The NBA Season Opener is exactly a week away. Mark off this date from your calendar as some of the league's most popular and competitive teams are ready to take the floor. Vicious rivals have been established, but some will begin brewing in 2013 as the competition stiffens all over the league. Here is the 2013 NBA schedule for the first games of the new season.
Date: Tuesday, Oct. 29
Times: 7 p.m. ET, 8 p.m. ET, 10:30 p.m. ET
Matchups: (In Order Based on Time) Orlando Magic @ Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls @ Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers @ Los Angeles Lakers
Womp! Maybe NBA's plans were to purposely have everybody but Indiana fans forget the Magic and Pacers met at the Fieldhouse on opening night. The Pacers are stacked with stars as Danny Granger makes his return to the NBA. Paul George and George Hill held their own in the regular season and playoffs, while Roy Hibbert finally discovered that he is usually the tallest and toughest body on the floor.
The highlight of the night will be the Bulls vs. Heat. Last season, Chicago took Game 1 from the Heat in Miami, shocking plenty. There was no Derrick Rose and Tom Thibodeau almost had to suit up and play for the Bulls as they had more inactive bodies on the bench than healthy bodies on the court. Rose will be back in action and the question is not if they Bulls will make the playoffs, but if they stay healthy, they will be targeting first place in the Eastern Conference. The season opener means the Heat are back on the defense as champions and they will look to capture their third straight trophy.
Closing the big night, it's L.A. vs. L.A. It is ironic that Doc Rivers will be in the building where his former Boston Celtics team let a championship slip right between their fingers. Maybe that is why the coach is too busy worrying about covering the championship banners? Rivers does not want to look at the 2010 banner that should have been his. The Clippers will try to rule L.A. again in 2013-2014, while the Lakers await for Kobe Bryant to make his return.
