New York, NY (My Sportsbook) - The
Los Angeles Lakers, fresh off their 15th NBA championship, will begin their title defense next season on Tuesday, October 27 against the city rival Clippers.
The contest, pitting the Lakers' Kobe Bryant against the Clippers' Blake Griffin, the top overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, is the second tilt of an opening-night doubleheader featured on the NBA's 2009-10 schedule, which was released on Tuesday.
The first game of the doubleheader, which will be broadcast on TNT, matches a pair of Eastern Conference contenders in the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, both looking to rebound after disappointing playoff campaigns last season. Boston, after a championship in the spring of 2008, was eliminated by Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals, while the top-seeded Cavaliers were knocked off by the Magic in the conference finals.
Orlando, which fell to the Lakers in the NBA Finals in five games, will open its season on Wednesday, October 28 at home against the Philadelphia 76ers. The first of two games between the Magic and Lakers will take place on Monday, January 18 in LA.
The Magic will also play on Christmas, hosting the Celtics, to highlight a holiday schedule full of anticipated matchups. The Lakers, on Christmas, will host the new-look Cavs.
The battle between the league's previous two MVP winners -- LA's Bryant and Cleveland's LeBron James -- received an added twist with the Cavs' offseason acquisition of future Hall-of-Fame center Shaquille O'Neal, who teamed with Bryant for three straight Lakers championships earlier in the decade (2000-02).
ESPN will air three games on Christmas, starting with perennial All-Star Dwyane Wade and the Heat visiting the New York Knicks. The evening doubleheader features the Clippers battling the Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers hosting the Denver Nuggets.
The All-Star Game is set for Sunday, February 14. It will be played at the new stadium of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys in Arlington.
ABC will exclusively broadcast the NBA Finals for a seventh straight season in June.
