NBA Finals schedule changed to give players more rest

After announcing regular season changes to give players more time to recover, the NBA will now be changing the Finals schedule to give teams more rest between games that require travel.

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The NBA has already seen changes to the regular season schedule in preparation for 2015-16, and now there’s been yet another adjustment to change the very end of the season. As has been reported by Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group, the league has changed the schedule of the Finals so that there will be more rest time for teams between games.

NBA announces Finals to feature more days between games. Schedule to include two days between all games in which travel is necessary.
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) September 23, 2015

This change of creating two days between all games that require travel will not only give players more rest, but it will obviously space out the Finals even further. Whilst that may be a minor problem for fans who get impatient and don’t want to wait any longer than necessary for the next game, this may impact the players themselves as well.

If players catch fire or teams start to find a rhythm together, waiting two days for every single game following travel can slow momentum down. Plus, it gives the opposing team — who may be coming off a dreadful performance — a chance to regroup, which is an advantage they wouldn’t have so easily if it wasn’t for this extension of the schedule.

However, the issue of rest is extremely prevalent for the upcoming season after LeBron James did everything his body would allow to take the Cleveland Cavaliers to six games against the loaded Golden State Warriors this year. He played an extortionate 45.8 minutes per game to average an even more ridiculous 35.8 points, 13.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists and 1.3 steals.

Yet, this scheduling development can’t avoid raising the issue that if it wasn’t for the best player in the world enduring such a gruelling Finals experience, would this change have suddenly taken place?

After all, if it wasn’t for the Cavaliers’ two other All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love being sidelined due to injury, LeBron wouldn’t have needed to exhaust himself beyond belief to make the series competitive. Furthermore, LeBron is one of the only — if not the only — athlete in the NBA capable of delivering such a performance.

In short, the league shouldn’t consider his difficulties after they were only instigated by his historic greatness and athleticism that were only fully unleashed due to the absence of two vital teammates.

It’s clearly not all about LeBron and last season’s Finals, though. The regular season will see plenty of changes in 2015-16 as well, as the reduced amount of back-to-backs and four games in five-day stretches gives players more rest throughout the year.

Overall, the changes to the scheduling will help rest players through the course of an 82 game NBA season that tests many players to their physical limit. Although, whilst increased rest time in the Finals may maximize the energy of both teams, it’s certainly going to alter the continuity and rhythm of the series as well.

After announcing regular season changes to give players more time to recover, the NBA will now be changing the Finals schedule to give teams more rest between games that require travel.

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