For us NBA fans, the summer can often feel like a bit of a lull in the overall basketball landscape. Though the season brings free agency, the summer league, and the NBA Draft, there always seems to be something missing. That something is real, actual NBA basketball. On Wednesday, however, we were finally treated to a glimpse of exactly that, as the league released the 2014-2015 NBA schedule (hooray!), a schedule overflowing with intrigue. Let’s take a look at some of the highlights:
October 28th, 2014
It’s showtime!!! October 28th marks the opening night of the season, and I speak for everyone when I say I cannot wait to see LeBron James in action aga— wait, he’s not playing on opening night? What? That’s right, for the first time in seven years(!) King James will not be taking center court on opening night. For whatever reason, the NBA decided its best and most famous player would not be kicking off the season.
However, we do get to see the champion San Antonio Spurs raise their banner against the Dallas Mavericks, the team that took them to the brink in the first round. Of course, many people forget how close they came to winning that series because the Spurs went into unstoppable mode and ran the table. The late game marks the return of Kobe Bryant as his Lakers take on the Rockets and former teammate Dwight Howard.
October 30th and 31st, 2014
LeBron’s return to Cleveland does not start much longer after that, however. James and the Cavaliers start the season against the New York Knicks and Carmelo Anthony, before a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview against the Chicago Bulls the next day. I for one am ecstatic at the idea of a healthy *knock on wood* Derrick Rose against James.
Meanwhile on October 30th, the Los Angeles Clippers will play their first game under new ownership, as they square off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The matchup is a rematch of the Western Conference Semi-Finals where the Thunder moved on and sent the Clippers into a tumultuous offseason.
November 19th, 2014
In one of the more peculiar stories of the summer, Milwaukee Bucks head coach Jason Kidd faces off against his former team, the Brooklyn Nets, on November 19th for the first time. Kidd was unceremoniously traded to the Bucks after demanding a larger role in Brooklyn and being shown the door. Now his young team with Jabari Parker gets a chance to show what it is made of against the Nets, now led by veteran coach Lionel Hollins.
December 25th, 2014
Christmas is always a highlight of the NBA season, and this year is no different. Five juicy matchups line the schedule and are guaranteed to keep you glued to your couch and ignoring your entire family. The Washington Wizards face off against the New York Knicks, a battle of the new versus old guard in the east. The Cavaliers head to Miami to face the Heat in LeBron James’ return to South Beach. The crowd response here will be very interesting, as he led the Heat to four straight championship appearances but left Miami stunned when he decided to take his talents back to Ohio.
The Lakers head to Chicago to face the Bulls, before two Western Conference matchups seal the deal. The first is a rematch of the Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and Spurs, and you can bet the Thunder want to show they were truly the better team. Remember, the Spurs went up 2-0 with Serge Ibaka out before the Thunder made it a series. Finally, another playoff rematch closes the night out as the Clippers face the Golden State Warriors, after the Clippers won that first round series in seven games. These two teams met last Christmas, and let’s just say it did not leave either team in the holiday spirit.
January 31st, 2014
This date is only interesting if a particular big man in Minnesota is traded to a particular team in northeast Ohio. If the rumors are true and Kevin Love is headed to the Cavaliers, then this will be his return to Minnesota to take on his former (still current?) Timberwolves. Meanwhile Andrew Wiggins will finally get to be on the same court as LeBron, only he’ll wearing a different team’s jersey. Awkward.
February 6th, 2014
The Spurs face the Heat for the first time since the finals, and although this game might lack some of the intrigue with LeBron no longer on the team, plenty of Heat players will still want revenge. Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade still remain, and certainly want a piece of San Antonio to attempt to avenge their finals loss.
March 12th, 2014
Ah, yes. The game we have all been waiting for: Cleveland versus San Antonio. What is interesting here is that most people seem to forget that the Spurs swept the Cleveland LeBrons in 2007 in the NBA Finals. This story will mostly be about James returning to the place he lost last year, there certainly are more storylines than just that. Hopefully by this time the Cavaliers will be clicking and have formed some chemistry, and we all know that the Spurs are a buzz saw as the playoffs approach. Intrigue abounds.
April 15th, 2014
The last day of the regular season brings many potentially season-altering matchups. Almost all 30 teams are in action, with games such as: Wizards vs. Cavaliers, Hornets vs. Raptors, Trail Blazers vs. Mavericks, and Nuggets vs. Warriors. Hopefully by this time the narrative of the NBA will be vastly different, but either way this should cap off an entertaining regular season.
I cannot believe we made it through yet another NBA season. Time really seems to fly these days, am I right? Anyway, thanks for reading and if you find any other matchups to be particularly exciting, feel free to comment below and let us know!