Cavaliers winning despite the NBA setting them up to fail

The Cleveland Cavaliers are fighting against the league to start the season.

Through games played Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers have played 17 games. That's the most in the league, and significantly more than many other teams. The Boston Celtics, by comparison, have played just 15, and a handful of teams have played as few as 13 - including the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets.

In playing so many games, the Cavaliers' schedule has been compressed, with a number of back-to-backs already this season and plenty of cumulative fatigue. How much of a part that played in minor injuries to players like Dean Wade, Caris LeVert and Isaac Okoro is unclear, but Donovan Mitchell was clearly tired before getting a rest day off in Charlotte on Sunday, and Darius Garland was laboring in the loss to the Celtics.

Speaking of that loss to the Celtics, Boston had two days off before playing the game against the Cavaliers; before the previous game they also had two days off. Cleveland, by contrast, has not had two days off between games all season.

That is changing as soon as right now; the Cavaliers have a "bye" built into the schedule this week, with three days off before a Sunday game vs the Toronto Raptors. They won't play another back-to-back until December 7th and 8th. This is something nearly every team has to deal with; they all have periods where they play a lot of games in a short window, then the gas pedal eases off a bit.

Yet looking at the schedule as a whole, the Cavaliers are put at a disadvantage more often than most. For the entire season, they have the rest advantage just seven times; only two teams in the league have it worse. The NBA schedule normally ebbs and flows, but for the Cavs, it mostly just ebbs.

That makes their start to the season all the more impressive. Playing a roughly even number of home and away games (9 home games, 8 away) they are 16-1, a dominant start and by far the best in the league. They have the league's number one offense and the best point differential. Their only loss this year was by three on the road to the defending champions.

The idea is that NBA teams all play a relatively similar schedule, with relatively similar opponents spread out in a relatively similar way. The reality is that each team is facing unique challenges and receiving unique benefits, and some seasons those skew one way or the other for various teams.

The Cavaliers' start to the season certainly skewed more difficult. They caught a few breaks related to injury, but endured a few injuries of their own. They largely played teams with an overall rest disadvantage, and the cumulative wear on their bodies and energy levels is stark.

The Cavaliers have found a way to fight their way through a grueling early season slate, playing more games than anyone else in the league. Yet in the end, they are 16-1, one of the best starts in NBA history and a major stepping stone to a dominant season. And they did it all despite the most hectic and exhausting schedule in the entire league.