DaVoiceMaster wrote:I'm surprised it would start so soon. I was kind of hoping for a Tuesday or Wednesday start date. If they start Monday, that must mean they'll play Monday, Wednesday, then Friday and Sunday wherever they're playing against. Would rather have an extra travel day in between, although maybe the Blazers don't want that. The Timbers had a game in Denver or somewhere around there a few years ago and they basically waited until the last minute to fly there so the altitude would not affect them as much. They got there, played the game, and got out. I dunno if you could do something like that or not.
It can take days or even weeks to adjust to high altitudes. If I was the Blazers, I'd take the short flight to (ironicly enough) OKC before and after games, and use that as a "home" base.
There is absolutely an effect of high altitude on athletes, and a major effect is poor sleep and recovery. Here is a good article:
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/verify/verify-does-denvers-mile-high-altitude-really-affect-the-outcome-of-sports-games/73-514443034While it's not the only reason, you have to figure that "...a 10 percent drop in your body’s ability to transport oxygen and 20 percent drop in time to exhaustion." would at least partially explain why Denver had the best home record in the NBA this year.
I've often wondered why NBA players don't take pure oxygen on the sidelines when they play in DEN like NFL players sometimes do.
