The NBA schedule 2010 is the most anticipated in years. Of course, the NBA schedule has become must-see TV because of one team – and, coincidentally, that one team is headlining opening night tonight. Although last year’s two NBA Finals participants are playing tonight, and although those teams are the Celtics and Lakers, they are afterthoughts. Although Shaq is debuting in Boston, Yao Ming is coming back to the Rockets, and the Lakers are hanging their latest banner, it all means nothing right now. Tonight, the start of the NBA schedule is all about Miami’s three kings.
At 7:30 p,m. est, history will begin to be made when the Miami Heat take the court in Boston. For the first time in the regular season, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh will play together after being on the same floor for three minutes in the preseason.
The NBA schedule 2010 has become all about the Heat, just as the summer was. Of course, James was the headline act, as he now begins to rebuild his reputation. But although he was slammed for not winning a championship in Cleveland, not winning in Miami after this offseason will be an even greater sin to many fans.
It all begins tonight against a team that knocked the old Heat out last season. The Celtics defeated the Heat in the first round of the playoffs, then sent James out of Cleveland by upsetting the Cavaliers in the next round. Despite the Celtics being minutes away from a championship last year, their age and the new-look Heat have made them long shots.
With Shaq joining the Celtics’ own Big Three, the Celtics look to open the NBA season by making a big statement. Meanwhile, the team that stopped the Celtics in the Finals – and the team that is still the two-time defending champion – also returns to action.
At 10:30 p.m. est, the Lakers will receive their latest rings, before going for Phil Jackson’s fourth career three-peat. They start off against the Rockets, who are getting Yao Ming back and are trying to threaten the Lakers in the crowded Western Conference.
Tonight’s NBA schedule is consumed by Heat-Celtics and Rockets-Lakers hype, yet they are not the only games on the docket. At 10 p.m., two more Western Conference contenders look to take the next step, as the Suns visit the Trail Blazers. Phoenix fell just short in the conference finals against the Lakers, but they beat Portland in the first round along the way.
The rest of the league’s teams will start their season off tomorrow and Thursday. Yet for all intents and purposes, the teams highlighting tonight’s schedule are among the few that viewers will really focus on.
Sources
NBA.com- “Scores & Schedule”
Hardwood Houdini- “Celtics vs Heat: Who Will Rule the East?”
