Rescheduled game hurts Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves to Utah Jazz advantage

The Portland Trail Blazers were supposed to play the Minnesota Timberwolves this past week (March 6th), but were unable to. The NBA just rescheduled their game for them, and man, it doesn’t make their finishing schedules any easier.

NEW YORK --The National Basketball Association announced today that the March 6 game between the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves, which was postponed due to unsafe playing conditions on the arena floor, has been rescheduled for Monday, April 3 at 6 p.m. CT/7 p.m. ET at Target Center.

The NBA, March 9th, 2017

It does, by the way, really help out the Utah Jazz. BEHOLD:

AllThatAmar

That’s the original schedule for these three teams. Portland doesn’t have any back-to-backs or three games in four nights to deal with during their #PlayoffPush. Minnesota was already schedule for a blood bath where there are two back to backs (purple underline) and two other games that would be the third game in four nights (blood red). And the combination of the two made it so that there was a five game in seven nights to finish the season off. In comparison Utah is in-between the two: one back to back set, one game that’s the third in four. This is what the season was supposed to be for these three teams. And in a Jazz POV the Jazz play these two teams three times in total. Utah would play a rested Portland team (2 nights off), then a Minnesota team on the second night of a back to back, and already on the third game in four nights, and then a Portland team that’s rest (one night off).

Not horrible, not great.

But if you add the make-up re-scheduled game things get . . . a little crazy: BEHOLD (Part Two):

AllThatAmar

Nothing is changed for Utah except how tired the teams they will now face. Portland goes from having ZERO back to backs and ZERO three games in four nights to having that game smack dab into making them tired. Of course, they are still playing vs PHX, @ MIN, @ UTA, and vs MIN during a four nights in six games stretch, but it’s with a back to back set that creates two three games in four nights situations. If they are tired, or hurt, or relying on just two guys to play heavy minutes every night, this could be a problem for them. And let’s remember, this was a problem that did not previously exist. Their finish schedule was originally slated for at least one night off between each game going forward. That’s no longer Portland’s reality.

The real losers here are the Minnesota Timberwolves. They had a tough finish, but now it’s a blood bath. Two back to back sets are now three. Three 3 in 4 games are now five. Zero 4 in 5 are now one. And one 5 in 7 now becomes three.

That is really awful if they were going for a playoff spot. Of course, if you look at the standings today they are 2.5 games out of 8th place. So . . this is unfair and forces their hand for them.

For the Utah Jazz, hooray! Against MIN they are 2-1, and need this win really badly. Against POR they are 1-1, with two games left any help is much appreciated.