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Once the NBA season begins, it’s a grind. Players have to deal with traveling, training, back to back games, and sometimes four games in five nights. In many cases it's important to know how to take care of their bodies, get proper rest, and eat properly so that they can stand the rigors of an NBA season.
That doesn’t even include the post season, which usually has a day or two days off between games, and the travel is only between two teams instead of multiple.
Playoff games are more rigorous than regular season games most of the time, and by the time the season has gone on this long, players are usually banged up, playing with knick-knack injuries and some later even require surgery.
Some teams have harder schedules than other teams depending on certain factors such as who and when they play certain teams, at which time of the year, and how many of the top teams they play more often. That’s referred to as strength of schedule.
Looking at the last two remaining teams, the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the travel time usage between the two is shocking.
There were talks of some of the Warriors' players being injured such as Andre Igoudala (back spasms) and MVP Stephen Curry, and maybe there was some truth to some of the things they wanted to keep under wraps.
The Warriors seemed more flat and exhausted than the well rested Cavaliers, who blew through the Eastern Conference and played fewer games.
According to the NBA Savant map, the Warriors were the most traveled team in the NBA at 53,573 miles for the season, and the Cavs were dead last at 35,055 miles. If you include the post season, the Warriors traveled a total of 73,000 miles, while the Cavs traveled just under 48,000.
How much of an impact this had on the NBA Finals cannot be determined, but we surely didn't see the same Warriors team that we saw during the season that won 73 games. That number is significant during a long grinding season, and players are always looking forward to vacation, win or lose.
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