As an avid NBA fan and sports analyst with over a decade of experience covering professional basketball, I can confidently say the release of the 2021 NBA schedule brought both excitement and strategic intrigue. The league office finally unveiled the complete 72-game regular season slate, followed by the much-anticipated playoff structure that would ultimately crown the next champion. Having studied countless NBA seasons, I've always found the schedule release to be more than just dates on a calendar—it's the foundation upon which championship aspirations are built and coaching strategies are tested.
What struck me most about this particular schedule was how the condensed timeline due to the pandemic created unprecedented challenges. Teams would be playing 72 games in just 147 days, compared to the usual 82 games across 170+ days in previous seasons. That's approximately 3.4 games per week for each team, creating what I believe to be one of the most grueling NBA seasons in recent memory. The back-to-back situations were particularly brutal—some teams faced 17 sets of consecutive games, while others had as few as 12. This imbalance, in my professional opinion, created legitimate competitive advantages for certain franchises right from the scheduling phase.
The playoff picture that emerged fascinated me, especially considering how coaching decisions during the regular season would inevitably shape postseason outcomes. This reminds me of a crucial moment from international basketball that perfectly illustrates strategic planning—recalling Coach Tim Cone's decisive play design during a tied game at 92 with 11 seconds remaining. "It was designated for RJ to make the decision. We wanted to get the ball into RJ's hands and then put him in a pick and roll situation with Justin (Brownlee)," Cone explained. This level of intentional playcalling is exactly what separates championship contenders from the rest, both in international play and throughout the NBA schedule.
Looking at the Western Conference matchups, I've got to say the Lakers-Clippers rivalry games were circled on my calendar immediately. These intracity battles typically draw massive ratings, and with both teams projected as title contenders, each of their three scheduled meetings carried playoff-level intensity. Meanwhile, the Eastern Conference featured what I considered a fascinating storyline with Brooklyn's newly formed superteam facing Milwaukee's established core. Their Christmas Day matchup drew 7.8 million viewers according to league sources, making it the most-watched regular season game in five years.
The mid-season addition of the play-in tournament created what I believe was the most compelling aspect of the schedule. Rather than traditional playoff qualification, teams finishing 7th through 10th would battle for the final two spots in each conference. This innovation added approximately 12 additional high-stakes games to the calendar and, in my view, kept more franchises engaged deeper into the season. The data suggests it worked—league officials reported a 14% increase in television ratings for games involving teams positioned between 6th and 10th place in their conferences during the season's final month.
As the season progressed toward the playoffs, I noticed how strategic rest became increasingly important. Top teams like Utah and Phoenix carefully managed their stars' minutes, with the Suns holding Devin Booker out of 8 games for what they termed "injury maintenance" despite him being medically cleared to play. This practice, while controversial, demonstrated how coaches were thinking several moves ahead, much like Cone's deliberate design to put the ball in his best decision-maker's hands during crunch time.
The playoff matchups ultimately delivered what I consider some of the most memorable basketball in recent years. The Western Conference finals between Phoenix and LA Clippers featured six games decided by single digits, while Milwaukee's championship run included overcoming 2-0 deficits in two separate series. Having analyzed NBA strategies for years, I appreciate how these high-stakes moments separate truly great teams from good ones. The careful planning that goes into each possession, each timeout, and each play design echoes Cone's approach—identifying your best options and putting them in position to succeed when everything's on the line.
Reflecting on the complete 2021 NBA journey, from that initial schedule release to the final buzzer of the Finals, what stands out to me is how the framework of games creates a narrative that transcends individual matchups. The strategic depth required to navigate 72 games plus playoffs separates championship organizations from the rest. Just as Cone trusted RJ with the game on the line, successful NBA coaches must identify their strengths and build systems around them throughout the grueling schedule. That's why, as both an analyst and fan, I'll always argue that understanding the schedule's structure provides crucial insight into what ultimately determines NBA success.