The Blazers have a revolutionary approach to winning on the road. It starts with a 3 a.m. curfew. That's not check-in time. It's the earliest suggested bedtime.
After consulting with doctors and a sleep expert, the team decided the best way to succeed away from home was to act as if they'd never left. So the Blazers stay on Pacific Coast time, no matter where they are. On the East Coast, that means 11 a.m. wake-ups and 10 p.m. practices to go with the club-kid bedtime.
It's hard to argue with the results. Through Feb. 18, Portland is 10-6 in games played two or more time zones away from the Rose Garden. That's after going 7-14 last season. "I feel the difference," says All-Star guard Brandon Roy.
Most coaches and players insist that sticking to the same routine is the only way to survive the grueling expanse of the NBA season. Dr. Charles Czeisler disagrees. The head of the sleep medicine divisions at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School convinced the Blazers that holding to a conventional regimen that is out of whack on the road is just plain foolish.
So instead of starting a trip with an early-morning flight, the Blazers take off closer to noon. Players get a full night's sleep in their own beds. That makes them less likely to nap after boarding. And no napping means they rarely miss meals. Sure, the guys can't explore the local nightlife immediately upon arrival; that's when they practice. But they do get to skip the traditional morning shootaround on game days in favor of another good night's rest.
"The guys have more energy, and their dietary habits and camaraderie are different," says team trainer Jay Jensen, who initiated the search for a solution to the road woes. "Flight attendants say we go through twice as much food as before."
The Blazers haven't lost their edge back home, either. Czeisler has taught them about circadian rhythms and body clocks, so now they know that by the start of a second half in Portland, an Eastern squad will be feeling the effects of melatonin, the body's hormone that regulates sleep. "We look for it," Jensen says. "We know it's our chance to jump on our opponents."
And to tuck them away for the night. On Portland time.
