The 2020-2021 NBA schedule has been insane, to say the least. While it may have benefited basketball fans to watch a ton of daily, it clearly doesn’t suit well for any player right now. One veteran assistant coach in the league told ESPN’S Bextern Holmes that the NBA schedule has been the worst he’s ever seen. It makes sense, each team was required to play 72 games in less than five months. That’s not only brutal for the players but also really dangerous in terms of injuries. 

It also doesn’t help that there have been a ton of suspensions due to COVID protocols. Teams like the Memphis Grizzlies, for example, are now scheduled to play 22 sets of three games in four nights—the most in the league. To put in a simpler perspective, look at the upcoming schedule of the Miami Heat who are set to play 7 more games in 11 days. The norm for the players in the league is to play every other day which just causes fatigue and lack of practice time together. 

It has also led to several superstars sitting out a chunk of their games this season. Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis for example, has missed more than 20 games this season after suffering a calf injury in February. Other NBA All-Stars who haven’t played a ton of games lately due to injury are Kevin Durant, LeBron James, James Harden amongst others

The ACL injury of Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray was the last straw to conclude that this season’s schedule has indeed been brutal. This has drastically affected specific teams more than others and here are those teams that have been hurt with this condensed schedule the most: 

Los Angeles Lakers

Sure, they’re the defending champions but this tight schedule doesn’t help them at all. This NBA schedule has affected their superstars the most as James and Davis continue to be sidelined. The Lakers only had 71 days to rest and recover in the off-season, which is a far cry from the typical. They’ve been far from healthy all season as several role players have been in and out of the rotation every other game. It’s going to be interesting to see if the injuries on both Davis and James helps them make up for the lack of off-season time. 

Miami Heat

Like the Lakers, the Miami Heat also barely had an offseason. They only had approximately 72 days of rest and that showed mostly at the start of the season. Jimmy Butler suffered an ankle injury early in the season and several role players like Tyler Herro, Goron Dragic, and now Victor Oladipo have been on and off the rotation. The Heat have also been one of the teams that were hit by COVID protocols the most especially early in the season and because of this, they have no choice but to play a tighter schedule in the second half of the season. 

Article Continues Below
Related News
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick reacts to his team losing the lead to the Minnesota Timberwolves late in the fourth quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Lakers’ JJ Redick link up with Les Snead at Rams campMiguel La Torre ·
image thumbnail
Sources: Lakers split on trading core playersAnthony Irwin ·
Lakers' Rob Pelinka with a Lakers logo in the middle Mavs Center Daniel Gafford on one side, Nets center Nic Claxton on the other. Question marks around them.
Sources: ‘Extremely active’ Lakers looking to add multiple bigs on trade marketAnthony Irwin ·
Cleveland Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal (33) being defended by Chicago Bulls center Brad Miller (52) during the second quarter in game four of the first round of the 2010 NBA playoffs at the United Center.
Former Laker Shaq, Brad Miller recreate brawl photo 23 years laterZachary Howell ·
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) talks with his coach during a stoppage in play against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second quarter during game four of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center.
Lakers rumors: LeBron James’ ‘likely’ $52.6 million contract decisionPreston Byers ·
Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves (15) reacts in the first half against the San Antonio Spurs at the Crypto.com Arena.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves’ agent fires shot at fans’ trade proposalsJoey Mistretta ·

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets started the NBA season quite slow and it looked like because of the shortened off-season they got as well. Murray’s injury is just downright devastating especially since he was one of the players who played the most in the bubble. The Nuggets had to play a seven games series twice in last year’s postseason and eventually faced the Lakers who they lost to in seven games. There wasn’t much time to recover but fortunately, a ton of their players are young. Murray’s ACL injury might have been the result of such a tight schedule plus a pretty short offseason. 

Toronto Raptors

It makes sense to say that the Boston Celtics are probably the next team to suffer from the tight schedule the most due to limited off-season time as well. However, the Toronto Raptors have to deal with it worse. Not only did they end their title defense run in a seven-game series last season but they also had to transfer temporarily to Tampa Bay—where they currently are residing in hotels. It’s unfortunate for the Raptors to not be able to see their families, and be comfortable at their own homes and just play in a city they’re not familiar with at all. The tight NBA schedule has caused them all of this and has just been brutal to many teams like the Raptors this season.