The NBA officially unveiled the season schedule Wednesday. Here’s five quick reactions to the Brooklyn Nets schedule:
1) It’s a rough start. 11 of the team’s first 16 games come on the road, and that includes road games against the Warriors, Cavaliers, Thunder, Spurs, Hawks, and Rockets. That doesn’t count home games against the Bulls, Bucks, and Hawks (again), either. The Nets have struggled to open the season in each of the past two seasons, and they might stumble to a third.
2) Date-wise, the schedule is much more balanced. Despite the rough start, the Nets can take solace in the fact that they have only 15 back-to-back games, five fewer than last season, and just one stretch of four games in five nights. That balance goes the other way, too: not counting the All-Star Break, the Nets have just one stretch of rest that lasts longer than two days.
3) Expect a lot of YES Network. The Nets have just one nationally televised game as of now — against the Knicks on ESPN on December 4th. Worse, it’s on the road, which means no herringbone court for a national audience all year.
The team does hit NBA TV three times, and — a-ha! — one of those comes at home, against the Pistons on February 1. There’s also always the possibility that more national games get added. But considering that the Nets aren’t a marquee NBA team, it would be a surprise to see many more. If anything, that Pistons game is a natural candidate to get bumped.
4) Mark December 23rd. If you’re interested in seeing Deron Williams back at Barclays Center, that is. That’s the lone trip Dallas makes to Barclays Center this season.
5) The circus trip starts a little later this year. Last season, the Nets went nearly a full month without playing a home game due to their annual “Circus Trip,” playing eight away games between two home games on February 6th and March 2nd. This year, the team starts the trip after the All-Star break, playing nine road games from February 23rd to March 11th. That means less time away from Barclays Center, even though there are more games. For reference, the longest homestand is six games.
