In this unprecedented season, the Indiana Pacers are going to need every advantage they can get.
The NBA has released the first half of the 2020-21 season schedule. This season will be just 72 games instead of the traditional 82 game season. The main change is that the Indiana Pacers will only play other Eastern Conference teams three times instead of the usual four. If the schedule goes as planned, the Indiana Pacers will play 38 games from Dec. 23 to Mar. 4 before the NBA goes into what they are calling the second half of the season.
For safety and scheduling purposes, the 2020-21 season will be split into two halves so games can be rescheduled if necessary because of the ongoing pandemic. With 19 home games and 19 away games, here are some scheduling details you might have missed.
https://twitter.com/Pacers/status/1334953396563038212?s=20
The Pacers have an easy-ish schedule
At least based on the records of last season, 24 of the 38 games will be against teams that had a losing record last season. This fact helps take the bite out of a five-game West Coast road trip for the team in January. Of these five teams, only the Clippers had a winning record last season. Pacer fans should hope that this will improve the team’s confidence for future road games.
However, that doesn’t mean that the Pacers will be on easy street. New Head Coach Bjorkgren will be tested early with two games against the Boston Celtics in December. Another hurdle will be a back-to-back reunion of sorts for Coach Bjorkgren when the Pacers host the Toronto Raptors in January.