As we charge headfirst into the NBA playoffs late next month, one thing seems abundantly clear about the 2023-2024 regular season: Back-to-back scheduled games are an abomination, partly forcing some teams to start coasting in March, and the league needs to address them. We should ask the Los Angeles Clippers for their perspective.

Just one day after playing and defeating the Chicago Bulls in a Saturday afternoon game, the NBA gave the Clippers a back-to-back afternoon game against the Milwaukee Bucks on the same day of 2024 spring daylight savings time. That’s right. The league scheduled what was supposed to be a marquee matchup between two potential championship contenders, with one team already completely out of its circadian rhythm on arguably one of the sleepiest days of the calendar year. It should be no surprise that the Clippers rested Kawhi Leonard and Paul George simultaneously for the first time all season in a likely reaction to this scheduling.

What a tremendous disservice to anyone who loyally follows the NBA.

Seriously, whose “brilliant” idea was this?

I understand the inclination to criticize multi-millionaire athletes for having trouble with playing a game to make their living. It is likely quite hard to relate to that as a problem when you’re an average fan who potentially just wants the best possible viewing experience to serve as temporary and exciting escapism from your everyday life.

But NBA players are still human beings who get tired just like anyone else. The idea that they can give their best possible energetic effort against some of the other finest athletes on the planet without being exhausted 82 times in roughly six months’ time is just not realistic. The game has evolved, and so has how we view and evaluate it. Plus, imagine playing 40-plus minutes in one night, putting your joints and bones through the wringer while jumping up and down the court, and then being asked to do the same the following day. I would be shocked if there wasn’t any kind of letdown. That sort of punishment on one’s body adds up.

The clear solution here would be to shorten the NBA’s regular season. It consists of way too many games. Shortening it to 65-70 games, eliminating the need for needless back-to-backs, and beginning around Christmas — with the holiday serving as an unofficial opening cornucopia to the season for more casual fans — should be a simple answer. The overall quality of the NBA’s game would likely improve, too, with players being fresher and more lively in general. (Note: In case you ever wondered why some players coast throughout the year, this is a prime example.)

But then that would require both the league and players to give up significant amounts of television and advertising revenue they’ve become accustomed to. Therein lies another problem because they’re just not going to do that. It will never happen.

But it’s apparent that the NBA’s current schedule setup is not sustainable long-term for anyone. If the league doesn’t meaningfully address this, it will probably only snowball and get worse.