NBA

NBA releases schedule for 2023-24 season

By Sports Desk August 17, 2023

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets will receive their championship rings and raise their title banner when the NBA tips off the regular season on October 24.

One night later, No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama will introduce himself to the league.

The NBA revealed an 80-game schedule for the 2023-24 season on Thursday. The final two games will be determined later based on how teams fare in the new In-Season Tournament.

The season begins with a doubleheader, with the Nuggets opening things up against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch from last season's Western Conference finals.

Opening night's second game features the Phoenix Suns visiting Golden State, a matchup that pits new Warrior Chris Paul against his former team.

The NBA debut of Wembanyama comes one night later, with the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Dallas Mavericks.

The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament begins on November 3, and concludes with the final four teams playing the semifinals and championship games in Las Vegas on December 7 and 9, respectively.

The traditional Christmas quintupleheader begins with the New York Knicks playing on December 25 for the 56th time, and they'll host the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Warriors then visit the Nuggets, followed by the Boston Celtics visiting the Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Miami Heat and concluding with the Mavericks at Phoenix.

 

In an effort to maximise player rest and have the league's brightest stars play in high-profile games, teams will not play back-to-backs on Christmas or during the In-Season Tournament.

While teams play on consecutive nights slightly more this season - up to 14.0 such instances from last year's rate of 13.3 per team - back-to-backs involving travel are down to 9.0 on average after being at 9.6 per team last season.

The league takes a break from February 16-21, except for the All-Star Game and its festivities, which will take place in Indianapolis.

All 30 teams will play on April 12 and again two days later on the final day of the regular season.

The play-in tournament is then set to start April 16, with the 2024 NBA playoffs beginning April 20.

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    Luka Doncic acknowledged "I've got to be better" after the Dallas Mavericks were beaten by Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series.

    The Thunder, who swept the New Orleans Pelicans aside in their first-round series, built on that momentum with a 117-95 victory at Paycom Center.

    Although, it was a day to forget for Doncic, who registered just 19 points on six-of-19 shooting as he ended a streak of 24 successive playoff games with at least 20 points, while he also had five turnovers.

    Struggling with a knee injury and tightly marked by Oklahoma's Lu Dort, the five-time NBA All-Star was also just one-for-eight from three-point range, making it five-of-35 over the past four games.

    That is the worst percentage (14.3 per cent) for any player with at least 30 attempts over a four-game streak during the postseason.

    "[We've] just got to move onto the next one," Doncic said. "I've got to be better, we've got to be better. We've got to focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."

    "We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," added Kyle Irving, who finished with 20 points. "They're never going to stop attacking."

    The youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series following their triumph over the Pelicans, Oklahoma made it five straight wins in the postseason with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points along the way.

    The Thunder have only conceded 90.6 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team across five games in the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs in 2016.

    "[The defence is] where we hang our hat every night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it's going to start on that end.

    "Obviously, we have some really talented players at that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys."

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    Luka Doncic acknowledged "I've got to be better" after the Dallas Mavericks were beaten by Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series.

    The Thunder, who swept the New Orleans Pelicans aside in their first-round series, built on that momentum with a 117-95 victory at Paycom Center.

    Although, it was a day to forget for Doncic, who registered just 19 points on six-of-19 shooting as he ended a streak of 24 successive playoff games with at least 20 points, while he also had five turnovers.

    Struggling with a knee injury and tightly marked by Oklahoma's Lu Dort, the five-time NBA All-Star was also just one-for-eight from three-point range, making it five-of-35 over the past four games.

    That is the worst percentage (14.3 per cent) for any player with at least 30 attempts over a four-game streak during the postseason.

    "[We've] just got to move onto the next one," Doncic said. "I've got to be better, we've got to be better. We've got to focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."

    "We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," added Kyle Irving, who finished with 20 points. "They're never going to stop attacking."

    The youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series following their triumph over the Pelicans, Oklahoma made it five straight wins in the postseason with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points along the way.

    The Thunder have only conceded 90.6 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team across five games in the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs in 2016.

    "[The defence is] where we hang our hat every night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it's going to start on that end.

    "Obviously, we have some really talented players at that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys."

  • Doncic admits 'I've got to be better' after Mavericks go down in Oklahoma Doncic admits 'I've got to be better' after Mavericks go down in Oklahoma

    Luka Doncic acknowledged "I've got to be better" after the Dallas Mavericks were beaten by Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of their Western Conference semi-final series.

    The Thunder, who swept the New Orleans Pelicans aside in their first-round series, built on that momentum with a 117-95 victory at Paycom Center.

    Although, it was a day to forget for Doncic, who registered just 19 points on six-of-19 shooting as he ended a streak of 24 successive playoff games with at least 20 points, while he also had five turnovers.

    Struggling with a knee injury and tightly marked by Oklahoma's Lu Dort, the five-time NBA All-Star was also just one-for-eight from three-point range, making it five-of-35 over the past four games.

    That is the worst percentage (14.3 per cent) for any player with at least 30 attempts over a four-game streak during the postseason.

    "[We've] just got to move onto the next one," