Orlando Magic rookie Cole Anthony, like most players, has played NBA 2K quite extensively over the years. The series is among the most popular video games on the market and is known for its realistic graphics and gameplay.
However, one storyline may have become a bit too accurate recently: The schedule format.
The NBA this season revamped the schedule format a bit, in order to cut down on travel time amidst the coronavirus pandemic. Teams now will often spend several days in cities and face the same team on consecutive nights, such as the case with the Magic.
Orlando will host the Chicago Bulls on Friday and Saturday night from the Amway Center, and it is the fourth such occurrence of the season at home or on the road for the Magic.
Anthony thought such scheduling quirks happened only on NBA 2K but can confirm that it happens in the league, and it is very real.
“I don’t know if it’s just a ‘This year’ thing, but I didn’t know that the NBA does these [types of] back-to-backs,” Anthony said on Friday. “I really thought that was just a 2K thing. I remember in ‘My Player’ they used to have these back-to-back games. I’m like, ‘There is no way the NBA does this.’ After getting to the league and realizing that it’s very real, it’s different. In college and high school, you never really played the same team back-to-back so this is definitely a change of pace.”
Despite the unusual schedule, the Magic have gone 5-1 this season in back-to-back games versus the same team in the same city.
They previously won two games on the road versus the Washington Wizards in December, and both against the Cleveland Cavaliers in January at home, while they split a pair of games nearly two weeks ago at home against the Charlotte Hornets.
While the scheduling format was changed a bit for this season, given the circumstances, some elements of it could be permanently instituted moving forward in an effort to eliminate unnecessary travel.
That could mean more sets of back-to-back games in the same city, but, after going through them this season, Anthony will be prepared for it should it become a permanent change.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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