Raptors aren't the biggest fans of new NBA schedule quirk

The Toronto Raptors have found a way to beat six of their eight opponents they’ve faced off against this year.

But unfortunately for Toronto and the way the NBA schedule has shaken out, they’re just 6-5 after picking up a split in three of the two-game back-to-back mini-series they’ve had so far against Miami, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

The Raptors played the Heat twice in Miami two days apart, the 76ers in Toronto two days apart, and the Bulls in both cities with no days of rest in between games. In every case, Toronto has picked up both a win and a loss.

“I did this a lot when I was coaching in the minor leagues and the split happens so much,” Raptors coach Nick Nurse said. “It’s amazing, right? So far it’s happened I think in… all three of them. I think we got five more of these so yeah, maybe we’ll have a chance to figure one out here before [the end of the season] but just didn’t quite have enough juice [tonight].”

The NBA didn’t offer an official reason for the increase in back-to-backs, but it’s likely to help reduce travel and injuries while prioritizing player safety.

“The NBA is full of changes and you just got to be able to adapt and adjust,” veteran guard Fred VanVleet said. “This is something new since I’ve been in the league. So we’ll see as, you know, you don’t want to split them, but it seems that’s the way it’s been going for us so far. It’s tough to, you know, play the same team 24 hours in between so… we got to find a way to try to, you know, win both.”

Toronto’s next two-game set is on December 9 and 11, with both games in Orlando against the Magic.

“We’ll just see the rest of the league balances stuff out. I think, all our records throughout the league and the standings are kinda, you know, spread out. So we’ll see at the end of the year, how it stacks up, but, you know, tough one for us tonight,” VanVleet added.

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