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Another highly anticipated NBA campaign will soon be upon us with 30 teams battling it out for the 2021/22 title. It’s a long and grueling season but at least those franchises will have enjoyed a longer break than a year ago.
As the sporting schedules return to normal, each team will play a full 82 games across the regular season. From that point, the playoffs will take over and it all leads up to the finals series which is set to be played next May.
The TV broadcasters have a lot of basketball to cover over the next few months but how are their schedules lining up for the opening week?
A Cracking Start
The schedulers couldn’t have given fans a better start with two of the giants of the game kicking things off. The new NBA season starts on October 19th and the very first game features two of the favorites for glory this time around.
The Brooklyn Nets will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the first live televised match of 2021/22 and both teams are backed to go deep into the new campaign. The early NBA betting lines suggest that the Nets are clear favorites to win the pennant this season while the Bucks are in third place.
The LA Lakers are sandwiched between those two sides but clearly this is a huge game with which to begin the new season. While one game won’t have a bearing on the final destination of the NBA Championship, this could offer a strong indication as to what to expect from both sides.
The Nets have never won the NBA title but they have some serious depth to their roster, having assembled some of the biggest names in the sport. James Harden, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving will be among those looking to feature for Brooklyn in this curtain raiser.
On the opposing side of the court, the Milwaukee Bucks will begin the defense of the title that they won earlier in 2021. Most of the members of that successful roster remain with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday among the key players moving forward.
Busy Opening Day
The opening day of the new season sees a second game make it onto the live TV schedules. The Golden State Warriors and the LA Lakers face off in what will be another thrilling encounter.
As we’ve already seen, the Lakers are second favorites to win the NBA Championships while the Warriors are just behind the Bucks in fourth place. Golden State were the most successful franchise from 2015 through to 2018 but they’ve failed to make it through to the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.
Despite that poor return, Stephen Curry was the leading points scorer in the competition last season and he will be pivotal once again. The reason for renewed optimism among Warriors’ fans concerns the return of some of their high-profile players from that successful period.
Andre Iguodala returns to the bay after two seasons with Miami Heat while Klay Thompson is expected to return following a long term injury lay off.
In the Lakers’ camp, LeBron James is clearly the biggest name on display but there is some serious quality going right through the LA roster. Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Russell Westbrook will be among those looking to make an early impression.
Moving through the Schedules
The opening day of the 2021/22 campaign gets things started in the best possible fashion but the live action continues through week one. Next up on the calendar is a packed Wednesday card with no fewer than 11 live games available.
Traditional live broadcaster TNT leads with two high profile games: The Boston Celtics will take on the New York Knicks followed by a clash between the Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns are another team attracting interest this season after a positive showing last time out. Devin Booker and Jevon Carter will be among the players to watch over the coming months.
Day two continues with some interesting match ups on the live TV schedules. Also on the list are the Bulls vs the Pistons, the Thunder vs the Jazz and the Kings vs the Trail Blazers.
As week one moves forward, the packed live scheduling continues. Also ready for broadcast in the opening seven days are the Clippers vs the Warriors, the Nets vs the Sixers and the Suns vs the Lakers.
All Set
We’re set for a full schedule of 82 regular season games for each of the 30 NBA franchises. The playoffs will then take over with the last game of the NBA finals series set to take place on May 30th, 2022.
That’s a lot of games to cover and every night will see live TV broadcasts across eight months of competition. The schedules for the first week are in but there will be many more opportunities to catch your favorite franchises throughout the 2021/22 campaign.
Along with the regular TV companies, there are other ways in which you can follow the action. The NBA issue their own league pass which offers live streaming throughout the campaign and covers more games than the standard broadcasters.
The diary will be packed through week two and beyond so remember to stay up to date with the schedules and take in as much live NBA action as you possibly can.
