-to-backs each, and the amplitude is small between the different teams. Thus, 11 franchises will have 16 back-to-backs, and these are the Hawks, Cavaliers, Nuggets, Rockets, Clippers, Bucks, Pelicans, Thunder, Suns, Kings and Wizards. At the other end of the ranking, six teams will only play 13 back-to-backs, and these are the Celtics, Bulls, Mavericks, Lakers, Magic, and Blazers.
Difficulty of the calendar
To determine which franchise has the most difficult schedule, or conversely the easiest, the company Positive Residual created the SOS for Strength Of Schedule. From data such as movements, the level of opponents, altitude or even the number of rest days, and of course the back-to-backs, this company has created an algorithm which determines the level of difficulty of the calendar.
For the upcoming season, here are the teams with the most difficult schedules:
- Blazers
- Clippers
- Rockets
- Suns
- Nets
Conversely, here are the teams with the “easiest” schedules:
- Nuggets
- Pacers
- Magic
- Celtics
- Knicks
The most difficult start
Still according to Positive Residualthe Suns and Clippers have the toughest start to the season. In October and November, the Suns will challenge teams that, on average, had a winning percentage of 56% in 2023/24.
The most difficult series
Next season, the Bucks will play 13 straight games against teams that had winning records in 2023-24.
