The Cleveland Cavaliers won the scheduling lottery and will be traveling the fewest miles of any team.
The NBA released the full 2019-20 regular season schedule on Monday afternoon. Based on the schedule, the Cavs will only have to travel about 35,000 miles total — a whopping 15,000 miles less than the Utah Jazz:
https://twitter.com/EdKupfer/status/1160997241575956480
The NBA has made an effort over the past years to lessen the burden of the long regular season. Back-to-back games have been reduced already, and the dreaded three-game stretch in four days is rarer than ever.
Ironically, of all the NBA teams, the Cavs are probably one of the teams that need it the least. They are the seventh youngest team in the league, with their average roster age coming out at 24.6.
Regardless of youth, the youngsters in Cleveland will certainly take the scheduling break. The low traveling distance will allow the team to get more rest, spend more nights in their own homes and make their players overall more comfortable.
Fans will have to wait until the season starts to see if the extra rest accelerates the growth of the Cavs’ possible cornerstones like Collin Sexton and rookie Darius Garland. Hopefully, the youth movement in Cleveland uses the extra time to focus on growing their game and taking the next step in their careers.