2013-2014 Official NBA Thread

[Al Bundy]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/ey...4-nba-schedule

With the Schedule released today, I figured it would be a good time to start the thread.

The NBA released its 2013-2014 schedule on Tuesday in a televised special on NBATV alongside a release on NBA.com and its team websites.

The season kicks off Tuesday, October 29th as Miami hosts the Chicago Bulls in Derrick Rose's expected return to the court. Then it's the Battle of LA as the Lakers host the Clippers. It could be the return of Kobe Bryant from his Achilles injury he suffered last spring, and will be the regular season debut of Doc Rivers as the Clippers' newest head coach.

It's a massive gamble by the NBA, considering Rose's struggles returning from his ACL injury suffered in the 2012 playoffs and Bryant's more recent Achilles surgery. If those players were to miss the opening night, it's going to make for a very underwhelming opening night of basketball, regardless of the markets involved for ratings.

Opening week continues on Thursday with the Bulls hosting the Knicks in what is likely to be Rose's return to the United Center in the regular season. The Knicks will be on a back to back, opening the season on Wednesday vs. the Bucks. Thursday night the revamped Warriors visit the Clippers, who are clearly the hot team, with two national appearances in the first three days.

Opening week concludes Friday with the Nets' home opener vs. the Heat, followed by another Lakers home game, this time vs. the defending Western Conference Champion San Antonio Spurs.

On the NBA's biggest regular season day, Christmas Day, starts with the Nets hosting Chicago, followed by the scoring-champ rematch of Carmelo Anthony vs. Kevin Durant as the Thunder visit Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks. Then in the main event, the Heat play the Lakers at Staples Center. Dwight Howard joins the Christmas fun as the Rockets travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs. And in the night cap, the Clippers visit Oracle Arena to take on Steph Curry and the Warriors.

Monday, January 20th continues the NBA's tradition of making Martin Luther King Jr. Day a huge basketball event, with four games on the schedule. Brooklyn travels across the bridge to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, followed by the Grizzlies hosting the Pelicans, the Lakers taking on the Bulls at the United Center, and the Pacers facing the Warriors in the bay to cap off the night.

The Lakers first meet Dwight Howard on November 13th in Houston, and again on January 14th. They first host Howard at Staples Center on February 19th, and again on April 8th.

The NBA Finals rematches occur on January 26th in Miami and March 6th in San Antonio. Will Gregg Popovich rest his starters? It's not a back to back, as the Spurs face Atlanta on the 24th, but it is in the middle of a three-game road trip.

Despite the departure of Dwight Howard, the Lakers keep the max number of nationally televised (non-NBA TV) games in the league at 25, tied with the Knicks and Heat. The Clippers have 21 nationally televised games, while the defending Western Champs, the Spurs, only have 15. The Bulls jump to 24 national games, with the league banking on Rose's return to carry audiences. The Thunder also feature on national TV 24 times.

Houston, with newly-signed Dwight Howard and James Harden, feature 20 games on national television, a pretty low number given the star power. The Mavericks won the NBA title in 2011, and now have just eight national TV appearances. The Warriors meanwhile jump to 17 games, while Eastern Conference finalist Indiana only appears 10 time next season. To put that in perspective, the Denver Nuggets appear 13 times.

The rest of the schedule is at the link.

[Al Bundy]

Sources: Steve Kerr spurns New York, takes $25 million deal with Golden State. http://t.co/HA7TUUDnLq

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 15, 2014

[Anyong Bluth]

Originally Posted by Al Bundy

Sources: Steve Kerr spurns New York, takes $25 million deal with Golden State. http://t.co/HA7TUUDnLq

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 15, 2014

Not surprising really, lots of talk about his desire to stay on the West Coast. Not to mention a lot less headaches than dealing with everything NYC.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

GS is a better choice than the Knicks. I wouldn't want to work for Jackson either--too sniping, meddlesome, and married to the Triangle. That said, I wonder if he could have waited to take the Lakers job. They will suck until Kobe's gone, but after that they have so many institutional advantages that it will always be easier to build a championship team there.

