Schedule puts Miami Heat in national spotlight
With 29 games to be shown on national TV, audiences around the country will get a good chance to see the Miami Heat's Big Three.
miamiherald.com
BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ
igutierrez@MiamiHerald.com
With the highlighted portion of the Heat's schedule already known, the NBA released the remainder of the league's games Tuesday.
It turns out the Heat's schedule has plenty more highlights to it.
As expected, the Heat has been given the maximum available nationally televised games, with 29 currently scheduled for TNT, ESPN, ABC or NBA TV, and likely five more being chosen by votes for NBA TV's Tuesday ``fan night.''
Last week it was announced the Heat would open the season in Boston, debut on its home floor against the Magic and play on Christmas Day in Los Angeles against the Lakers.
On Tuesday, it was learned the Heat will play its second game against the Lakers on March 10 at AmericanAirlines Arena, part of a difficult six-game homestand that also includes the Bulls, Trail Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs and Thunder, which features last year's scoring champion Kevin Durant and up-and-coming point guard Russell Westbrook.
The Heat opens the season with four of six on the road, including back-to-back games to open the season in Boston and Philadelphia. But both home games in that stretch are intriguing, with Dwight Howard and the Magic opening the home schedule and Michael Beasley and the Timberwolves playing here on Nov. 2.
It's the only time Minnesota comes to Miami, as the Heat faces all Western Conference teams twice. Miami plays all but four Eastern Conference teams four times each, the lone exceptions being the Bulls, Sixers, Nets and Pacers.
The first extended stretch of home games for the Heat starts Nov. 6 with a six-game homestand, and that includes games against the Jazz, Celtics, Suns and the Toronto Raptors.
Chris Bosh's first return visit to Toronto doesn't come until Feb. 16, followed by a season finale in Toronto. LeBron James' return visits to Cleveland are Dec. 2, the second night of a back-to-back, and March 29 to kick off a four-game trip.
In a game that should be more entertaining than usual given their failed attempt at signing any of the Heat's Big 3, Miami plays its first of two games in New York on Dec. 17, with the Knicks and Amare Stoudemire visiting AmericanAirlines on Dec. 28 and Feb. 27.
With the Heat's Christmas schedule forcing it to make a brief two-game West Coast trip to Phoenix and Los Angeles, Miami has a rare three trips out West, the first one including games at Utah, Sacramento and Golden State in early December, and a third trip in January that starts in Milwaukee and follows with games at the Blazers, Clippers and Nuggets.
That five-game trip is the longest of the season for Miami, with three other four-game trips also included in the schedule.
The Heat has 19 sets of back-to-back games on the schedule, up just one from last year's. The friendliest home schedules come in November and March, and the Heat finishes the season with six of nine on the road.
The Heat's exhibition season opens Oct. 5 at home against Detroit, but the rest of that schedule has yet to be released. Training camp opens Sept. 28.
The Miami Herald
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