The NBA playoffs begin on Saturday, starting months of high-level basketball between the league’s best. Prior to the postseason, the NBA released it’s full first round schedule, all the way through potential games sevens.
While the league has been trying to give teams opportunities to rest and recover in between games, one series isn’t getting much of that. The Suns-Clippers series is the only first round series that won’t include two straight days off between any of its first four games. In total, Phoenix and Los Angeles will only have two straight days off once the entire series, one of two series where that is the case.
The LA Clippers-Phoenix Suns series is the only one of the 8 playoff series that will not have a two-day break in between Games 1-4.
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) April 12, 2023
The other 7 will get a two-day break in the first 4 games. pic.twitter.com/AEb9dVQe3i
Paul George seems to believe that the league has been messing with Los Angeles for a while. The Clippers forward explained on his podcast, Podcast P with Paul George, that he thinks Los Angeles has dealt with a difficult schedule for a few years.
“It’s bulls---. The league’s been f—--- us up for a while,” George said. “It’s tough for us in I want to say the past couple years where we’ve just had a tough schedule playing the most games going into the All-Star break. We’ve just had years of tough schedules.”
The lack of rest days is important for the Clippers specifically because George is still recovering from a leg injury he suffered last month. According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, George is not expected to play in the first round series vs. Phoenix.
However, George did leave open the possibility of returning, which is why the tough schedule could come into play.
“With all of it, I think if we just look at it like let’s just f—--- take care of business, we’ll get the most rest out of this,” he said. “Hopefully see where I’m at, maybe I’m good?”