I hope he does well. He's a good guy and Curry is an easy player to root for.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Originally Posted by KC native

Jackson increased his win numbers for the last 3 years in an incredibly difficult western conference and took his team to the playoffs. What else could you ask for?

I know people wanted him out, but if Bogut stays healthy, they beat the Clippers.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

GS is a better choice than the Knicks. I wouldn't want to work for Jackson either--too sniping, meddlesome, and married to the Triangle. That said, I wonder if he could have waited to take the Lakers job. They will suck until Kobe's gone, but after that they have so many institutional advantages that it will always be easier to build a championship team there.

I hope he does well. He's a good guy and Curry is an easy player to root for.

Kerr is a good get for the W's. I'd be shocked if he isn't successful. The West is a tough place to make your name right now, but he has a team that likely fits his personality.

[okcchief]

I kind of think he was waiting to see what happened with OKC. Every time he did their games it seemed like an audition.

I think he'll be a good coach. GS definitely is a better job unless Phil pulls off something crazy like signing LeBron.

[mcaj22]

that's how thin the coaching pool in the NBA is when the most sought after coach is a broadcaster and failed GM with no coaching experience .

[KevB]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

that's how thin the coaching pool in the NBA is when the most sought after coach is a broadcaster and failed GM with no coaching experience .

Failed GM? He left a team that had just made the Western Conference finals. He attempted to clean up some messes while dealing with a cheap owner. He's the best broadcaster in the business who obviously knows the game inside and out. He played for the Bulls and Spurs under Phil Jackson and Pop. He's a marquee hire, regardless the depth of the coaching pool.

[mcaj22]

Originally Posted by KevB

Failed GM? He left a team that had just made the Western Conference finals. He attempted to clean up some messes while dealing with a cheap owner. He's the best broadcaster in the business who obviously knows the game inside and out. He played for the Bulls and Spurs under Phil Jackson and Pop. He's a marquee hire, regardless the depth of the coaching pool.

he left the team a mess, and they are just now getting out of it thanks to their current FO and Jeff Hornacek.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

he left the team a mess, and they are just now getting out of it thanks to their current FO and Jeff Hornacek.

Kerr's tenure as Suns GM

Kerr had his ups and downs, but he had to make a couple of moves to clean up their salary situation and he was dealing with a cheap owner.

[DrRyan]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

he left the team a mess, and they are just now getting out of it thanks to their current FO and Jeff Hornacek.

Not many statements could be further from the truth. Sarver is a notoriously cheap owner more concerned with the bottom line than winning. The link above shows Kerr's tenure as GM far better than the picture you are painting.

[TEX]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

GS is a better choice than the Knicks. I wouldn't want to work for Jackson either--too sniping, meddlesome, and married to the Triangle. That said, I wonder if he could have waited to take the Lakers job. They will suck until Kobe's gone, but after that they have so many institutional advantages that it will always be easier to build a championship team there.

I hope he does well. He's a good guy and Curry is an easy player to root for.

This.
Plus Jackson is a freaking Zen Master-know-it-all with an ego. No chance Id want to ever work for someone like that. Give me Jordan's Bulls and Shaq's Lakers, and Id win championships too and Im no Zen Master. An exaggeration on my part I know, but my point is he gets too much credit for all the NBA Titles. IMHO, any good NBA coach could have won with his teams. Call me simple, but that's how I see it...

[Al Bundy]

Looks like Kevin Love will be getting traded. Seems he wants to play either in New York or with the Lakers (I don't know why he would want to play for either of those losing teams).

[-King-]

Pacers look good early.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by TEX

This.
Plus Jackson is a freaking Zen Master-know-it-all with an ego. No chance Id want to ever work for someone like that. Give me Jordan's Bulls and Shaq's Lakers, and Id win championships too and Im no Zen Master. An exaggeration on my part I know, but my point is he gets too much credit for all the NBA Titles. IMHO, any good NBA coach could have won with his teams. Call me simple, but that's how I see it...

Phil Jackson is one hell of a coach. He deserves every bit of credit for what he did. He handled teams with some really big egos. And how many championships did MJ and Kobe win without him?

Agree, though, that because he was a good coach doesn't mean he'll make a great exec.