Lets not even kid ourselves, the 2015-2016 NBA season is shaping out to be one of the most anticipated in recent memory. The NBA released the full regular season schedule on Tuesday and NBA junkies are drooling over the entertainment in store for us. Elite teams got better, high profile players are coming back from injury with things to prove, new coaches and personnel are in place, and storylines for some of the best matchups are versatile.
With those factors in mind, here are 10 regular season games that you can just go ahead and mark down on your calendar in the first 10 weeks of the 2015-16 NBA season.
Oct. 27 – New Orleans Pelicans at Golden State Warriors (TNT)
Opening night of the regular season will feature a TNT doubleheader, but there is much anticipation for this particular match up. For one, the reigning MVP Stephen Curry and Anthony Davis will be playing. Secondly, it’s a rematch of last year’s first round conference playoff series. Lastly you have Alvin Gentry, former assistant of the Warriors and now head coach of the Pelicans, adding to the story. It will be our first look at Davis and the Pelicans with Gentry and even though their first test will be the defending champs, I can guarantee it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Oct. 28 – San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder (ESPN)
This has become one of those titanic Western Conference rivalries that can’t be missed. It’s only magnified by the Spurs now having LaMarcus Aldridge and David West on hand, so there’s just even more talent and great basketball to be watched when these teams meet for the first time. We’ll have our first look at Oklahoma City under the new coaching leadership of Billy Donovan, and not to mention, we’ll expectedly see a healthy Kevin Durant making his return to regular season action after missing over 50 games last season with a right foot injury.
Oct. 30 – Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets (ESPN)
There will be more than enough reasons to watch a rematch of last season’s Western Conference Finals. James Harden was on Steph Curry’s heels for MVP last season and the two represent some of the individual elite core of the NBA. The Rockets will have an early shot at the defending champion Warriors having added the likes of Ty Lawson this offseason, and their elitism will be challenged.
Nov. 4 – Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors (ESPN)
A true and healthy rivalry has brewed between these two teams. Much like Spurs/OKC, these are two of the dominant and most fun teams to watch in the conference. You have two of the top point guards matching up with each other. The defending champions have to appear on this list several times for the mere fact that we need to see their response. The Clippers have added pieces to their roster to make them even more formidable, and even though this meeting will still be early in the season, it will at least tell us something about where they are.
Nov. 11 – Los Angeles Clippers at Dallas Mavericks (ESPN)
The DeAndre Jordan fiasco was the plot twist of free agency this summer. I chose the second meeting between these two teams (they meet in LA on Oct. 29) because it will be the game where DeAndre Jordan goes to Dallas, which will be the more interesting dynamic to see. I absolutely expect Mavs fans to be booing him, and now that’s something he’ll have to face and respond to, as will his teammates.
Nov. 11 – San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers (ESPN)
LaMarcus Aldridge will be experiencing something different entirely — playing as a visitor in a place that he called home for nine years of his career. Aldridge’s first return to Portland will be emotional for him. I might actually expect him to have a pretty warm reception, possibly even some kind of brief “Thank You” video. Aldridge said he thinks he’ll be booed, and that’s to be expected too, but this wasn’t a nasty break up. Still, it will make the basketball game that much more interesting.
Dec. 5 – Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat (NBA TV)
Yes, it’s still going to be an event when LeBron James goes back to play against the Miami Heat. The Cavs host Miami at home on Oct. 30 on ESPN, but it’s more fun when LeBron goes back to play in Miami. But this match up doesn’t just carry significance because of LeBron anymore, because with Chris Bosh back and healthy along with Dwyane Wade, Goran Dragic, and strong depth, the Heat can pose a legitimate competitive threat to the defending Eastern Conference champions.
Dec. 17 – Oklahoma City Thunder at Cleveland Cavaliers (TNT)
We need our Kevin Durant/LeBron James duels back in rotation. A healthy Durant and full Thunder roster against the totality of LeBron and his Cavalier roster is a talent buffet and has serious Finals potential. The cross matches between these two teams are probably the most exciting of any match up, and if nothing else, you know that Dion Waiters will be trying to drop 40 on his former team.
Dec. 18 – Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs (ESPN)
When the Clippers took down the Spurs in the wildest first-round, seven-game playoff series in NBA history, they were looking like the scariest team in the postseason. They got themselves over a gigantic hump by taking out the defending champs, obviously only to drop a 3-1 series lead to the Rockets in the next round. With both the Spurs and Clippers revamped, this match up carries even more weight going forward.
Christmas Day – Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors (ABC)
Ideally this traditional Finals rematch on Christmas Day will feature both teams fully healthy, which the Cavaliers wish were the case in the Finals this past June. This is the game to watch on Christmas Day but there are interesting matchups all day on December 25th. These teams could be a little different by December, but the Finals rematch game is always taken seriously, even somewhat personally, for the team that lost. Players want to win that Christmas game, and this game has the potential to match the magnitude of what we saw in the Finals.
