Charlotte Hornets Advanced Schedule Analysis

Easiest & Hardest part of the schedule? Rest advantage or disadvantage? Strength of Schedule?

The 2023-24 regular season schedule is now LIVE. By now you have probably seen the headlines such as Miles Bridges returning on November 17th against the Milwaukee Bucks and Charlotte's sole National TV game in January against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. However, let's dive into some of the advanced details to analyse where Charlotte rank league wide in terms of the difficulty of their schedule.

Which are the hardest and easiest parts of the season?

Charlotte's schedule broken down with the average opponent over/under in 10 game blocks

The first 10 games where the team will be missing the services of Miles Bridges project to be their easiest. With an opponent over/under average of just 36.4 Charlotte have a good chance to be above .500 without Bridges in the lineup. The 20-30 game mark includes Charlotte's six game road trip out West over the holiday period where they will play LAL/LAC/PHX/DEN/SAC while finishing in Chicago. Being on the road combined with playing the toughest teams in the league means the Grinch might be making an appearance for Hornets fans this Christmas. Thankfully, the schedule eases up in January before a difficult final 10 games of the season against a string of strong playoff contenders, let's hope by then they have seeding wrapped up and the Hornets catch a lucky break.

How does Charlotte's strength of schedule compare to the rest of the league?

Charlotte rank in having the 13th easiest schedule be opponent projected over/unders. This is partly due to the Eastern Conference being projected weaker than the West and also due to being located in the South East division which has two non projected playoff teams in Washington (24.5) and Orlando (36.5). Neither Atlanta (42.5) or Miami's (48.5) over/under is projected over 50 wins, making it one of the weakest divisions in the NBA.

How many back to backs?

Charlotte have a joint high 15 back to backs this season, that's significantly up from 12 last year. However, there is less variation among teams in the league this season with no team having less than 13, overall it looks to be a relatively fair distribution.

What does Charlotte's rest advantage/disadvantage look like over the season?

Charlotte fall into the middle in both rest advantage and disadvantage, there's not much else to say.

How far do Charlotte have to travel?

Charlotte travel the 7th least miles of all teams in the NBA thanks to their relatively central location in the Eastern Conference. It wouldn't surprise me if the NBA scheduled Charlotte and other Eastern Conference teams more back to backs due to the travel advantage they have over the Western Conference. 

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