NBA Schedule 2012: 10 Must-Watch Games for Los Angeles Lakers Fans This Season

The 66-game schedules for each NBA team have been released to the joy of basketball fans everywhere. With the schedule officially on the books and training camp set to start this week, real basketball action is thankfully just around the corner.

For a complete breakdown of the Lakers' schedule, check out Mike Trudell's work over at Lakers.com with a desktop wallpaper to match.

As for the marquee games? We've got you covered.

Here are 10 must-watch games for Los Angeles Lakers fans this season you don't want to miss.

Chicago Bulls (Dec. 25)

Christmas Day brings the gift we've all been hoping for: an NBA season.

All wrapped up with a bow on top, this matchup between the Lakers and Bulls has meaning for so many reasons.

The Christmas Day tradition of the Lakers, the emergence of the Bulls in the East, the first game of the season—it's all there.

The buzz around Staples Center is sure to be electric on Christmas Day and will help start the 2011-12 regular season on the right foot.

Ho ho ho.

New York Knicks (Dec. 29)

The Battle for Metropolis will be decided four days later.

A nationally televised TNT Thursday night broadcast will provide all the fireworks between the two biggest media markets in the United States.

This will mark the first time the Lakers face a Carmelo Anthony-led Knicks team.

Coming off their playoff berth from last season, the Knicks are a dangerous squad and present a tough matchup for the Lakers early in the season.

Memphis Grizzles (Jan. 8)

The Memphis Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers will be inextricably tied to one another for the trade heard 'round the world, swapping Gasol brother for Gasol brother.

Not only is this a family affair, but the rapid rise of the Grizzlies into the upper echelon of the West will make this a memorable match against the Lakers.

The game within the game, pitting Marc vs. Pau, is enough to have Lakers fans tuned in everywhere to see the Brotherly Battle for Spain unfold.

Dallas Mavericks (Jan. 16)

Payback time for LA.

The 2011 champs square off against the 2010 champs in the grudge match every Lakers fan has been waiting for.

With months to revel in the disappointment of the Lakers' sweep by Dallas in the playoffs, the Lakers hope to prove that last season's exit was merely a fluke.

Expect tempers to flare in this highly-charged contest given the way in which LA last left this Dallas team.

At Orlando Magic (Jan. 20)

Andrew Bynum has a date with Dwight Howard in January.

Which jerseys they will be wearing come game time is anyone's guess.

But when Superman meets Super Drew, basketball fans will witness 550 combined pounds of smash-mouth destruction in and around the paint.

The league's top two true centers fighting on the hardwood is must-see television, and for whatever reason Bynum seems to always step up his game when facing D12.

At Boston Celtics (Feb. 9)

Lakers. Celtics. 

No two words evoke greater disdain for the other than do Lakers and Celtics.

This latest installment in the game's most storied rivalry takes place in Boston at the TD Garden.

Ask Jerry West, Elgin Baylor or any other old-time Lakers what it's like playing in Boston. The arena is deafening, the fans are cutthroat and the city is built for a war. 

Battle they will in a Thursday night nationally televised slugfest.

At Oklahoma City Thunder (Feb. 23)

Audiences are sure to be dazzled when the Lakers and Thunder clash on TNT on Thursday, Feb. 23.

These two Western Conference heavyweights have established a real rivalry after the closely-fought battle that was the opening round of the 2010 NBA Playoffs.

Young, talented and led by one of the game's most dynamic players in Kevin Durant, the Thunder will look to leapfrog the Lakeshow on their way to conference supremacy.

But before the Thunder are anointed kings of the West, they'll have to get past Kobe Bryant and crew first. Game on.

Miami Heat (March 4)

Will this be the original Big Three versus the new Big Three—Kobe, Dwight and CP3?

An NBA Finals preview according to Vegas, Lakers-Heat is bound to be epic no matter how the rosters look come March.

LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant is the pinnacle of basketball showdowns.

What's more, this game gives the Lakers a chance to avenge the Christmas Day drubbing at the hands of the Heat one year ago in front of the Staples Center crowd.

Bring out your Laker whites. Basketball church is in service on Sunday, March 4.

At New Orleans Hornets (March 14)

Will Chris Paul be playing against his former team, donning a Laker uniform in March?

The Hornets played the Lakers tough in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs and will be ready to take revenge on March 14, with or without CP3.

It'll be anything but easy when the Lakers visit the Big Easy for this Western Conference matchup.

At San Antonio Spurs (April 20)

This marks the third and final time these fierce Western Conference rivals face each other—64 games into the 66-game season.

Depending upon the standings at season's end, the outcome to this game could mean a playoff spot for either San Antonio or Los Angeles.

Reason enough to "remember the Alamo" in April—and just one more of a million reasons to be supremely amped for the Lakers' upcoming season.

Merry Christmas indeed.