Showing posts with label nba-tv. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nba-tv. Show all posts

Friday, March 2, 2012

Sportscast Gives Points To The Opposition

There are still a number of "Instant Media" reporters that still need to understand the importance of utilizing their internal resources to develop and/or report stories.

This might seem minor to some people, but as a sports fan I, for one, feel entitled to get "my" sports news based on a legitimate effort being made to bring me the story. Especially from CBS.

Another example of this took place on Wednesday (2/29). I was listening to WBBM Newsradio 780 and heard Sports Director Jeff Joniak deliver one of his afternoon sportscasts on the all-news station. Joniak mentioned the story about the likelihood of MLB adding 2 more teams to its post-season in time for the upcoming 2012 season, saying (to the effect of) "It will be announced tomorrow, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports".

And then Joniak went on to his next story. Huh? I'm not here to pick on Joniak specifically, but I do need to remind you that he is the Sports Director for a CBS owned and operated 50,000 watt radio station in a top 3 market. However, if he were one of my students and did that in a practice session, he would not have even finished that sportscast without me stopping him.

How could that story possibly have made WBBM's airwaves as it aired? After all, this is a CBS station. Just a few weeks ago, CBS Sports hired baseball expert Jon Heymann away from Sports Illustrated, and serious baseball fans (and Twitter followers of both Heymann and Rosenthal) know that these two guys are often in the battle for breaking baseball news. This story being one of national interest and impact (like it or not) would seem an avenue for Jon Heymann to be pursuing for "his" and the CBS audience.

Yet, Joniak merely gave credit to the biggest individual competitor to the assigned reporter for "his" network, instead of contacting Heymann in an effort to confirm, deny, or hold this story.

The on-air story should have been something like "CBS baseball beat reporter Jon Heymann has confirmed an earlier report that MLB will announce....." OR "CBS Sports' Jon Heymann has yet to confirm speculation that MLB would announce......".

Doing so would have demonstrated to listeners that he (Joniak) or the station was digging for information about this story, while making hardcore fans who had previously heard Rosenthal's report hesitate since it had not become fact. In the process, it provides another reason to tune to WBBM Radio Sports (the next day) to hear a confirmation or denial of the story.

If he (Joniak) could not somehow reach Heymann, then just maybe someone else at CBS Sports has some information one way or the other. For that matter, Chicago is one of only a few markets which has TWO MLB teams in the area. The sister station broadcasts one of them. Why not reach an executive with at least one of those teams for comment? A nice local angle, even if nothing is official either way.

Instead, Joniak provided me with a big reason NOT to return to his sportscasts. If it all depends on what a reporter for a competing network says, then I'll just go to Fox Sports or even ESPN to get my information about this.

Had this been on a sports talk show and he (or whoever is hosting) commented about the Rosenthal story within a discussion of the MLB playoff format, that would be different. (Although still not desirable for a competing station or network.) But this report I heard was on an all-news station.

Jeff Joniak on WBBM is most certainly not the only sportscaster who has been guilty of this. That's the issue. Especially when sports radio is still losing its audience in several major cities (even though there has been a rise within the past couple of months) while live telecasts are experiencing a ratings frenzy. For so many years, radio was the "immediate" media when it came to breaking and covering sports (and news) stories. Incidents such as this one, which are all too common, provide reasons why that could be changed back.

For example, even with the backlash from the NBA lockout and the shortened and injury marred season, TV ratings continue to be a slam dunk for the rights holders. Local telecast ratings are up nearly 20% for the first half of this season, with an estimated four teams showing 100% or higher increases.

Even the Los Angeles Clippers, which for years existed to give Southern California basketball fans additional chances to see their favorite teams and opposing players, have shown a 138% ratings increase thus far. Oklahoma City and Philadelphia, with their teams off to great starts, have increased more than 100%. Amazingly, the Minnesota Timberwolves, not exactly a threat to dominate the playoffs, have shown a strong increase as well.

