2010 NBA Schedule Release: When Will the Cleveland Cavaliers Host Miami?
It's early August, so you know what that means...
Another day of NFL training camp reports? I think not.
Some round-the-clock baseball news? There are still 50-plus games to go in the regular season.
A guy named Favre is retiring? Haven't heard that before.
No, it means that the braintrusts in the NBA front office have given us just a taste of some of the marquee, nationally televised games for the upcoming season.
While the full schedule won't be released until next Tuesday, the primetime games for the opening week, Christmas Day, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day were presented earlier this evening.
One team absent from the aforementioned list? The Cleveland Cavaliers .
It's doubtful the Cavs will be seeing much action on national TV at all this season (and maybe this is a good thing). While some expressed interest in seeing a Heat -Cavs opening day matchup , it simply wasn't a smart idea.
David Stern probably doesn't want to see his opening night littered with the animosity of thousands of bitter Clevelanders hurling expletives and seething at the teeth towards a certain narcissistic egomaniac who basically showed no remorse in giving the city the biggest middle finger ever recorded on live TV.
Yea, more than likely it was best to avoid that on opening night. But when will the Dwyane Wade-led Miami Heat make their appearance in Cleveland ?
According to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer and other sources, the first matchup will be played Dec. 2 in Cleveland. The Cavs will also play host to Miami on March 29, 2011.
On the flip side, the Cavs will take whatever talent they have left on the roster to South Beach on Dec. 15 and Jan. 31.
It's unknown at this time which networks will air what games (one would assume that these games might carry some interest), but you can muster an educated guess.
Dec. 2 is a Thursday, which is when TNT runs their weekly double-header, and Dec. 15 is a Wednesday. ESPN often showcases their games on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the season.
Jan. 31 is a Monday and Mar. 29 is a Tuesday—there are rarely nationally televised games on either day.
Windhorst also tweeted that the Cavs will be hosting the Lakers on Feb. 16, the last day of games before the All-Star break. Assume that game will be picked up by TNT as well.
And finally, this from the Plain-Dealer : "Sources said the Cavs will open the season against the Boston Celtics for a third consecutive year. That game is scheduled for Oct. 27 at The Q.
"...During the opening week of the season the Cavs are also expected to play the Toronto Raptors , Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings .
The team's longest road trip is scheduled, as usual, for mid-January, when they will embark on a trip to Golden State, Phoenix , the Los Angeles Lakers , Utah and Denver."
As mentioned earlier, the rest of the schedule should be completed by Aug. 10.
Other Games of Interest
Opening Week
Opening day features both participants of last year's NBA Finals. The Celtics will host the Heat at 8:00 (EST) and the Lakers will do the same with the Rockets (10:30 EST).
The game that could provide the most intrigue in the first week of the season is Utah at Oklahoma City (Oct. 31, NBA TV , 7:00 EST).
Three of last year's four matchups were decided by eight points or less, including two that were one-point games (including the unforgettable 140-139 thriller in April).
The Heat won't waste time getting their feet wet, as they take on Boston in the opener and Orlando at home three nights later.
A rematch of the Western Conference Finals takes place on Oct. 29 as the Lakers visit Phoenix .
Christmas Day
Everyone knew that Heat-Lakers would be in the 5:00 ABC slot—the only real drama was whether the game would be played in Los Angeles or Miami (it'll be L.A.).
Last year's 2:30 game remains the same—the Magic will play host to the Celtics.
Chicago takes on New York at 12:00, Denver and Oklahoma City tussle at 8:00, and in a bit of a surprise, the Warriors will play the Blazers in the nightcap.
Overall the league did a decent job with their premier day. The Nuggets -Thunder battle will surely be epic as the game's two most natural scorers (Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant) get a chance to showcase their skills in front of the world.
Maybe they could have shaken things up in terms of having the Celtics and Magic meet in Orlando for a second consecutive season.
A Celtics-Bulls showdown could have been a bit more entertaining, but seeing Derrick Rose get a chance to carve up the Knicks defense is a nice consolation prize.
It's understandable that the league might have wanted to get some new blood in the finale, but the Warriors were a perplexing decision. A team like Sacramento could have been a better fit, as the country would more than likely get their first look at a solid young nucleus of Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, and Omri Casspi .
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
No complaints about any of these contests.
Memphis is involved with the MLK Jr. ceremonies and will host the Bulls at 1:00. Sacramento gets their national appearance...on NBA TV when they travel to Atlanta .
Two of the top teams in each conference battle it out on TNT to end the night, as the Magic take on the Celtics (again) and the Thunder roll to L.A. to face the Lakers.
