NBA scheduling format set; Sixers expected to open on road
THE LAST TIME the 76ers played on three consecutive nights was in February 1999, the previous season that was interrupted by labor unrest.
THE LAST TIME the 76ers played on three consecutive nights was in February 1999, the previous season that was interrupted by labor unrest.
Games on back-to-back-to-back nights are among the things that NBA players and coaches will have to get used to as they try to squeeze in a 66-game schedule beginning on Christmas Day.
With details of the tentative agreement between the league and the players still needing to be worked out, the NBA has not yet released a schedule, but provided scheduling guidelines last night.
The compressed schedule will run from Dec. 25 to April 26 - pushing the end of the season back by 8 days - and teams will average about two extra games per month. Every team will play on three consecutive nights at least once, and in up to three sets of three during the season.
Based on the Sixers' original schedule, they would have played 57 games between Dec. 26 and April 18.
Three nationally televised games are scheduled for Dec. 25, so most teams will open Dec. 26 or later. Those games likely will be the games previously scheduled - Boston at New York, Miami at Dallas in an NBA Finals rematch, and Chicago at the Los Angeles Lakers.
Teams will play 48 games against teams in their conference (four fewer than usual).
* Six teams four times (two home, two away)
* Four teams three times (two home, one away)
* Four teams three times (one home, two away).
Teams will play 18 games against the other conference. That means not all teams will visit all cities. Teams usually play 30 out-of-conference games (home and away with 15 teams).
* Three teams twice (one home, one away)
* Six teams once (home)
* Six teams once (away)
The prospect of high-profile teams such as the Heat or Lakers not getting to every city could upset some fans and potentially impact ticket revenue for some teams, such as the Sixers, who intend to use a tiered pricing system based on the opponent.
Last month, in announcing plans to drop ticket prices for 51 percent of the arena, the team also outlined that tickets for games designated as "Select Games" will be $5 more and "Choice Games" will be $10 more. They did not specify how many games would fall into each category.
The Sixers could possibly play their first five or six games away from home because Disney On Ice is at the Wells Fargo Center through Jan. 1. Duke plays Temple on Jan. 4. The Flyers host Chicago on Jan. 5. The Winter Classic is at Citizens Bank Park on the afternoon of Jan. 2, although that might not have an impact.
Originally, the Sixers were set to be on the road from Dec. 21 through Jan. 4 and return home Jan. 6 against Detroit.
The playoffs also will be compressed with a start date of April 28 and June 26 as the last possible date for Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Back-to-back games are possible in the second round.
Training camps are scheduled to begin on Dec. 9, also the first day of free agency, meaning teams will be far from set when camp begins. The expectation is teams could play two preseason games against teams that are nearby to help prepare.
The pace will be faster in terms of number of games played per week, and there could be plenty of ugly road trips, and even some ugly hoops, given the shortened training camp and less practice time.