ESPN/ABC, TNT, and NBA-TV are all showing double digit ratings increases thus far, with NBA-TV up more than 50%. The rise for NBA-TV is likely due to an increased number of doubleheaders and showing on more nights than in the past, in order to meet their previously determined number of telecasts.

New York and Chicago are seeing noteworthy ratings increases. Jeremy Lin and the Knicks have attracted some of highest numbers in several seasons. The Chicago Bulls telecasts on Comcast SportsNet Chicago have shown a 45% increase as well.Yet, among the few teams which have dropped off in audience (despite the strong national showing) are the local telecasts of the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs. San Antonio has won 12 of its last 14 games (as of press time).

Even the NBA All-Star Game drew decent ratings, especially when you consider it was played later than usual this year (due to the lockout) and went up against the Academy Awards. Miami was the top local market for the TNT telecast, followed by OK City, Orlando, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

The FanGraphs web site has begun to gradually unveil its poll of local baseball TV announcing teams around the country. To make it even more interesting, they are announcing the results for the 30 teams' telecasts starting from the bottom. Finishing last is the White Sox TV team of Ken Harrelson and Steve Stone. No surprise here. Even the expertise of Steve Stone after all of these years is pulled down by "Horrible-son" (as he is referred to by his detractors). While I expect the usual choices, such as Vin Scully, to be up at or near the top, the poll results also include plenty of fan comments in support of the voting.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, NASCAR does regarding future scheduling of its major races. A major rain storm could be the catalyst for a significant change. Last Sunday's postponement of the Daytona 500 due to heavy rain "forced" it to air on Monday night in prime time. Coincidentally, there was no NBA action (since the All-Star Game was played the night before), and obviously no baseball or football. In other words, even though there were plenty of college hoops games airing, there were no other pro sports to compete. Some markets had strong ratings for the Daytona telecast, even with only a few hours advance notice.

In fact, WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee had stronger numbers for the Daytona race than the WITI-TV telecast of the Big Ten game between the University of Wisconsin and Ohio State.

I have to think the NASCAR folks, and its TV partners, will take a look at the prime time possibilities for at least a handful of their key races in the future.

SAN DIEGO: Fox Sports San Diego is surging ahead in preparation for its Padres telecasts even though they were still awaiting (as of press time) approval from MLB of the new package. Mike Pomeranz has been named as studio host for the pre-game and post-game shows. Pomeranz is leaving KARE-TV Minneapolis and his news anchor role to come to San Diego.

ALBANY: A most interesting move by WOFX 980. The station has dropped from being a Mets affiliate, but will continue to carry Major League Baseball starting next week. It seems the station has become a Red Sox affiliate, including at least 10 spring training broadcasts.

On the TV side in Albany, some Mets telecasts air locally, but because it is a Yankees "secondary market", Red Sox local telecasts cannot air in that market. WOFX will also be able to carry the 18 games between the Red Sox and Yankees. Normally Yankees fans would not want the "rival" broadcast, but the speculation is that some fans may choose the Red Sox version ahead of John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman doing the Yankees call. The station could also attract Yankees fans in general when the Red Sox are playing Tampa and other Yankees rivals.

Monday, February 28, 2011

The Broadcast Booth - March 1st Update........

Usually when a media member is voted into a Hall of Fame it understandably takes a back seat to the players and coaches who are also honored. But not this time. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame should add an extra wing for the induction of Eddie Einhorn, even though he never played at the college level.

I have often said that while James Naismith is credited with inventing the game of basketball, Einhorn should be credited with "inventing" college basketball as we know it.

Those of us over the age of 40 most likely remember how very few college basketball games were on TV until the late 1960's. It was Einhorn who formed the TVS Television Network of stations (regardless of CBS, NBC, ABC, or independent affiliation) to show a few of college basketball's biggest matchups on Saturday afternoons during the regular season. Prior to that, TVS only handled coverage of the NCAA Tournament. You see, it wasn't the billion dollar deal with days and nights of live games it is today. When Einhorn "invented" the game, none of the national networks so much as bothered with college hoops, even at tournament time.

