I have been thinking about why three intra-division games bothers me. Some things that came to mind:
I don't think I want to play almost half my games against the same three opponents. Now that's not unheard of. The 2013 MLB schedule has its teams playing an even higher percent of its games against divisional opponents although it does have more opponents (4 instead of our 3). The NFL is in the middle, followed by the NHL and NBA. Here are the numbers:
MLB - 76 of 162 games (47%)
NFL - 6 of 16 games (37.5%)
NHL - 24 of 82 games (29%)
NBA - 16 of 82 games (19.5%)
I believe the MLB numbers to be distorted by the fact that interleague play has only been around for 15 years with only 20 games dedicated to the opposing league. Whatever.
Here are the RBL numbers for 2 & 3 divisional games respectively (assuming 21 week schedule):
6 of 21 games (28.5%)
9 of 21 games (43%)
Truth is, those comparisons don't really amount to much without context. An important question is how divisional play affects a teams chances of earning a playoff berth. Does it create inequities (i.e. leave out good teams & let bad teams in)? I don't have any analysis or data to back this up but here's a possibility that comes to mind: A good team is in a division with a really good team, say the best in the league. We seem to have a run-away team every two or three years. If the good team now has to play the really good team three times during the season, the overloaded schedule can be a killer for grabbing a wild card. Playing the best team in the league for 14% of your games seems... well, cruel.
More numbers. Percent of games played against one opponent:
NFL - 2 of 16 games (12.5%)
MLB - 19 of 162 games (11.7%)
NHL - 6 of 82 games (7.3%)
NBA - 4 of 82 games (4.9%)
RBL numbers:
2 of 21 games (9.5%)
3 of 21 games (14.3%)
Am I going through all these numbers just to confirm my own bias? Maybe and it seems to be working.
I don't think I want to play almost half my games against the same three opponents. Now that's not unheard of. The 2013 MLB schedule has its teams playing an even higher percent of its games against divisional opponents although it does have more opponents (4 instead of our 3). The NFL is in the middle, followed by the NHL and NBA. Here are the numbers:
MLB - 76 of 162 games (47%)
NFL - 6 of 16 games (37.5%)
NHL - 24 of 82 games (29%)
NBA - 16 of 82 games (19.5%)
I believe the MLB numbers to be distorted by the fact that interleague play has only been around for 15 years with only 20 games dedicated to the opposing league. Whatever.
Here are the RBL numbers for 2 & 3 divisional games respectively (assuming 21 week schedule):
6 of 21 games (28.5%)
9 of 21 games (43%)
Truth is, those comparisons don't really amount to much without context. An important question is how divisional play affects a teams chances of earning a playoff berth. Does it create inequities (i.e. leave out good teams & let bad teams in)? I don't have any analysis or data to back this up but here's a possibility that comes to mind: A good team is in a division with a really good team, say the best in the league. We seem to have a run-away team every two or three years. If the good team now has to play the really good team three times during the season, the overloaded schedule can be a killer for grabbing a wild card. Playing the best team in the league for 14% of your games seems... well, cruel.
More numbers. Percent of games played against one opponent:
NFL - 2 of 16 games (12.5%)
MLB - 19 of 162 games (11.7%)
NHL - 6 of 82 games (7.3%)
NBA - 4 of 82 games (4.9%)
RBL numbers:
2 of 21 games (9.5%)
3 of 21 games (14.3%)
Am I going through all these numbers just to confirm my own bias? Maybe and it seems to be working.