In an effort to find small advantages, David Fizdale pushed practice back two hours later than they were under Jeff Hornacek to give his players more time to sleep every morning. 

“We actually do a lot of education about sleep with our guys because everything is happening in your sleep — the healing of your brain, the healing of your body, the growth of muscle. That rest affects reaction time, decision-making, all of those things. We really stress it to the guys. We try to teach them the things that will affect their sleep and hurt their sleep," said Fizdale.

Fizdale also brought in a doctor during training camp to discuss the importance of sleep to his players and handed out orange-tinted glasses that suppress blue light intake to wear on team flights.

Teams around the league have focused on increasing the amount of sleep their players receive throughout the season, including not taking red-eye flights in the middle of back-to-back games. A 2011 Stanford study found a correlation between players getting more sleep and an increase in 3-point and free throw accuracy.