Those divergent courses invariably affect the early standings and thus the perceptions of certain teams-especially these days, when COVID-19 postponements and player absences can wreak havoc on lineups night to night. Some slates start easy and skew harder at the finish others pose a challenge right away before easing down the stretch. But that doesn’t mean they all chart the same course to that end point. As a result, every team should end the season with a roughly similar strength of schedule. With a deeper and more competitive Eastern Conference, there is finally relative balance between the two conferences and thus in the league as a whole.
