Carmelo Anthony called having fewer back-to-backs “the dream.”
The NBA fulfilled that dream, significantly reducing the number of back-to-backs in the 2015-16 schedule.
In fact, the league did Melo’s Knicks one better.
New York plays just 17 back-to-backs, tied for seventh-fewest in the NBA,. More significantly, the Knicks opponents are on a back-to-back a league-high 25 times.
That gives the Knicks an NBA-best +8 difference in back-to-backs.
On the other side, like the Knicks, the Raptors play 17 back-to-backs. But Toronto’s opponents are on back-to-backs just 10 times, giving the Raptors a league-worst -8 difference.
Here’s how every team stacks up, using data from NBAstuffer.com:
| Team | Back-to-backs | Opponent back-to-backs | Back-to-backs difference |
| New York | 17 | 25 | +8 |
| Brooklyn | 15 | 21 | +6 |
| Phoenix | 14 | 19 | +5 |
| Oklahoma City | 16 | 21 | +5 |
| Indiana | 17 | 22 | +5 |
| Dallas | 17 | 20 | +3 |
| New Orleans | 17 | 20 | +3 |
| Portland | 19 | 22 | +3 |
| San Antonio | 17 | 19 | +2 |
| Chicago | 17 | 18 | +1 |
| Utah | 18 | 19 | +1 |
| Atlanta | 19 | 20 | +1 |
| Orlando | 19 | 20 | +1 |
| Washington | 19 | 20 | +1 |
| Denver | 16 | 16 | 0 |
| Detroit | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Houston | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Milwaukee | 20 | 20 | 0 |
| Charlotte | 16 | 15 | -1 |
| LA Lakers | 18 | 17 | -1 |
| LA Clippers | 20 | 19 | -1 |
| Minnesota | 14 | 12 | -2 |
| Boston | 19 | 16 | -3 |
| Miami | 17 | 13 | -4 |
| Sacramento | 19 | 15 | -4 |
| Cleveland | 19 | 14 | -5 |
| Golden State | 20 | 15 | -5 |
| Memphis | 18 | 12 | -6 |
| Philadelphia | 19 | 13 | -6 |
| Toronto | 17 | 10 | -7 |
Kudos to the NBA for reducing the number of back-to-backs. It’s important for preventing injuries and improving the level of play.
But the next step is equity.
The Knicks and Raptors play in the same division. They shouldn’t face such radically different schedules.