The Washington Wizards will open the 2008-09 season at Verizon Center on Wednesday, Oct. 29 when they take on the New Jersey Nets at 7:00 p.m. The 2008-09 schedule marks the first time since the 1999-2000 season that the Wizards will tip off the season at home and features 11 national television appearances.
“We’ve had a solid offseason and we’re excited to begin a new season of Wizards basketball with our core players intact and ready to build on what we achieved last year,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “We’re looking forward to having our great fans join us as we take the next step in becoming one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.”
For the first time in franchise history, the Wizards will play nationally televised games on both Thanksgiving (Nov. 27 vs. Orlando, 8:00 on TNT) and Christmas (Dec. 25 at Cleveland, 8:00 on TNT). Other nationally televised games include Nov. 12 vs. Utah (ESPN, 8:00 p.m.), Nov. 21 vs. Houston (ESPN, 7:00 p.m.), Dec. 11 vs. Boston (TNT, 8:00 p.m.), Jan. 22 at L.A. Lakers (TNT, 10:30 p.m.), Feb. 6 vs. Denver (ESPN, 8:00 p.m.), Feb. 20 at New Jersey (ESPN, 8:00 p.m.), April 2 vs. Cleveland (TNT, 8:00 p.m.), April 8 at Cleveland (ESPN, 7:00 p.m.) and April 10 at Toronto (ESPN2, 8:00 p.m.).
After opening the season at Verizon Center, Eddie Jordan, Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler and company will begin November with road games Nov. 1 at Detroit and Nov. 5 at Milwaukee before playing 14 of their next 22 games at home. Included in that stretch are Michael Beasley’s first game in Washington on Nov. 18 when Southeast Division rival Miami comes to town, Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets’ only visit to the Nation’s Capital on Nov. 21, the lone appearance by Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers on Dec. 5 and the first game against the NBA Champion Boston Celtics on Dec. 11.
The new year begins with a Sunday afternoon playoff rematch against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at 1:00 p.m. on Jan. 4 and continues with visits by Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 26, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and the Denver Nuggets on Feb. 6, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs on Feb. 21, Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets on March 11 and the second home matchup with the Cavs on April 2. The Wizards’ home finale will be on April 13 vs. Toronto (they will close out the regular season April 15 at Boston).
The Wizards will play 19 of their 41 home contests on the weekend (Friday-Sunday), with three games scheduled for Thursdays. They will host each team in the Eastern Conference twice, with the exception of Boston and Milwaukee (the Wizards will travel to Toronto and Indiana only once). The team’s longest road trip of the season is four games (done three times). All home games will tip off at 7:00 p.m. with the exception of Sunday games (Dec. 21 vs. Dallas at 6:00 p.m., Jan. 4 vs. Cleveland at 1:00 p.m., Feb. 8 vs. Indiana at 6:00 p.m. and March 15 vs. Sacramento at 6:00 p.m.), the game on Jan. 31 vs. L.A. Clippers (8:00 p.m. tip due to an afternoon Capitals game) and the previously mentioned national television games.
Fans looking to see the Wizards in action at Verizon Center can purchase a variety of ticket plans for the 2008-09 season. Full season and partial plans are on sale now with prices as low as $31 for lower level seating and $16 for upper level seating. For more information on these special plans, fans can call the Wizards sales office at 202-661-5050 or visit WashingtonWizards.com. Individual game tickets will go on sale at a later date and will be made available through all Ticketmaster outlets, at the Verizon Center Box Office and online at WashingtonWizards.com.
The Wizards’ preseason schedule and local broadcast schedule will be released at a later date.
Wow, end of the season is going to be brutal!
You and Dat killed me, both are great motto's.