At this time of the year, the "E" in ESPN should really stand for Einhorn. He paved the way for them.

The 1968 game between UCLA (with Lew Alcindor, later to be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) against Houston (with Elvin Hayes) played in the Astrodome was one of the first prominent regular season games ever to be nationally televised, and it was Einhorn's TVS that made it possible.

From there, the major schools (for basketball) of the day, such as UCLA, Kentucky, Notre Dame, LSU, and Maryland, began to appear on a series of Saturday afternoon telecasts. And the era of televised college basketball was born.

Induction ceremonies, including Einhorn's will be on November 20 in Kansas City. Any station or network which televises college hoops should be there in tribute.

Today, Einhorn remains Vice Chairman of the Chicago White Sox and is in his 30th season as a team official.

Elsewhere, it was good to see an error corrected because of a reporter knowing to verify what another source "reported". And in this case, it was as innocent mistake.

Orlando Cabrera, the infielder who recently signed with the Cleveland Indians for the coming season, then did a lengthy interview (reportedly nearly 2 hours) with a radio station in Cartagena in his native Colombia which was totally in Spanish. One of the questions had Cabrera addressing what things might be like when a player decides to retire from the big leagues. The Colombian Newspaper, El Universal, also picked up the interview. Then, in a translation to English, the quote was interpreted as Cabrera saying this would be his final season.

The "final season" story was picked up in the U.S. by several sources including MLB Network. It wasn't until hours later when local reporters began to ask Cabrera about his comment that he (Cabrera) issued a denial that it would be his last season. I am not certain as to which reporter(s) uncovered the error, but this shows the value of checking with the source rather than reporting what someone else is reporting.

Meanwhile, with ESPN being busy with a ton of college basketball games as tournament time draws nearer, NBA-TV keeps the ball bouncing with an additional slate of games this week.

On Tuesday (3/1) they originate the N.Y. at Orlando game. On Wednesday (3/2) they pick up a doubleheader (instead of ESPN) with local feeds from the New Orleans vs. N.Y. game followed by Houston at L.A. Clippers. After TNT does its usual Thursday doubleheader, NBA-TV will air the 2 regular season games from London this Friday and Saturday (3/4 - 3/5) afternoon between Toronto and New Jersey.

Unfortunately, sports media lost two of its major figures within the past few days. Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs are mourning the loss of Bill Grigsby, who was a part of the Chiefs radio broadcasts from 1963 through 2009. His biggest moments included the Chiefs' lone Super Bowl win in Super Bowl IV. Grigsby also called Kansas City A's games in the 50's and 60's (before their move to Oakland) as well as some University of Kansas football games.

Charleston WV sports radio host Wes Ryan passed away last week at the age of 33. Ryan was Program Director of WSWW Radio and a co-host (with Carl Lee) of a daily show.

In addition, University of Iowa radio football analyst Ed Podolak continues to recover from serious injuries after having been struck by a vehicle early last week in Scottsdale AZ. Podolak has been on Hawkeyes radio since the late 80's, after having played for the K.C. Chiefs in the NFL.

St. LOUIS: On a much brighter note, this week marks the return of Cardinals baseball to KMOX after a 5-year absence. The exhibition schedule includes 2 weekday afternoon broadcasts each week during this month, bumping KMOX's airing of Rush Limbaugh to the station web site on those days.

For this Saturday (3/5), KMOX will air the Cards on tape delay following the NHL Blues' Noon game aired live. Ironically, on Tuesday March 29th KMOX will air the Blues game live and move the Cardinals broadcast to KTRS, the station the Cards came from due to weak signal coverage at night. KMOX will give priority to the Cardinals once the regular season starts, even ahead of any Blues post-season games.

The end of the current college hoops season will end the University of Missouri's contract with KMOX. Word is that KMOX will not continue due to the return of the Cardinals and the number of the conflicts with the Cards and the Blues.

