NBA Schedule Released: Here's 10 Highlights

The NBA released its 2008-2009 schedule Wednesday afternoon. Perhaps this is old news at 11 p.m. Thursday night, but it is the fastest I could piece something together.

As always, there are arduous stretches for most teams, including one in which the Los Angeles Lakers play seven road games in 13 nights.

There will be plenty of hoops on television this fall, and for those who detest American football, that is a good thing. If the NFL gets your endorphins going, I'm happy for you.

Otherwise, dial your local cable provider, purchase NBA TV if you do not already subscribe, consider splurging on League Pass and remember these 10 tidbits.

1) The Celtics will begin defense of their championship against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Oct. 28. So, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen will participate in a lavish ring ceremony to commemorate banner no. 17 and then try warding off the same LeBron James-led Cavaliers team that pushed them to a grueling seventh game.

Three stars who each won their first championship in June and a mix of youngsters and cagy veterans will throw a party and then face one of the best players in the world. Cavs GM Danny Ferry has not altered his roster's composition beyond re-signing Daniel "Boobie" Gibson, a favorite of James. The Celtics lost bloodhound defender and great role player James Posey to the New Orleans Hornets. Minus Posey, the Celtics roster looks the same as it did when it celebrated a 131-92 whooping of the Lakers.

I have never liked the idea of handing out championship rings on opening night. James did not beat the Celtics in that seven game series but he did help the Cavs split the season series. Can you imagine anything worse than having a team beat you just hours after David Stern congratulates you for winning a ring?

I have long considered the opening night shebang an insult to the team that labored for a league title. Why not dole out the rings and unveil the new banner as part of the late June celebration? It makes sense to me, but then again, I'm not David Stern.

The San Antonio Spurs, despite displaying an obvious lack of focus, held off the upstart Portland Trail Blazers last year. Need I remind Miami Heat fans what the Chicago Bulls did two years ago? That 40 point thrashing signaled a season of underachievement, injury and anguish.

Though it's hard to believe the Cavaliers will crush the Celtics by a lopsided margin, there is no question the Cavs can beat the champs in one game. At least Pierce, Garnett and Allen get an immediate rude awakening. This game will sneak preview what to expect from both squad's this season. Since the Celtics are the defending champions, they are the best team in the NBA until someone knocks them out of the playoffs.

The Spurs and Phoenix Suns will also meet for an opening night joust. This will prove no cakewalk for the Spurs who dropped both regular season matchups against Shaq and the retooled Suns. As he usually does, Tim Duncan returned the favor by ousting O' Neal from the first round for a second straight year.

The Suns proved last season that they can beat Gregg Popovich's cavalry in a regular season game but does one October contest erase a brutal history of the Spurs stomping the daylights out of the Suns in the postseason? What do you think Steve, you still want another shot at this team?

2) The Houston Rockets 08-09 schedule mirrors that of last year's trek around the league. That's a good and bad thing. The only team with an early schedule comparable in its brutality to the Rokckets is the Bulls. After a gimme opener against the again lottery-bound Memphis Grizzlies, Rick Adelman's squad will complete a back-to-back in Dallas.

No one expects Ron Artest to show up and immediately begin scoring 20 points, hauling down six rebounds or understanding the defensive or offensive system. He will need precious time to acclimate to his new teammates, especially franchise stars Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. The ridiculous October and November schedule does not afford him that. After a first test against a state rival that has provided many a butt kicking--Josh Howard has been the culprit--the schedule looks like it was designed by a manager at Helga's House of Pain.

Tue 04	vs Boston	7:30pm
Thu 06	@ Portland	9:30pm
Fri 07	@ LA Clippers	9:30pm
Sun 09	@ LA Lakers	8:30pm
Wed 12	@ Phoenix	9:30pm
Fri 14	@ San Antonio	7:30pm
Sat 15	vs New Orleans	7:30pm

Do the NBA officials who sketch this schedule own a map?

Fri 21	@ Washington	6:00pm
Sat 22	@ Orlando	6:00pm

And who planned this back-to-back?

Sat 29	vs San Antonio	7:30pm
Sun 30	@ Denver	7:00pm

The Rockets road map is intense early but softer late. That boded well for them after Yao Ming announced his season-ending injury in February. The team managed to complete the second longest win streak in NBA history, 22 consecutive victories, before the Utah Jazz sent them home in another first round ouster.

3) I predict the Oklahoma City Whatevers will stink again this year and be the Western Conference's doormat. The NBA and its TV partners seem to agree. All the excitement of a professional sports franchise in Oklahoma, a state known for its avid fans, has landed the team one appearance on ESPN.

Who can fault TV execs for shunning a team that has the same chance of making the playoffs as dear old Grandma. When your team enters a rough season stretch, remember that you play this squad at least twice. The Spurs remembered to play them in a late January contest, the start of the annual Rodeo Road Trip, but forgot to win.

