The NBA 2013-2014 schedule was released earlier today which made this Tuesday an exciting Tuesday in a month of total yawners from an NBA perspective. The schedule was first announced and dissected live at 6 p.m. on NBA TV, a not so exciting almost infomercial but something I've watched in years past. I got home a few minutes before 6 but as I don't have NBA TV (astonishing, I know) since I switched to Fios, I spent a half hour wolfing down a tuna melt and about a half a bag of Utz Salt and Vinegar potato chips (the vinegariest and therefore best salt and vinegar chips) before sitting down and poring over what I had been waiting all day to get to. I realize my restraint in waiting that 30 minutes here is remarkable. You can tell me that next time you see me.
Sadly, but true-ly, I schedule my life from November to April around the Wizards' schedule so in addition to getting into the ins and outs of how the schedule might affect the team's fortunes this year, understanding how the schedule lays out is especially important for me to plan my late fall, winter and early spring. After 13 years of being a season ticket holder, I'm an expert at reviewing an NBA team's schedule which is unfortunately a not very marketable skill. Here's a lucky seven what I get out of the schedule and what I'm already looking forward to.
1. The Next Game
For the eighth time in the last ten years, the Wizards open the season on the road, this time the day before Hallowe'en in Auburn Hills against the Detroit Pistons. Auburn Hills is a full 32 miles from Detroit, in case you care about that sort of stuff. That's the next game; the game I have metaphorically circled on my calendar. I need things in life to look forward to and what better than game one when my team is undefeated.
Following that game, the Wizards open their home season two days later on Friday, November 1 against the Philadelphia 76ers so I'll be itching to get into Verizon Center when November rolls around. I like these first two games. Neither the Pistons nor the 76ers made the playoffs last year and each team has experienced significant roster turnover this offseason. I don't want to get too optimistic here but it looks to me like we could be 2-0. OK, I know I'm being too optimistic. Talk to me about it on November 2.
2. Tons O' Friday / Saturday Games
If there's one thing I've loved about recent Wizards seasons, it's the number of Friday and Saturday home games. And let's face it, despite some great wins the last few years, the overall results of our play have not been something to love. This year is no exception. Of the Wizards 41 home games, seven are on Friday and 13 are on Saturday. That's about half of the home slate packed into two days of the week when you don't have to get up the next morning and go to work. And there's something else: Friday and Saturday games sell on the secondary market, which allows me to reduce the cost of my season ticket commitment just a little. Double bonus!
3. The First Dozen
Last year the Wizards started the season 0-12, the worst start in franchise history. Last year's first 12 games weren't all that tough on paper. There were as many home games as road games (six of each if you need that math doing for you) and only six were against teams which ended up making the playoffs. But the Wizards couldn't pull out a win, even considering two of the first 12 were against the lowly Charlotte Bobcats.
The expectation for performance in this year's first 12 games has to be better. Hell, it can't possibly get any worse. But it looks like a tougher road. Eight games are on the road including a three game swing through Oklahoma and Texas and four games are against teams expected to go deep into the playoffs (Miami, Oklahoma City and San Antonio on the road; Brooklyn at home). Of the remaining opponents, we get a potentially much improved Cleveland Cavaliers team twice and a rejuvenated Minnesota team. Things don't look good but I think we need at least five wins in our first 12. I've already given the first two games to us as wins. Let's see how we do. Again, it can't be worse than zero wins.
4. Teams We Play Three Times
Each team in the NBA plays every team in the opposite conference twice, which makes up 30 of the 82 games in the season. That leaves 52 games against the other 14 teams in the teams' own conference, which works out to four games against ten of the teams and just three against the other four.
This year, the Wizards luck out a little bit. Of the 15 teams in the Eastern Conference, most basketball experts place five of those teams squarely in the playoffs: the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks. Of those five teams, the Wizards play only the Heat four times (teams have to play teams in their own division four times), meaning we get a pass on a fourth game against most of the supposed strongest teams in the East. Every game counts. We may need a W or two at the end of the year accumulated by avoiding one of these four opponents.
5. Two Weeks Off For Christmas
For me, not for the Wizards.
Every year, I face a dilemma at Christmas: stay in town and spend time watching the Wizards at Verizon Center or spend time out of time with my family. Usually the family wins or I at least split the difference by missing one game around the holidays. This year, I don't have to make that choice as the Wizards are away from home from December 15th through the 27th. Merry Christmas to me!
6. The MLK Day Game Is Back
One of the highlights of the basketball season for me is the (mostly) annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day matinee game. I love leaving work at noonish and heading downtown for some lunch with a beer or two followed by some hoops (and more beer) while everyone else is still at work. The MLK Day game takes place in the same cities every year but in Washington we skip one every four years due to the presidential inauguration (which was last year). This year's game is against the Philadelphia 76ers at 2 p.m. on January 20th. Can't wait!
7. Road Trips
One of the things I love more than almost anything else is traveling. I try to take at least one trip a year in the summer somewhere new to unwind and recharge and maybe a long weekend or two at other points during the year. In the last six years or so, an essential part of my travel itinerary has been taking road trips to see Wizards away games. I clearly can't plan these trips without the Wizards' schedule.
Every year I hope for a Friday or Saturday road game in Memphis or Cleveland and once again, I am disappointed by the schedule makers at the league office in New York. But there are two weekends in March that look like ideal road trips to check out the Wizards in a new city. There are Saturday games in Philadelphia on March 1 and Milwaukee the following weekend. Both trips could be accomplished without taking time off work, are relatively inexpensive and are probably against struggling teams (translation: cheaper secondary market tickets). In case those two don't sound like ideal travel destinations in March, I'm thinking cheesesteaks and beer in addition to some hoops.
So that's it. Weeks of excitement boiled down to a few paragraphs. Next significant date: September 28 when training camp opens.
No comments:
Post a Comment