BALTIMORE: The Fan 105.7 has fine-tuned its weekday schedule as of this week. The Norris & Davis morning show has expanded until 10 AM, moving Mark Vivano's show back to 10 AM to 1 PM. Bob Haynie takes over the 1 to 3 PM slot from Bruce Cunningham, while Scott Garceau and Jeremy Conn air from 3 to 7 PM.

PORTLAND ME: The Western Maine High School Basketball Tournament broadcasts have returned to the radio airwaves via 96.3 FM and 1310 AM. But it's how they got there. A pair of local businessmen actually bought the time from the stations and are selling the advertising time on their own. It will be interesting to see how the broadcasts are received by the audience, and just how much advertising revenue is generated. In other words, whether the businessmen or the station lose revenue this season. (The station would lose if the businessmen sell enough time to make the venture profitable.) That will go a long way toward if or how the games are aired next year. So far, the men say that they are already considering adding high school football broadcasts for the fall.

WINNIPEG: Sports Radio 1290 adds a new local show in 2 weeks (starting March 16) with The Hustler & Lawless Show. Gary Lawless, a local columnist, and Andrew "Hustler" Paterson will co-host. What makes this even more interesting is that the show will also stream on the WinnipegFreePress.com newspaper site.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The NBA national telecast schedule

By request, here is a calendar version of nationally televised NBA games as of now. Of course, the schedule is subject to change, especially later into the regular season.

The games listed on WGN-TV are those available on WGN America only. (The Bulls games carried just on WGN-TV Chicago are not available nationally.) NBA-TV continues having the fans choose the games for most Tuesday nights. All times ET.


Tuesday, Oct. 26
7:30: Miami at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, Oct. 27
8:00: Chicago at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)
Thursday, Oct. 28
8:00: Washington at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (TNT)
Friday, Oct. 29
8:00: Orlando at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Oct. 30
8:30: Denver at Houston (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Oct. 31
7:00: Utah at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)

Monday, Nov. 1
8:00: Portland at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 2
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 3
8:00: Milwaukee at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Sacramento (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 4
8:00: New York at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 5
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 6
9:00: Denver at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 7
7:00: Boston at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 8
7:00: San Antonio at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 9
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 10
7:00: Utah at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: L.A. Clippers at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 11
8:00: Boston at Miami (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 12
7:00: Utah at Atlanta (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 13
8:00: Washington at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Golden State at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Nov. 14
7:30: Houston at New York, (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 15
7:00: Memphis at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 16
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00: Phoenix at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at San Antonio (ESPN)
Thursday, Nov. 18
8:00: Phoenix at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 19
7:00: Oklahoma City at Boston (ESPN)
9:30: Chicago at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Nov. 20
8:00: Dallas at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 21
6:00: New Orleans at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 23
8:30: Orlando at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Nov. 24
7:30: Miami at Orlando (ESPN)
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Nov. 25
8:00: Washington at Atlanta (TNT)
10:30: Sacramento at L.A. Clippers (TNT)
Friday, Nov. 26
7:00: Houston at Charlotte (ESPN2)
9:30: Golden State at Memphis (ESPN2)
Saturday, Nov. 27
7:00: Orlando at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:00: Chicago at Sacramento (WGN)
Sunday, Nov. 28
7:00: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Monday, Nov. 29
8:30: Houston at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Nov. 30
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)


Wednesday, Dec. 1
7:30: Portland at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 2
8:00: Miami at Cleveland (TNT)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 3
8:00: Chicago at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 4
8:00: Houston at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Orlando at Milwaukee (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 6
7:00: Atlanta at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 7
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 8
7:00: Denver at Boston (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 9
8:00: Boston at Philadelphia (TNT)
10:30: Orlando at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Chicago (ESPN)
10:30: Miami at Golden State (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 11
8:00: Minnesota at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Utah at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 13
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 14
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 15
7:00: Boston at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Portland at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Dec. 16
8:00: Atlanta at Boston (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 17
7:00: Miami at New York (ESPN)
9:30: Phoenix at Dallas (ESPN)
Saturday, Dec. 18
7:00: Miami at Washington (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Dec. 19
7:00: Phoenix at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
Monday, Dec. 20
7:30: Dallas at Miami (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 21
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 22
7:00: Chicago at Washington (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 23
8:00: San Antonio at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Phoenix (TNT)
Saturday, Dec. 25
12:00: Chicago at New York (ESPN)
2:30: Boston at Orlando (ABC)
5:00: Miami at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
8:00: Denver at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Dec. 27
7:00: Detroit at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Dec. 28
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Dec. 29
10:30: Utah at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Dec. 30
7:00: New York at Orlando (TNT)
9:30: San Antonio at Dallas (TNT)
Friday, Dec. 31
3:00: New Jersey at Chicago (WGN)


