It is often said that when the calendar comes out every yearEvery team is angry about something.
They may not enjoy a series of games with little or no practice time. Or they may not enjoy a series of away games with few home games to separate them. There is always something that irks teams.
And often, those fears are eventually alleviated. Everyone gets 41 home games and 41 away games in one way or another (even if some regular-season games are now played in Las Vegas for the NBA Cup semifinals).
Every year, the calendar has its tough times and its easier times. And there are always unexpected things: which teams exceed expectations, which teams don’t, and when do injuries occur?
The Magic have their share of tough times. They will start with 16 of their first 25 games away from home and 11 of their last 19 away from home. That will make it difficult to get off to a good start, just as it could be difficult for the team to finish strongly.
Each schedule has its own quirks that make it unique to each team. It’s not just a matter of playing every team virtually the same way your opponents do. There are built-in advantages to teams coming on the second night of back-to-backs or at the end of long road trips. There are even differences in the number of back-to-backs teams get to play. Some teams get to play four times and others get to play three.
This is where it gets hard to understand the Magic’s schedule. Every team will have a part of the schedule they don’t like.
But the Magic’s schedule is both one of the toughest and easiest in the league.
Eh?
Orlando has a case for crying foul and gloating over the way its schedule is structured. It says a lot about balance in life. And the balance that goes into putting together an 82-game schedule.
How is this possible? This is an argument that deserves to be analyzed from both sides.
