NBA 2014-15 schedule: Top 5 dates to circle on your calendar

The highly anticipated, much awaited NBA calendar was released on the official website of the league on Wednesday. Waiting for the regular season is hard enough considering how long the off-season is, but the league just madekilling time till opening night on October 28theven tougher by announcing the match-ups two months in advance.Its the duty of the NBA office to inform the franchises of their teams schedule well in advance and although this makes the wait for die-hard fans much more excruciating, it also serves themthe chance to circle out key days on their calendar.The cumulative calendar for all teams can be seen here.Watching the big matches is going to be a must, and if there are multiple contests stacked togetherthen who would want to miss any of the action? Keeping that in mind, here are the top 5 match days of the calendar which have two or more must watch games on the same night:

#1 October 28th

Matches to watch:

– Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs

– Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers

Following tradition, the defending champions San Antonio Spurs will tip off the new season with a ring distribution ceremony followed by the fifth title banner being lifted to the rafters. While all this is going on Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks, the only team to stretch the Spurs in last year’s Playoffs during their first round encounter, will be plotting how to spoil the party in the locker room.

If watching the champions play is a delightful entree to start off with, the dessert next up is sure to stand up to the hype.

In the second game of this double header televised on Turner Network Television (TNT), Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets will face Kobe Bryant and his Lakers at the Staples Center. While the match gets its hype from being the first encounter between Bryant and Howard since they were teammates a season ago, it is also a game where Lakers’ point guard will be facing his former franchise, the team that traded him.

#2 October 30th

Matches to watch:

– New York Knicks @ Cleveland Cavaliers

– Oklahoma City Thunder @ Los Angeles Clippers

LeBron James begins his campaign as a Cavalier at home in the Quicken Loans Arena against buddy Carmelo Anthony and his New York Knicks. If the duel between the friends off-court is not enticing enough, the realistic possibility that this might be a second round Playoff match-up should definitely grab your attention. Expect the arena to be sold out to watch James play for his home state again in his earlier jersey number of 23.

Two serious Western Conferece contenders Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers lock horns in the second game of TNT’s double header. Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin, who both took leave from the Team USA’s squad to prepare for the upcoming season, would have certainly marked this game to make a statement. The match would also feature a rejuvinated Chris Paul, who would have completely healed from last year’s shoulder injury, and Russell Westbrook, for whom this will be the beginning of the first complete season in two years.

#3 Christmas Day

Matches to watch:

– Oklahoma City Thunder @ San Antonio Spurs

– Cleveland Cavaliers @ Miami Heat

– Los Angeles Lakers @ Chicago Bulls

– Golden State Warriors @ Los Angeles Clippers

Every year, without fail, the league provides a collection of the best possible games on Christmas Day. Christmas in the NBA this season will feature the return of the King to South Beach, the place where he first tasted the champagne of a championship victory, with best friend Dwyane Wade. It will be a rematch of the 2014 Western Conference Finals – two former teammates facing off and a game between two teams who have always given a heated contest to the viewers.

Bryant will play former teammate Pau Gasol and the Bulls in Chicago, in what will be the Lakers’ first Christmas road game since 2006. Warriors and Clippers. meanwhile, will renew their rivalry after a hard fought first round seven game encounter in the last year’s Playoffs. However, the moment of the day will likely be the Miami crowd reacting to the announcement of James as a Cavalier during the game.

#4 March 12th

Matches to watch:

– Cleveland Cavaliers @ San Antonio Spurs

– New York Knicks @ Los Angeles Lakers

After 12 years and 5 championships together with Bryant, Phil Jackson (President of Basketball Operations) and Derek Fisher (Head Coach) will visit Staples Center as members of the Knicks franchise. There will also be the duel between Anthony and Bryant to watch out for. With both teams going through a rebuild, the game would be evenly matched and expected to be played in front of a fully sold out arena.

But before the drama unfolds in Los Angeles, James will travel with his Cavaliers to the arena where he lost last year’s Finals – the AT&T Center, home of the defending champions Spurs. This TNT double header is sure to receive a lot of viewership not only across the country but alll over the world.

#5 April 5th

Matches to watch:

– Houston Rockets @ Oklahoma City Thunder

– Chicago Bulls @ Cleveland Cavaliers

– Golden State Warriors @ San Antonio Spurs

– Los Angeles Lakers @ Los Angeles Clippers

In addition to Christmas, the NBA also gives us days like April 5th where you literally have too many games to choose from. Just so you know though, the timings of these four games are such that you could watch all of them without missing a second. Although the Cleveland-Chicago match is touted to be the likely Easter Conferece Finals contest, this would be their fourth and final encounter of the regular season so both teams would look to carry some psycological advantage over the other with a win.

The Rockets-Thunder match-up has never disappointed since James Harden left the latter for the former, and the Warriors-Spurs game isn’t too far behind either in terms of competitve basketball. To add even more spice to the day, the two Los Angeles teams will slug it out in Staples Center for bragging rights.