The Pelicans, who will play in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, have the league’s easiest schedule in December.

Through Thursday, the season is 22% complete, with teams having averaged a little more than 18 games played. So we’re almost at that point (20 games) where we have a pretty good idea of how good (or bad) most teams are.

That also means that we have a pretty good idea of how tough their schedule is. With that in mind (and with Friday being the start of a new month), here’s a look at every team’s strength of schedule for December.

Note 1: To calculate the strength of schedule for the eight teams in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, their second tournament game is imagined as a neutral-site game against an opponent that’s the average (in regard to record and where they rank offensively and defensively) of the two teams they could possibly play in the semifinals.

Note 2: A rest-advantage game (or rest-disadvantage game) is one where one team played the day/night before, but the other (the team with the advantage) did not. Teams are 43-26 (.623) in rest-advantage games thus far this season, 25-10 (.714) at home and 18-16 (.529) on the road.

Western Conference strength of schedule

Here’s a breakdown of the December schedule for every team in the West:

OppPCT = Cumulative opponent winning percentage (as of Nov. 30)
B2B = Back-to-backs (includes Thursday-Friday back-to-backs this week)
H | R = Home games | Road games (will change for the two teams that lose in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals)

• The Mavs are the only team with 16 December games. They’re one of two teams with four back-to-backs and one of four teams that don’t play an opponent who’s on the second game of a back-to-back. Their only stretch of five games in seven days this season is Dec. 22-28 and includes their Christmas Day game in Phoenix.

• The Nuggets are the other team with four back-to-backs this month. The first is Friday and Saturday when they visit the Suns (10 ET, ESPN) and Kings. Eight of their first 12 December games are on the road, where they’re just 4-6, with the league’s 20th-ranked road offense.

• The Warriors will be in Denver on Christmas Day. That’s one of six big December games against teams ahead of them in the Western Conference standings. Two of those are in L.A. against the Clippers, who they’ll visit on Saturday afternoon. They also have three games against the Blazers this month.

• The Rockets have played the fewest games in the league (16) and will start playing catchup when they have their only set of five games in seven days this season (Dec. 15-22). They’re also the only team that hasn’t had a rest-advantage game, with their first coming in the middle of that stretch (Dec. 17 in Milwaukee).

• The Clippers are tied (with Portland) for the most home-heavy December schedule. Nine of their 13 games (plus their first January game) are in L.A., with two against the Warriors.

• The Lakers rank just 23rd offensively and will have a relatively tough month in regard to opposing defenses. They’re one of three teams scheduled to play a league-high seven December games against teams that currently rank in the top 10 defensively, and they could have eight if they face the Pelicans in the In-Season Tournament next Thursday or in the West losers game next Friday. Two of the other seven are against the top-ranked Wolves in Minnesota.

• The Grizzlies are only 1-8 at home, with their first win coming against Utah on Wednesday. So maybe it’s a good thing that they have the West’s most road-heavy December schedule, with 10 of their 15 games on the road. That includes two games in New Orleans.

• The Wolves are the only team that’s played just one back-to-back to date, and they have just one more back-to-back this month. The second of that set isn’t a rest-disadvantage game, as their opponent (the Lakers on Dec. 21) will also be playing the second game of a back-to-back. But after they play their first three December games against the Hornets, Spurs and Grizzlies, the Wolves will play 16 straight games (a stretch that goes through Jan. 10) against teams currently at or above .500. That’s 15 against winning teams (including three against Dallas) and one (in Houston) against a .500 team.

• The Pelicans have the league’s easiest December schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage (.391). Even with two In-Season Tournament games next week against good teams, only five of their 14 games are against teams that currently have winning records. They wouldn’t have any games against teams that currently rank in the top 10 offensively unless they face the Suns in the Tournament semifinals next Thursday or in the Western Conference losers game next Friday.

• The Thunder are one of six teams with only one back-to-back this month, and it’s the last two games of their longest remaining homestand of the season (five games over 10 days). That homestand is the middle of a pretty big stretch (Dec. 14-29) where they’re playing six of eight against Sacramento, Denver (2x), the Clippers, the Lakers and Minnesota.

• The Suns have played the league’s easiest schedule to date, with a cumulative opponent winning percentage of just .417 and only six of their 18 games coming against teams that enter December with winning records. They’ll have seven this month, though their December is rather home-heavy, with nine or 10 of their 14 games (depending on In-Season Tournament results) in Phoenix.

• The Blazers have two more games left on a five-game trip that already includes wins in Indiana and Cleveland. Starting next Friday, they’ll play nine of their next 11 games at home, with only two single-game trips to California. Nine of their 13 December games area against the Mavs (2x), Warriors (3x), Spurs (2x) and Jazz (2x).

• If the Kings lose in the In-Season Tournament game on Monday, their second game next week would definitely be on the road (in L.A. or Phoenix). But they still have a home-heavy December, with nine of their 14 games in Sacramento. They have two six-game homestands this season, the first is Dec. 14-23, and it includes three games against teams – Oklahoma City, Phoenix and Minnesota – currently ahead of them in the Western Conference standings.

