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]

Bad call... but gotta watch it now. The refs are on high alert right here looking for any sort of chirping.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Anyone claiming that Martin can't hit big shots is fos.

[-King-]

Ouch Barnes.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Barnes? Really?

[Al Bundy]

Harrison Barnes is a piece of shit pussy. Golden State just refused to play defense.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Anyone claiming that Martin can't hit big shots is fos.

"He never did anything for my team so therefore he's terrible."

Reminds me of some Wolves fans I know that say Chauncey Billups had an overrated career and was never that good.

[Al Bundy]

I just want Harrison Barnes off this team, he offers nothing.

[-King-]

It's entertaining hearing home town fans on league pass.

[Pitt Gorilla]

Paul George.

[Miles]

Enjoying the free preview but Time Warner is still not making me want to pay to watch games in glorious standard def. Completely ridiculous and I'm in a major market.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by -King-

It's entertaining hearing home town fans on league pass.

Heh. Meant home town announcers.
Posted via Mobile Device

[okcchief]

Kevin Martin hits one shot and he's clutch, ok. Perk hit a clutch jumper against Portland the other night. I guess he's clutch too.

He's a good scorer and a liability on defense. Minnesota has the most efficient offensive starting 5 in the league yet still isn't a playoff team because they don't play defense. Kevin Martin is the last thing they needed.

But enjoy!

[Miles]

Originally Posted by okcchief

Kevin Martin hits one shot and he's clutch, ok. Perk hit a clutch jumper against Portland the other night. I guess he's clutch too.

He's a good scorer and a liability on defense. Minnesota has the most efficient offensive starting 5 in the league yet still isn't a playoff team because they don't play defense. Kevin Martin is the last thing they needed.

But enjoy!

Kevin Martin is a very useful player but you can only have one of those all offense guys in your short rotation. Add a few other starters that don't play D to the mix and its easy to point at Martin.

[Miles]

I realize he is young and makes some great passes but Rubio overall is a shit starting PG.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by okcchief

Kevin Martin hits one shot and he's clutch, ok. Perk hit a clutch jumper against Portland the other night. I guess he's clutch too.

He's a good scorer and a liability on defense. Minnesota has the most efficient offensive starting 5 in the league yet still isn't a playoff team because they don't play defense. Kevin Martin is the last thing they needed.

But enjoy!

I disagree. 100%. They didn't exactly play defense when they were starting Luke Ridnour at the 2, either.

SGs who average 15-20 ppg don't grow on trees. The Wolves did what they had to do. They finally have someone besides Kevin Love who can create his own shot.

The only reason Thunder fans hate him is because he's not a player like Harden who can just come off the bench and start producing. He needs more minutes in order to get his production.

And yes, he has inconsistent games. Nobody said he was an all-star. But he's a good player, and a great fit for the Wolves. If the team doesn't start getting some winning streaks going and they miss the playoffs again, I can point to 10 other things wrong with the team before I start blaming Kevin Martin.