Sunday, Jan. 2
9:00: Houston at Portland (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 3
8:00: Philadelphia at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 4
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 5
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Phoenix (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 6
8:00: Oklahoma City at Dallas (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Sacramento (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 7
8:00: Houston at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: New York at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 8
8:00: Boston at Chicago (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 9
8:00: Cleveland at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Monday, Jan. 10
7:30: Houston at Boston (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 11
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 12
8:30: Oklahoma City at Houston (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Jan. 13
8:00: Orlando at Oklahoma City (TNT)
10:30: Miami at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 14
8:00: Dallas at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: Portland at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 15
8:00: Miami at Chicago (NBA-TV,WGN)
Sunday, Jan. 16
9:00: Denver at San Antonio (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 17
1:00: Chicago at Memphis (ESPN)
4:00: Sacramento at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Orlando at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Tuesday, Jan. 18
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 19
9:00: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 20
8:00: Dallas at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: L.A. Clippers at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 21
8:00: Phoenix at Washington (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 22
7:30: Utah at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
8:00: Cleveland at Chicago (WGN)
Monday, Jan. 24
7:30: Washington at New York (NBA-TV)
10:00: Sacramento at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Jan. 25
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Jan. 26
9:30: San Antonio at Utah (ESPN)
Thursday, Jan. 27
8:00: Miami at New York (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Portland (TNT)
Friday, Jan. 28
10:30: Boston at Phoenix (ESPN)
Saturday, Jan. 29
8:00: Indiana at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: Atlanta at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, Jan. 30
1:00: Miami at Oklahoma City (ABC)
3:30: Boston at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
10:00: Utah at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Jan. 31
7:00: Denver at New Jersey (NBA-TV)


Tuesday, Feb. 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 2
8:00: New Orleans at Oklahoma City (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 3
8:00: Miami at Orlando (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 4
8:00: Dallas at Boston (ESPN)
10:30: Utah at Denver (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 5
7:00: Atlanta at Washington (NBA-TV)
10:30: Chicago at Golden State (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 6
2:30: Orlando at Boston (ABC)
Monday, Feb. 7
8:00: Minnesota at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
10:30: Phoenix at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 9
7:30: L.A. Clippers at New York (NBA-TV)
10:30: Denver at Golden State (NBA-TV)
Thursday, Feb. 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Boston (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 11
8:00: L.A. Lakers at New York (ESPN)
Friday, Feb. 11
10:30: Phoenix at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 12
7:00: Charlotte at Atlanta (NBA-TV)
8:00: Chicago at New Orleans (WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 13
1:00: Miami at Boston (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at Orlando (ABC)
8:00: Oklahoma City at Golden State (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 14
7:00: San Antonio at New Jersey (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, Feb. 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 16
9:00: Denver at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 17
8:00: San Antonio at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (TNT)
Sunday, Feb. 20
TBD All-Star Game (TNT)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, Feb. 23
8:00: Oklahoma City at San Antonio (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Portland (ESPN)
Thursday, Feb. 24
8:00: Miami at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Boston at Denver (TNT)
Friday, Feb. 25
8:00: Oklahoma City at Orlando (ESPN)
10:30: Denver at Portland (ESPN)
Saturday, Feb. 26
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (NBA-TV, WGN)
Sunday, Feb. 27
2:30: L.A. Lakers at Oklahoma City (ABC)
8:00: New York at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Atlanta at Portland (ESPN)
Monday, Feb. 28
9:00: Boston at Utah (NBA-TV)


