Cheri Mah, sleep consultant to NBA teams and a research fellow at the UC San Francisco Human Performance Center, helped construct the formula. Last season, using a similar formula, her system correctly picked losers with up to 78 percent accuracy. Those predictions were blind to the quality of the teams -- showing how strong the impact of back-to-back games is. "The reality is, if I could craft an NBA season," Mah says, "it would not have back-to-backs."
From Doc Rivers: "I contemplated keeping the team home, literally. We knew we were walking into getting our ass kicked, and that's what happened. What is it they say? If you have less than five hours of sleep for three days in a row, your reactions are that of a legally drunk driver? We've seen that with our own eyes."
1. 11/29: Hornets (Pistons): 8.5 Mah score
Leaving Memphis, the Hornets lose an hour flying home-and less than 24
hours later cap a four games-in-five-days stretch vs. the
rough-and-tumble Pistons.
2. 12/3: Lakers (Grizzlies): 8.5
A back-to-back for LA starting in Toronto means a late trip through
customs and no rest. Even tougher: This next game is the fourth in five
nights-all on the road.
3. 12/6: Bulls (vs. Pistons): 9.5
Chicago, in the closest thing to certain schedule defeat, loses an hour
in the air heading to Detroit -- plus the haul toward Auburn Hills,
Michigan -- after playing Portland at home, to cap a four-in-five run.
4. 12/11: Warriors (Timberwolves): 8.5
This is a genuine test for Golden State, its fourth road game in five
nights after playing in Memphis the night before. Plus: an early 6 p.m.
start vs. a young team.
5. 2/4: Denver (Spurs): 8.5
After facing Milwaukee at home, Denver loses an hour heading East, only
to cap a four-in-five against the Spurs, who have a one-day recovery
edge.
6. 3/11: Wizards (Trail Blazers): 8.5
Capping not just a four-in-five but a five-in-seven stretch, this road
game comes against a Blazers team that will have a one-day rest
advantage.
7. 3/15: Trail Blazers (Spurs): 8.5
For Portland, this marks the third road game of a five-game trip, the
fourth game in five nights, the fifth in seven ... and it's against the
Spurs. Ouch.
I will be watching this very, very closely.