NBA Schedule 2019-20: Opening-Week, Christmas Day and MLK Games Released
There are so many awesome NBA matchups that fans of the league are clamoring to see this season. The storylines practically write themselves after one of the most thrilling offseasons in recent memory.
Below, we'll list some of the best matchups in the opening week, on Christmas Day and on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and we'll break down the contests we're excited to watch this season.
Top Opening-Week Matchups (all times ET)
Tuesday, Oct. 22
New Orleans Pelicans at Toronto Raptors: 8 p.m. on TNT
Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers: 10:30 p.m. on TNT)
Wednesday, Oct. 23
Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers: 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers: 10 p.m. on ESPN
Thursday, Oct. 24
Milwaukee Bucks at Houston Rockets: 8 p.m. on TNT
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors: 10:30 p.m. on TNT
Friday, Oct. 25
Dallas Mavericks at New Orleans Pelicans: 8 p.m on ESPN
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Lakers: 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, Oct. 26
Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks: 5 p.m. on NBA TV
Boston Celtics at New York Knicks: 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV
Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix Suns: 10 p.m. on NBA TV
Christmas Day Matchups
Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors: 12 p.m. on ESPN
Milwaukee Bucks at Philadelphia 76ers: 2:30 p.m. on ABC
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors: 5 p.m. on ABC
Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers: 8 p.m. on ESPN/ABC
New Orleans Pelicans at Denver Nuggets: 10:30 p.m. on ESPN
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Matchups
Toronto Raptors at Atlanta Hawks: 2:30 p.m. on NBA TV
New Orleans Pelicans at Memphis Grizzlies: 5 p.m. on TNT
Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics: 7:30 p.m. on TNT
Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers: 10 p.m. on TNT
Schedule Storylines
Without question, the most intriguing games will be the matchups between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers.
Those contests will be rife with storylines: Paul George and Kawhi Leonard's snubbing of the Lakers in consecutive offseasons; the battle for Los Angeles; the matchup of the superstar duos, with the Lakers featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis vs. Leonard and George; and the implications for the Western Conference at large, with the Clippers the early favorites to top the conference and the Lakers hot on their heels.
It's hard to imagine many hardcore NBA fans will pass on that Christmas Day matchup.
There are so many fascinating games on the schedule that will pit players against their old teams too.
Kyrie Irving (now with the Brooklyn Nets) and Al Horford (now with the Philadelphia 76ers) will head back to Boston. D'Angelo Russell will face Brooklyn. Jimmy Butler in Philly. Kemba Walker's return to Charlotte. Russell Westbrook, now a Houston Rocket, will face Chris Paul, now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder after the two were swapped. Leonard will take on the Toronto Raptors. Anthony Davis will return to New Orleans. Heck, even Kristaps Porzingis' return to the Big Apple will be intriguing.
This summer was as wild as the NBA gets, and the chance to see so many reworked teams do battle—with the league wide open after Kevin Durant left the Golden State Warriors and Leonard left the Raptors—is incredibly exciting.
Of course, other matchups will have serious ramifications too. The 76ers and Bucks, for instance, are the two front-runners in the East. Their games this season—including on Christmas Day—could be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.
And how about the chance to see the top two picks in this year's draft, Zion Williamson and Ja Morant, face off when the Pelicans take on the Memphis Grizzlies? Or a Williamson matchup against his good friend from Duke, RJ Barrett, when the Pelicans take on the Knicks?
Knicks fans will also likely save their boos for all of the premier free agents who snubbed them this offseason—and the teams they chose instead. Sorry, Knicks fans.
The league has also made an effort to make the national television matchups more fan-friendly with earlier start times, as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN noted:
It will be a fun year in general, though. Now we just need October to get here, and soon.
NBA Scheduling Czars, Sr. VP of Game Schedule Management Tom Carelli and Sr. VP of Basketball Strategy & Analytics Evan Wasch, join The Full 48 with Howard Beck to discuss reduction of back-to-back games, earlier start times, identifying key match-ups and narratives, and prioritizing high-profile and nationally-prominent games (like opening day, Christmas, and MLK day).
