NBA Schedule/Log

“REST VS NO REST” AND “NO REST VS REST”
Of the 990 NBA games this season, 371 feature a rested
team vs an unrested team. This number is actually higher
than last season even though there are 240 fewer games
this season. This makes the rest combination an important factor
when handicapping NBA basketball. A team with at least one days
rest has a definite advantage over a team that played the previous
night. Young, well-disciplined teams often can perform well even
though they played the previous night whereas older teams tend to
struggle when playing their second game in two days—especially
if a long trip is involved.
Of course, the number of these “no rest vs rest” games is determined
when the schedule is finalized. The table to the right gives the
number of occurrences of the rest vs no rest (R v NR) and no rest
vs rest (NR v R) for each of the 30 NBA teams over the 2011-12
NBA regular season. The “+/- R vs NR” column on the far right
gives the difference between the “R v NR” and “NR v R” columns.
A high positive number indicates a favorable schedule and a high
negative number indicates an unfavorable schedule.
First, let’s look at the “Rest vs No Rest” numbers. The Wizards
have the greatest number of rest vs no rest games in 2011-12 at 17.
Next we have the Jazz, Warriors and Hawks, each with 16 games
in which they are rest and their opponent played the previous day.
On the unfortunate end of the spectrum we find the Cleveland
Cavaliers, who only get THREE games all season in which they
are rested vs an unrested opponent. Also getting the short end of
the stick is the Miami Heat, who only get five “R vs NR” games
this season.
In the “No Rest vs Rest” column we see that the schedule-makers
were much more balanced. The Suns have the most games in which
their opponent is rested and they have no rest this season, with sixteen.
The Knicks and the Clippers have the fewest with only nine.
Now let’s check out the difference column. Here the number
of times a team is playing a no rest vs rest game is subtracted from
the number of times a team is playing a rest vs no rest game. The
higher the number, the more favorable the schedule.
The Atlanta Hawks have the highest positive differential at plus
six. This is followed by the followed by the Bulls and Bobcats, each
with plus-five.
The Cavaliers got the unluckiest schedule with regard to rest-vsno-rest
games, as they have a differential of minus-ten. The Heat, at
minus nine, also has a very unfortunate schedule. These numbers
are useful when playing NBA futures, but of course, other factors
such as personnel changes can be more important than scheduling.
Also, some teams can handle the no rest vs rest combination
whereas other struggle. To investigate past records in rest-vs-no-rest
NBA 1995-96 Through 2010-11: Rest vs No Rest, Overall, Home, Away
10 | KillerSports.com
games, use the NBA query page at KillerSports.com. Play Smart.
Play Informed. Watch the rest combinations.
# of Rest Combos 2011-12
Team R v NR NR v R +/- R vs NR
ATL 16 10 +6
BOS 9 13 -4
CBC 15 10 +5
CHI 15 10 +5
CLE 3 13 -10
DAL 14 15 -1
DEN 13 11 +2
DET 13 14 -1
GSW 16 15 +1
HOU 13 11 +2
IND 14 14 0
LAC 12 9 +3
LAL 11 15 -4
MEM 14 14 0
MIA 5 14 -9
MIL 15 13 +2
MIN 14 13 +1
NJN 10 12 -2
NOR 14 10 +4
NYK 11 9 +2
OKC 8 13 -5
ORL 14 12 +2
PHI 11 10 +1
PHO 12 16 -4
POR 12 12 0
SAC 9 10 -1
SAS 14 12 +2
TOR 11 12 -1
UTH 16 15 +1
WAS 17 14 +3
W/L record Winning % Avg SUm ATS Rec Avg ATSm Avg Line
Overall 3596-2410 59.9% (+3.2) 3050-2844-112 (+0.5) -2.8
Home 3005-1677 64.2% (+4.6) 2355-2235-92 (+0.3) -4.2
Away 591-733 44.6% (-1.5) 695-609-20 (+0.9) +2.4