The NBA season is drawing to a close are we look back on what turned out to be some of the best and worst offseason moves from last summer. We think history is going to be pretty hard on the Cavaliers. Then we talk about potential playoff matchups and the increased possibilty up upsets this year.

This week (March 12-17) is National Sleep Awareness Week (recognized each year during the week that Daylight Savings Time starts) and we have the perfect guest. Cheri Mah studies sleep and performance of professional and elite athletes and she is the person behind the MahScore, a formula that ESPN uses to predict games that are most unwinnable (Schedule Alert games) due to scheduling and travel.

We talked to Cheri about some of the unique challenges for NBA players, how Andre Iguodala attributes his longevity in the league to improved sleep, she gives us some tips that everyone can do to improve their sleep quality and we learn about a cool trick called a Napacino--listen to this week’s WHAT Podcast to find out more!

Timestamps:2:00 With the benefit of hindsight, what were some of the best and the worst off-season moves, featuring the Boston Celtics, the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers.9:30 Playoff matches to look forward to16:00 The high possibility of upsets in the playoffs this year19:00 Does it matter when teams win because other teams are injured? 23:15 National Sleep Week!24:45 Cheri Mah and ESPN Schedule Alert Games. 27:30 What are some of the factors that go into identifying schedule alert games29:00 How she got started studying sleep with elite athletes31:30 Unique challenges to NBA athletes: crossing time zones, few recovery days, back-to-backs34:00 How receptive are athletes to adjusting their sleep?36:00 Age considerations 38:00 Ways that teams and players can regulate their sleep during travel41:00 How could the schedule be adjusted to improve athlete recovery?43:15 What can anyone do to improve their sleep?46:00 The Nappacino47:10 Andre Iguodala using good sleep to prolong his career. 50:30 Woman who inspires her in her field: Arianna Huffington as an ambassador for quality sleep.

Music used in the episode: "Happy Alley" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Follow Blazer’s Edge on Twitter @blazersedge, WHAT Pod @HoopsAndTalks, Tara @tcbbiggs, and Kendyl @kendylbennett16.

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