2012 NBA Schedule: First Look at Slimmed-Down NBA Slate
It's still a little hard to believe that we're going to see any NBA basketball this year, but it's coming.
Better yet, we now have full schedules for every NBA team.
The schedules obviously aren't as long as they typically are, as the season has been reduced to 66 games thanks to the lockout, but they're pretty packed. You're going to see teams play back-to-back-to-backs this season, and there will be no shortage of back-to-backs.
Now that we have the schedules, why don't we take a stroll through the highlights? Keep reading for key dates and breakdowns of the schedules of several key teams.
Christmas Day Schedule
| Boston Celtics at New York Knicks | 12:00 p.m. ET | TNT |
| Miami Heat at Dallas Mavericks | 2:30 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Chicago Bulls at Los Angeles Lakers | 5:00 p.m. ET | ABC |
| Orlando Magic at Oklahoma City Thunder | 8:00 p.m. ET | ESPN and ESPN3 |
| Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors | 10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN and ESPN3 |
All-Star Game: Feb. 26, 2012 at the Amway Center
Postseason Start Date: April 28, 2012
Last Possible Finals Date: June 26, 2012
If you're looking for a list of which games are going to be nationally televised this season, head on over to NBA.com for a full rundown.
Now that we have all this out of the way, let's take a quick look at how seven of the NBA's top teams made out on the schedule.
Boston Celtics
Full Schedule Link: Celtics.com
Opener: Christmas Day at the New York Knicks.
Home Opener: Friday, Dec. 30 vs. the Detroit Pistons
Back-to-back-to-back: April 13-14 at Toronto, at New Jersey, and at Charlotte.
Worst Stretch: Eight straight road games from March 11-23.
Chicago Bulls
Full Schedule Link: Bulls.com
Opener: Christmas Day at the Los Angeles Lakers.
Home Opener: Jan. 1 vs. the Memphis Grizzlies
Back-to-back-to-back: Jan. 9-11 vs. Detroit, at Minnesota, and vs. Washington.
Worst Stretch: Nine straight road games starting on Jan. 29 and ending on Feb. 12.
Dallas Mavericks
Full Schedule Link: NBA.com/Mavericks
Opener: Christmas Day vs. the Miami Heat.
Back-to-back-to-back: March 8-10 at Phoenix, at Sacramento and at Golden State.
Worst Stretch: Final three games before the All-Star break, in which Dallas plays at New York and then at home against the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers.
Los Angeles Lakers
Full Schedule Link: Lakers.com
Opener: Christmas Day vs. the Chicago Bulls
Back-to-back-to-back: Dec. 25-27 vs. Chicago, at Sacramento, and vs. Utah.
Worst Stretch: Nine of the Lakers' 13 games in February will be played on the road, including stops at Boston, New York, Dallas and Oklahoma City.
Miami Heat
Full Schedule Link: Heat.com
Opener: Christmas Day at the Dallas Mavericks.
Home Opener: Dec. 27 vs. the Boston Celtics.
Back-to-back-to-back: Feb. 12-14 at Atlanta, at Milwaukee, and at Indiana.
Worst Stretch: Two stretches of five-plus games on the road. The first will occur from Jan. 5-13, and the other will occur from Feb. 8-17.
New York Knicks
Full Schedule Link: Knicks.com
Opener: Christmas Day vs. the Boston Celtics.
Back-to-back-to-back: Feb 2-4 vs. Chicago, at Boston, and vs. New Jersey.
Worst Stretch: The Knicks begin March with three straight games at Boston, at Dallas, and at San Antonio.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Full Schedule Link: NBA.com/Thunder
Opener: Christmas Day vs. Orlando Magic
Back-to-back-to-back: Jan. 6-8 vs. Houston, at Houston, and vs. San Antonio.
Worst Stretch: The Thunder have to play two stretches of five straight road games. The first will occur from Feb. 4-10, and the other will occur just before the playoffs from April 14-22.
For more on the NBA's schedule release, head on over to NBA.com.
