NBA seasons - Topics

Why the trade deadline lands in early February How back-to-back road games in different time zones affect a team's legs Travel burden of cross-conference road trips Cross-conference games and how many each team plays What the All Star break does to a team's rhythm in February Who sets the October to June calendar and why the season is that long How the 82 game schedule gets built before the season even starts Why the in season tournament final adds an extra game for two teams What a compressed 72 game lockout season did to injury rates How rest day rules work for nationally televised games Why the same roster looks like a contender in November and a lottery team in March How the play in tournament changed what a 9 seed is playing for in April How many back to backs a team plays and why the league schedules them How division placement shapes a team's travel schedule G League teams play a 50-game season in front of small crowds Why a long road trip sometimes keeps a team on the West Coast between games Why do the Pacific Division teams have to play each other four times a year? Why the league picks those five Christmas Day matchups every year