The NBA regular season can be draining for players. They have to play 82 games in a little over five months, including back-to-backs and occasionally playing three games in five days. The New York Knicks are going through a particularly taxing phase in the season, as the team is on a 13-day road trip. Knicks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. spoke out about the unfortunate scheduling and didn't pull any punches when calling out the NBA, saying:

“They need to do something about that scheduling, especially next season if someone is going to go out there to London. It's pathetic. Two weeks on the road, then you come back for three days. Then we go to London for three days. That's not the way to do it. We're still trying to catch up on sleep. I haven't gotten any good sleep since we've been back. But I'm not going to make an excuse of it. I'm just going to continue to fight, keep playing and keep moving forward.”

The Knicks went 1-5 on their west coast trip, with their sole win coming against an injury-depleted Los Angles Lakers squad. Two of their most recent losses have been particularly heartbreaking, losing by one point to the Washington Wizards in London and by three to the Philadelphia 76ers.

The team has been awful all season, posting a record of 10-35 and being a contender for the worst record in the league. Their star player, Kristaps Porzingis, has not seen the court this season while he has rehabbed from a knee injury.

Hardaway is right that the NBA should have scheduled the teams long trip and the London game farther apart, considering how draining an overseas flight can be. Hopefully, the league will take note and place next year's overseas game in Mexico in a more ideal spot for the teams participating.