The 2015-16 NBA schedule was officially released on Wednesday, and most people are exceptionally pleased with it. The league cut down on the number of back-to-back games and slashed the number of four-games-in-five-nights sets by more than half. The amount miles traveled by teams was also reduced. But this wasn’t good enough for Andre Drummond, however. The Pistons center took to Twitter shortly after the schedule’s release to express his disapproval of Detroit’s still-excessive back-to-backs and goose egg in the nationally televised games column.
20 back to back games ….. No national televised games….. Cool
— Andre Drummond (@AndreDrummondd) August 12, 2015
Drummond has a point in his irritation. 20 back-to-back sets for the Pistons is tied for the most in the league. Meanwhile, the team is one of only three (along with the Denver Nuggets and the Philadelphia 76ers) without a single appearance scheduled on national television for next season. Conversely, many other NBA teams have north of 20 nationally televised games slated for the 2015-16 campaign.
Breakdown of the national (ESPN, ABC, TNT) TV schedule:
Warriors, Cavs 25 games each
Clippers, Thunder 24 each
Bulls 23
Spurs 21
Lakers 19
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) August 12, 2015
On the bright side though, the schedule does come with at least some perks for the Motor City. The Pistons are also without a single occurrence of four games in five nights. Additionally, as NBA Savant points out, they only have to travel approximately 35,923 miles next season. That’s the third fewest in the league and nearly 20,000 fewer than the defending champion Warriors, who lead the league with 53,575 miles scheduled to be traversed.
Whatever the case may be, it looks like Drummond’s putback jams and best impressions of Moses Malone on the offensive glass will remain simple pleasures reserved exclusively for NBA League Pass junkies.
Whether it’s disrespect from team equipment managers, famous celebrities he’s dating, or the league office, it’s clear Drummond needs to start commanding some respect.