This OKC bunch has to win at least 20 games, right?

P.J. Carlesimo's team will compete and Kevin Durant will score points. That does not equal a playoff berth in the rugged Western Conference.

4) An online glitch in the NBA schedule had many NBA teams finishing the regular season in neutral cities. The league has since airbrushed the error, but it was humorous while it lasted. I like the idea of the Rockets facing the Mavericks in Boston or the Denver Nuggets and Portland Trail Blazers squaring off in Toronto.

Wait, no I don't.

5) Winning a conference championship carries its perks. Among them for the Celtics and Lakers--25 TV appearances. The Cavaliers, er LeBron, and the discombobulated Suns also landed 25 TV spots.

6) If you like Christmas, boy does Stern have a present for you. The packed Dec. 25 slate features a 12 p.m. bout pitting the Hornets against the Orlando Magic on ESPN. The Spurs and Suns will duel in Phoenix at 2:30 p.m. on ABC, followed by an NBA Finals rematch in Los Angeles.

TNT will also air a double-header: Cavaliers vs. Wizards and Blazers vs. Mavericks

Jeff Van Gundy and TNT's side-splitting triumvirate on the same night? I might bust from sensory overload.

7) I always wonder how they determine who gets the national airtime and who gets banished to League Pass? This season is no different.

How do the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, two teams with more questionable baggage than the jet in Snakes on a Plane, earn more of the national spotlight than the Orlando Magic and New Orleans Hornets?

The Hornets appear 13 times on cable or broadcast and once on ABC. Orlando gets 11.

And will we have to listen to announcers call the Hornets a surprise all over again? Why are you surprised? Did you just start watching Chris Paul 10 minutes ago?

8) Is there no love for the treasured Spurs-Mavericks rivalry? The two Texas elitists will meet once in Dallas on ABC. If you live anywhere outside Dallas or San Antonio, you'll have to catch the other three contests on League Pass. Perhaps this is TV and the league's way of saying that Avery Johnson and Devin Harris's departure marks the end of the heated rivalry that erupted in 2006.

Sure, the Mavs will not resemble the same 2006 team that overthrew the then defending champion Spurs, with Jason Kidd and Rick Carlisle joining the fray, but when these two teams meet, fabulous basketball happens.

The Spurs won a late December contest against the Mavs with Tim Duncan watching in street clothes, thanks to a Herculean 37-point effort from Manu Ginobili, 97-95. The Spurs won the other game at the AT&T Center 97-94. Johnson opted not to play Kidd in the final minute of the game and the decision inspired a day of intense discussion on sports shows around the country.

Do we need to see Denver and Washington compete in a no-defense suckfest that badly?

9) Chicago and Miami meet three times on national TV. The last time these two teams fought, the Bulls spanked the miserable Heat by 30 points before losing a pair of games that nailed their playoff coffin. It pays to boast the top two draft picks in Derrick Rose and Michael Beasely doesn't it?

The Eastern Conference's disaster duo will usurp valuable airtime from teams I would pick, on paper, to finish ahead of them: the Milwaukee Bucks, the Atlanta Hawks and Toronto Raptors.

I hope the league and networks will tweak this schedule mid-season if a team's play merits more recognition that the current TV slate gives it. Hope and expectation are often separated at birth.

10) There are many matches worth watching simply because franchise players will return to face their old teams.

Baron Davis back in Golden State. Elton Brand back in Los Angeles. You can look up those dates yourself.

Of the role players who switched teams, no two intrigue me more than James Posey and Brent Barry. What will the Celtics faithful do when the Hornets roll into town with a player who helped them raise a seventeenth banner with gritty play and a knack for filling in the gaps?

He won a championship with them and now will try helping the Hornets win the rigorous West.

Will Spurs fans boo the team's best shooter for shipping himself to the rival Rockets? He was an integral part of the Spurs locker room and the San Antonio community, but Barry, if healthy, will improve a Houston team that has played the four-time champs as well as any squad the last few years.

The homecoming that most interests me is not scheduled for national TV. Ron Artest will return to Sacramento with the coach whose salary he offered to help fund on April 9. Why must we wait so long for this juicy event?

The Malouf brothers fired Adelman and ran him out of town. They destroyed their chances of keeping Artest happy by letting the best coach the franchise has ever seen walk away.

Reggie Theus did an admirable job coaching a dysfunctional Kings team to a respectable record last season. NBA analysts expect Adelman's Rockets to surge with Artest in the mix. I will watch this one with close eyes.

I gleaned this bit from the monstrous 08-09 schedule and recommend you give it your own glance.

We know what the league and networks think we should watch. Now, let's see if they're right.