We conclude our NBA schedule series this week with a positive example of how a lack of division-heavy scheduling can influence a team’s season.
Earlier in the week, we examined why the Boston Celtics face such a tough path in the Eastern Conference, despite residing in the comparatively soft Atlantic Division. Boston will play just 16 games in the Atlantic. It will have to play 18 each against the loaded Central and the almost-as-stacked Southeast. Being in a weak division just doesn’t mean what the casual fan might think — not when you break down the NBA schedule and its allotment of games, across conferences and the league itself. Boston plays 36 non-division Eastern Conference games, more than double the amount of in-division contests (16). All those nights against the Bucks, and Pacers, and Cavs… and Bulls, and Heat, and Wizards, and Hawks… are going to make it difficult for the Celtics to get where they want to go.
So, with all of this in mind, consider the exact opposite situation over in the Western Conference: The New Orleans Pelicans do play in a rugged and cutthroat conference, but in terms of getting to the playoffs, their path is still more manageable than Boston’s.
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If being in a weak division won’t help the Celtics a great deal, being in the NBA’s toughest division won’t smother the Pelicans. This is counterintuitive, but in the NBA, it is allowed to happen.
The Pelicans, though playing in a nasty Southwest Division with the ultra-loaded Spurs; the “we led Golden State 2-1” Memphis Grizzlies; and the Western Conference finalist Houston Rockets, have to play those same 16 games in the division during the season. They get 36 non-division West games against the likes of Sacramento, the Lakers, Minnesota, Portland, and Denver.
Sure, in a division-heavy schedule, New Orleans would be in huge trouble in the West. With the current divisional schedule, though, the Pelicans have a clear and manageable way to the playoffs: crush all the bad teams they’ll play; survive the elite teams such as Golden State, the Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder (i.e., don’t get swept in the season series); and win a narrow majority of games against the teams that will likely be competitors in the race for the final two to three playoff spots in the West: the Utah Jazz and the Phoenix Suns (with Dallas seeming more like a lottery team than a realistic playoff contender at this point, though that view is subject to change).
The Northwest Division — with Denver, Portland and Minnesota occupying space — is almost certain to produce only two playoff teams next season. For New Orleans, being able to win a majority of games in head-to-head competition against Utah would go a long way toward giving the Pelicans the inside track to a playoff spot. Similarly, with only Golden State and the Clippers being sure-fire playoff teams in the Pacific Division, the Pelicans — with a winning season series against the Suns — would feel much better about their postseason prospects.
An added bonus for the Pelicans is that since DeAndre Jordan withdrew from Dallas, the Mavericks are now the weak team in the Southwest, the obvious choice for last place next season. As long as New Orleans can win at least three of its games against the Mavs if not all four, the Pelicans’ overall record against the Southwest shouldn’t look too bad at season’s end. As long as New Orleans can pounce on the West’s lower tier and then get a lot of work done in 30 games against the East — especially by taking advantage of every game against the likes of Charlotte, Orlando, Brooklyn and Philadelphia — the Pelicans can get close to 50 wins, even with all the competition that exists in the West.
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The Boston Celtics play in the softer conference and one of the cushiest divisions in the NBA.
The New Orleans Pelicans play in the tougher, deeper conference and one of the two best divisions in the NBA.
Boston has the harder playoff path, New Orleans the easier one.
The NBA schedule makes it all possible.