NBA may shrink preseason, move up season?

Would starting the season early alleviate schedule problems? (USATSI)

The concept of the NBA schedule, back-to-back sets, and the grind for the players that has possibly led to more and more injuries to stars over the last few years has left plenty of people wondering if there is a better way. We've had talk of shortening the schedule by eliminating games from it, but that would also potentially lead to a loss of revenue for the owners and a loss of salary to the players, which would be non-starters in such a discussion. But what if there's another way to lessen the amount of back-to-backs and stretch the season with the same number of games?

On Grantland, Zach Lowe is reporting the NBA is considering eliminating half the preseason games and start the season a week and a half earlier in order to stretch out the existing schedule. You could cut down on back-to-back sets of games and hopefully balance the schedule better for all teams and players involved.

The NBA over the last two weeks has informally surveyed team higher-ups about the idea of cutting the preseason schedule by as much as half, according to several sources around the league.

The goal is to start the regular season earlier and stretch the full 82-game schedule over about 10 additional days, sources say. That would allow the league to slice off a couple of back-to-backs from each team's schedule, and in the process limit some of the rest imbalance that is inevitable in juggling hundreds of games across 29 arenas.

Matt Moore and I discussed this idea randomly on the Eye on Basketball Podcast on Wednesday and think it would really help the schedule. While travel accommodations are the best available for NBA teams, the process of traveling does have a real effect on how exhausted the players become with the current schedule. Rest is the key to helping the bodies recover and help prevent injuries, and eliminating as many sets of back-to-back games as possible would certainly help players rest.

Preseason games are rarely well-attended and pretty much never sell out, so you wouldn't be eliminating too much revenue for owners by getting rid of three or four games. The NBA has already extended the All-Star break from being just a weekend in the past to being a full week of rest leading up to the trade deadline. They recognize the importance of rest and while maximizing their revenue, they're still trying to find a solution to take care of the players on the court.

Basketball Hot News

LeBron James out for Cavs-Thunder game with sore knee

If you were looking forward to seeing the last two NBA MVPs square off in the first game of tonight’s TNT doubleheader, you’re out of luck. Cleveland Cavaliers coach David Blatt says LeBron James is out for the game in Oklahoma City with a sore knee.

David Blatt says LeBron will not play vs OKC. Soreness in the back of his knee. Is day to day. No decision on Friday vs NOP

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 11, 2014

David Blatt on LeBron: “Well, he’s not the easiest guy to replace.” Not sure about status for Friday in New Orleans. Dellavedova starts.

— Ethan J. Skolnick (@EthanJSkolnick) December 11, 2014

Blatt says Cavs do NOT believe LeBron knee issue to be serious but decide to hold him out because “we’re being cautious” as an organization

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) December 11, 2014

This is disappointing news. Now that Kevin Durant is back from his foot injury, his matchup with LeBron was one of the most exciting on the upcoming NBA schedule. But it looks like we’ll have to wait until January 25 for them to play again.

Matthew Dellavedova will start in the backcourt alongside Kyrie Irving, with Shawn Marion moving from shooting guard to small forward.