With the announcement that the NBA is set to start its 2020-21 season later this month, one of the more anticipated aspects of the season has been when the schedule will be released.
That took place on Friday, as the league released its schedule for the First Half of the regular season, which lasts from December 22 to March 4 (December 23 to March 5 in Manila).
It had been previously announced that the NBA will open its season with a double-header on December 22, with the Kia NBA Tip-Off 2020 featuring the Brooklyn Nets and the Golden State Warriors in the first half of the doubleheader, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Aside from that special doubleheader, a five-game slate was announced for the 73rd edition of the NBA on Christmas Day: the New Orleans Pelicans at the Miami Heat, Warriors at the Milwaukee Bucks, Nets at the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks at the Lakers, and the Clippers at the Denver Nuggets.
Teams in the upcoming 2020-21 season will have a 72-game regular season, broken down into 30 inter-conference matchups and 42 matchups within their respective conferences. The latter means that each team will face teams within its conference thrice. The First Half will see teams each play either 37 or 38 games, 17-20 of which will be home matchups. With 558 games to be played, the First Half comprises 52% of the upcoming season.
The NBA also adopted a "series" model for the upcoming season, as it tries to find means to reduce travel. There are certain instances where teams will be playing consecutive matches against teams in one market. In crafting the schedule, the NBA has established that each team will play an average of four such "series: in the First Half, split between home and road.
In addition, the league has almost halved instances where teams have to make single-game road trips, as well as playing consecutive road games against geographically close opposition.
Notable matchups taking place on the First Half this season include (Manila time):
December 27: Atlanta Hawks at Memphis Grizzlies (6am), Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks (830am), Houston Rockets at Portland Trailblazers (11am)
January 19: Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies (6am) for the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Game, Orlando Magic at New York Knicks (1am), Minnesota Timberwolves at Atlanta Hawks (330am), Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets (830am), Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers (11am)
January 31: Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics (930am)
February 21: Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers (930am)
February 22: Boston Celtics at New Orleans Pelicans (430am)
March 1: Los Angeles Clippers at Milwaukee Bucks (430am)
The league also shared that twenty games will be made available in primetime for those in Europe, the Middle East, and in Africa, dubbing it as the "NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by NBA 2K21." In addition, the First Half will be made available in 215 countries and territories in over forty languages.
As for the Second Half of the season, it starts on March 12 (Manila time) and will last until May 17 (Manila time). It will comprise the remainder of each team's schedule, as well as any games that were postponed during the First Half that can be reasonably integrated in. The Playoff Play-In Tournament will then take place on May 19-22 (Manila time), with the 2021 NBA Playoffs set to start on May 23 until July 23 (Manila time).
The schedule for the Second Half of the regular season will be made available at a later date.
The NBA also launched its season campaign hashtag, #OnlyHere, on social media, highlighting the unique action and excitement unlike any other you will experience this season.
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