The release of the NBA schedule lets us put some dates on some of the more compelling matchups that will take place during the 2014-15 regular season. These are the 15 that I am most looking forward to (no repeats allowed):
Knicks @ Cavs (October 30): The easiest call on the list. LeBron James returning to Cleveland will be the story of the season until the Cavaliers' season ends and possibly even after that.
Thunder @ Clippers (October 30): While maybe more symbolic than anything else in a season where the team has to deal with a hard cap, the first game for the Los Angeles Clippers without a certain former owner who will remain nameless holds great importance for the franchise and the league as a whole.
Kings @ Suns (November 7): Isaiah Thomas has been an amazing success story who ended up being basically cast aside by his former team and replaced by a guy he should be able to torch. I am already excited for this one.
Hornets @ Pacers (November 19): This lost more than a little luster with Paul George’s injury but still brings the intrigue, especially if the Hornets have a better record a little less than a month in.
Mavericks @ Rockets (November 22): While I am not sure a player gets a revenge game against a team that did him a huge favor by declining a cheap team option, it will still be fun to see former role player Chandler Parsons battle stars Dwight Howard and James Harden.
Cavs @ Thunder (December 11): Despite being early in the season, this has to be the front-runner for the loudest MVP chants of the year. Oh yeah, Durant vs. LeBron too.
Thunder @ Warriors (December 18): Despite not facing each other after mid-January, these teams played two of the best games of last season and a Thursday tilt on TNT just a week before Christmas could continue the streak.
Trail Blazers @ Rockets (December 22): Damian Lillard and the Blazers’ first game in Houston since the most memorable shot of the playoffs.
Cavs @ Heat (December 25): Even though it should not be anything too groundbreaking, LeBron’s first game against the franchise he won two titles with merits inclusion.
Warriors @ Clippers (December 25): While not nearly as vicious as rivalries in decades past, these two teams legitimately do not like each other. It will also be a nice test of how the Warriors will be different under new coach Steve Kerr.
Timberwolves @ Bucks (January 9): A game that should have been on Opening Night pits two of the more entertaining young cores in the league featuring the top two picks in this year’s stacked draft in Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
Cavs @ Warriors (January 9): You heard it here first: If healthy, Kevin Love drops 40+ in this game.
Thunder @ Wizards (January 21): I bet this makes a whole bunch of people in Oklahoma sick to their stomachs. Get ready, folks.
Cavs @ Bulls (February 12): The two best teams in the East playing after a few months to gel.
Spurs @ Pelicans (April 15): In what could be a beautiful touch, the best Power Forward of all time finishes what could be his final regular season against the current player most likely to eventually take that crown.
