Phoenix Suns: Schedule Will Help in 2016-17
The Phoenix Suns typically have a tough schedule, given that they play in the loaded Western Conference.
That means they routinely fight the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, and the deep 2nd tier that includes the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and more.
That part of the Phoenix Suns’ schedule for 2016-17 hasn’t changed. They still have to play the Warriors and Clippers four times every single year (along with the rest of their division, the Pacific division). One good break is the Suns only face the Spurs three times.
There are, however, some minor breaks for the Suns in the 2016-17 season. Based on an analysis from NBA Stuffer (NBAStuffer.com), the Phoenix Suns have one of the easiest schedule in terms of rest and travel.
Note that a ‘back-to-back’ is when a team has to play games on consecutive nights, a tiring and difficult task.
Back-to-Backs: the Phoenix Suns are tied for the fewest, with 14 total (tied with Minnesota Timberwolves and the Brooklyn Nets).
Road Games in Back-to-Backs: Phoenix Suns have the fewest with just 6. Second place is 8, and Golden State leads the NBA with 16.
Three Games in Four Nights: Phoenix is tied for the third fewest, with 10.
Four Games in Five Nights: Phoenix will have zero of these in 2016-17, part of a league goal to get rid of these. 10 teams have zero, while every other team has just one.
What does all this add up to? The Phoenix Suns schedule at least gives them a slight advantage from a fatigue and stamina point.
Given the Suns mixture of extremely young players that haven’t played a full NBA season (Marquese Chriss, Dragan Bender, and Tyler Ulis), and old veterans (Tyson Chandler in particular), even the slight advantage of having fewer consecutive games could help the Suns stay healthy.
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