As my main man Woody Paige loves to say, LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE! While the NBA's longer schedule pales in comparison to the significance of the NFL's, the placement of intriguing matchups on the calendar is certainly quite interesting, especially during the usually slow news days of summer.
Tuesday October 30 is the TNT's Tip-Off doubleheader, featuring the revamped Portland TrailBlazers at San Antonio for the Spurs' ring ceremony, followed by the Houston Rockets at the Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA listened to my advice in booking D-Wade versus Lebron for ABC's Christmas Day annual debut. That will be followed by the Suns visiting the Lakers, and then we shall switch over to ESPN for Durant at Oden for the nightcap.
Tuesday October 30 is the TNT's Tip-Off doubleheader, featuring the revamped Portland TrailBlazers at San Antonio for the Spurs' ring ceremony, followed by the Houston Rockets at the Los Angeles Lakers.
The NBA listened to my advice in booking D-Wade versus Lebron for ABC's Christmas Day annual debut. That will be followed by the Suns visiting the Lakers, and then we shall switch over to ESPN for Durant at Oden for the nightcap.
Other early notes that caught my eye on the initial glance at the schedule:
- The first few games of Oden and Durant are all on national television, including three out their four meetings against each other. Seattle gets seven total appearances on ESPN and TNT combined, while Portland has eleven.
- Not suprisingly, the Boston Celtics also made a big leap in national television appearances with ten.
- It will be interesting to see how the Miami Heat open up after a horrific first round sweep. Does Shaq come in out of shape as usual or storm back pissed off with a statement to make? Big early tests when they open up against Detroit (11/1 on TNT) then visit San Antonio the next week (11/7 on ESPN)
- Rashard Lewis returns to Seattle November 28 on NBATV.
- Ray Allen returns to Seattle December 27 on TNT.
- They each drop 50 on Durant, by the way.
- Cleveland at Miami highlights a TNT triple header on Martin Luther King Day.
- Dallas at Phoenix on Valentine's Day. Uh oh. Remember what a show these two high scoring clubs put on when on the same court? Hmm, decisions, decisions...
- All-Star Weekend in New Orleans - February 15-17, 2008
- As the NBA's longest tenured broadcast partner, TNT continues to get the best matchups as practically every Thursday night will feature a couple great matchups with a bunch of stars.
