NBA

The 2012-2013 NBA Schedule – Now With Off Days!

Just in time for the Olympics we have… the release of the NBA regular season schedule? My goodness David Stern is adept at making noise around other sporting events. Earlier tonight the NBA released the 2012-2013 schedule, and there are are already a number of games to look forward to.

The season opens on October 30th with the Wizards at the Cavaliers. Why? I couldn’t tell you. The first game of the season is a signature game, why waste it on teams that are so young and mediocre? Surely a Kyrie Irving-John Wall matchup isn’t that exciting.

The two games later that night are far stronger. In a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics will visit the Heat on the night that they will receive their championship rings. With the Celtics rejuvenated, the Heat emboldened, and KG still insane, it should be a wonderful game.

Later still, the Lakers will host the Mavericks. It will either be a matchup of the NBA’s old guard or it will be the launching pad for a Dwight-Kobe-Nash Lakers championship. Both are exciting options.

On October 31st, Anthony Davis will make his NBA debut when the Hornets host the Spurs. This would be exciting anyway, but the contrast between Davis and Tim Duncan makes it all the more intriguing.

The next night, basketball comes to Brooklyn, with the Nets hosting the Knicks. The only thing that could make that more fitting would be if the game was one night earlier, “Hey guys, I’m dressed as a basketball fan for Halloween!”

Christmas will bring a round of fun games as well. Brooklyn-Boston should be well played, Clippers-Nuggets should have an excessive amount of points, Knicks-Lakers matches the two biggest cities in the country, and Houston-Chicago is the Omer Asik Bowl. The crown jewel is Thunder-Heat though. It is their first matchup since the NBA Finals, and it’ll be a great one. A thid of the USA Olympic basketball team comes from these two squads, and I’m sure the three players on the Thunder bristle every time they see LeBron and remember his championship at their expense.

On March 20th, the Heat visit the Cavaliers. It will be the first time that LeBron will return to Cleveland as a champion. I’m sure Dan Gilbert will handle it with grace.

More exciting than any part of this schedule? Off days! After the compressed schedule last year, NBA players will be able to return to the normal ebbs and flows of a season. NBA fans will also be able to return to the normal ebbs and flows of a season.

[Photo: Getty Images]