Tuesday, March 1
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 2
7:30: Phoenix at Boston (NBA-TV)
10:30: Houston at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 3
8:00: Orlando at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Utah (TNT)
Friday, March 4
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV, YES)
7:00: Chicago at Orlando (ESPN)
9:30: Miami at San Antonio (ESPN)
Saturday, March 5
3:00: Toronto vs. New Jersey at London (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 6
1:00: Chicago at Miami (ABC)
3:30: L.A. Lakers at San Antonio (ABC)
6:30: New Orleans at Cleveland (ESPN)
9:00: Boston at Milwaukee (ESPN)
Monday, March 7
7:00: Portland at Orlando (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 8
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 9
8:00: New York at Memphis (NBA-TV)
Thursday, March 10
8:00: L.A. Lakers at Miami (TNT)
10:30: Denver at Phoenix (TNT)
Friday, March 11
8:00: Atlanta at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 12
8:00: Utah at Chicago (WGN)
8:30: L.A. Lakers at Dallas (NBA-TV)
Sunday, March 13
3:30: Orlando at Phoenix (ABC)
6:00: Milwaukee at Boston (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 14
8:00: San Antonio at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Orlando at L.A. Lakers (ESPN)
Tuesday, March 15
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 16
8:00: Oklahoma City at Miami (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Golden State (ESPN)
Thursday, March 17
7:30: Memphis at New York (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 19
7:30: Denver at Miami (NBA-TV)
Monday, March 21
7:30: Boston at New York (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 22
7:00: Chicago at Atlanta (TNT)
9:30: Phoenix at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, March 23
8:00: Orlando at New York (ESPN)
10:30: San Antonio at Denver (ESPN)
Friday, March 25
10:00: New Orleans at Phoenix (NBA-TV)
Saturday, March 26
7:00: New York at Charlotte (NBA-TV)
8:30: Chicago at Milwaukee (WGN)
Sunday, March 27
8:00: Portland at Oklahoma City (ESPN)
10:30: Dallas at Phoenix (ESPN)
Monday, March 28
8:00: Philadelphia at Chicago (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, March 29
TBD Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, March 30
7:00: Detroit at Indiana (ESPN)
Thursday, March 31
8:00: Boston at San Antonio (TNT)
10:30: Dallas at L.A. Lakers (TNT)


Friday, April 1
8:00: Boston at Atlanta (ESPN)
10:30: L.A. Lakers at Utah (ESPN)
Saturday, April 2
8:00: Toronto at Chicago (WGN)
10:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 3
1:00: Phoenix at San Antonio (ABC)
3:30: Denver at L.A. Lakers (ABC)
9:00: Dallas at Portland (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 5
7:00 or 8:00: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
9:30 or 10:30: Teams to be determined (NBA-TV)
Wednesday, April 6
7:00: Milwaukee at Miami (ESPN)
9:30: Denver at Dallas (ESPN)
Thursday, April 7
8:00: Boston at Chicago (TNT)
10:30: Portland at Utah (TNT)
Friday, April 8
8:00: Phoenix at New Orleans (NBA-TV)
Saturday, April 9
8:30: Utah at San Antonio (NBA-TV)
Sunday, April 10
1:00: Chicago at Orlando (ABC)
3:30: Boston at Miami (ABC)
9:30: Oklahoma City at L.A. Lakers (NBA-TV)
Monday, April 11
7:00: Orlando at Philadelphia (NBA-TV)
10:00: Oklahoma City at Sacramento (NBA-TV)
Tuesday, April 12
8:00: Chicago at New York (TNT)
10:30: San Antonio at L.A. Lakers (TNT)
Wednesday, April 13
8:00: Atlanta at Charlotte (ESPN)
10:30: Memphis at L.A. Clippers (ESPN)