• One of the Spurs‘ two back-to-backs (Nov. 30 and Dec. 1) is already underway, with their game in New Orleans on Friday being their only rest-disadvantage game until Jan. 20.

• The Jazz have a relatively easy December schedule in regard to opponent strength, but it’s road-heavy and the Jazz are currently 1-9 (only the Rockets have been worse) on the road, having been outscored by 15.8 points per game in those 10 games. The first four of their home games this month are single games (travel before and after) and after Dec. 28, they will have played 19 of their 32 games on the road.

Eastern Conference strength of schedule

Here’s a breakdown of the December schedule for every team in the East:

OppPCT = Cumulative opponent winning percentage (as of Nov. 30)
B2B = Back-to-backs (includes Thursday-Friday back-to-backs this week)
H | R = Home games | Road games (will change for the two teams that lose in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals)

• The Hawks don’t have a homestand in December. They have five single home games, with travel in between all five. They’ll play some title contenders – Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Denver – early on, but their schedule will get easier after that, with seven of their last 10 December games coming against teams that currently rank in the bottom 10 offensively.

• The Celtics are one of three teams with three sets of five games in seven days. Their first is Dec. 14-20, with the first three games in Boston and the last two in northern California. Before they play the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals (in Indiana) next week, they have a big game against the Sixers on Friday (7:30 ET, ESPN).

• The Nets ranked 23rd offensively after the trade deadline last season, but have a top-10 offense as we enter December. And they’ll have a relatively easy month regarding opposing defenses, with twice as many games against teams that currently rank in the bottom 10 defensively (6) than they have against top-10 defenses (3). That includes two games each against the Wizards and Pistons.

• The Hornets‘ 30th-ranked defense gets a little of a break to start the month, with games against teams – Minnesota, Chicago and Toronto – that rank in the bottom 11 offensively. But five of their first six December games are against teams that rank in the top 11 on defense, a tough stretch if they’re without LaMelo Ball.

• The Bulls have played the league’s second-toughest schedule to date in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage (.549), with 15 of their 20 games having come against teams that are currently at or above .500. Their December is only slightly easier, as they’re one of five teams with a league-high 10 games against teams that enter December with winning records. That includes two games each against the Sixers and Heat.

• The Cavs have (taking opponent strength, location and rest into account) the toughest five-game stretch for any team in December. It will be Dec. 6-14, when they play five games against the Magic (2x), Heat and Celtics (2x), with the last four coming on the road. The good news is that it’s a great opportunity to move up the standings.

• The Pistons enter the month having lost 16 straight games, and they have the league’s fifth toughest December schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage. The good news is they have just one December back-to-back, having played a league-high five back-to-backs thus far. Their best opportunities for wins are Dec. 6 vs. Memphis and Dec. 21 vs. Utah.

• The Pacers have played the most home-heavy schedule with 11 of their 17 games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. They’ll host the Celtics in the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals on Monday, but eight of their 12 non-tournament games (nine of 13 if they lose on Monday) are on the road. Their top-ranked offense will also have more December games against teams that currently rank in the top 10 defensively (7 or 8, depending on tournament results) than it’s had thus far (5).

• The Heat have played the most road-heavy schedule with 12 of their 19 games away from Biscayne Bay. But they’re two games into a stretch where they’re playing 10 of 13 at home. They’re one of four teams that doesn’t have a December game against a team playing the second game of a back-to-back, with their next rest-advantage game not coming until Jan. 29.

• The Bucks have played 10 of their last 16 games on the road, and they’ll play (at least) eight of their next nine games at home, where they’re currently 8-1, with seven straight wins. The only team that has beat them at Fiserv Forum is the Hawks, who make their return on Saturday (8 ET, NBA League Pass).

• The Knicks have both the league’s toughest December schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage (.571) and its most road-heavy December schedule, with only three of their 14 games at Madison Square Garden. Even if they and the Pacers were to lose the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, setting up a game in New York next Wednesday, it would still be the most road-heavy slate.

• December will be a great test of the Magic‘s improvement and help determine where they land in the Eastern Conference standings. Thus far, they’re tied for the most games (they’re 6-3) against the opposite conference. But their next 13 games are within the East, and 10 of those 13 are against the other nine East teams currently at or above .500. That includes two games each against the Celtics (a two-game series in Boston) and Cavs.

• The Sixers have the East’s easiest schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage. Only four of their 14 games are against teams that currently have winning records, and after they visit the Celtics on Friday, six of their next seven games are against the Wizards (2x), Pistons (2x) Hornets and Bulls (who they’ll play again to close the month).

• The Raptors (0-5) are one of two teams that are currently winless in their own division. The other is the Knicks (0-2), who are in Toronto on Friday, when the Raptors will have a rest advantage and when something has got to give! That’s a good opponent, but the Raptors will have half as many December games against teams that currently have winning records (6/13) as they’ve had thus far (12/19).

• It’s a good thing that the Wizards put an end to their nine-game losing streak with a win in Detroit on Monday, because they have the league’s second-toughest December schedule, with their next eight games against teams currently at or above .500. They’re 0-12 (the Pistons and Grizzlies are the only other winless teams) against that group thus far.

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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.

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