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UPDATE: The NBA officially announced the opening night schedule of Nets-Warriors and Lakers-Clippers. The League also announced Dec. 23 will feature Celtics vs. Bucks and Mavericks vs. Suns. Plus, the Christmas Day slate was confirmed. Here are all the details via Shams:
NBA schedule dates:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 2, 2020
Dec. 22: Nets-Warriors, Lakers-Clippers
Dec. 23: Celtics-Bucks, Mavericks-Suns
Dec. 25: Pelicans-Heat, Warriors-Bucks, Nets-Celtics, Mavericks-Lakers, Clippers-Nuggets
The NBA is set to release the schedule for the first half of the 2020-21 season this week. As a result, we’ve gotten a few big leaks the past couple of days. Yesterday, Woj gave us a tentative Christmas Day schedule and now we’ve got an idea of who will be playing on Opening Night on Dec. 22. Honestly, it’s even better than X-Mas. The Brooklyn Nets and Kevin Durant will take on Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors, per Shams Charania. The Battle of L.A. will also take place with the Los Angeles Lakers facing the Los Angeles Clippers. This will be broadcasted on TNT to start us off.
The NBA’s tentative Dec. 22 opening night doubleheader on TNT: Nets vs. Warriors in Brooklyn and Lakers vs. Clippers in Los Angeles, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 2, 2020
If all goes well, this will be KDs first game back since the 2019 playoffs, when he was with the Warriors. It will also be his first game against the Dubs since leaving via free agency last offseason. The Lakers-Clippers game will feature the reigning 6th Man of the Year — Montrezl Harrell — facing his former team after leaving via free agency. Both are big-time narratives and both matchups feel a lot better than any of the five games on Christmas Day (not to take away from X-Mas too much).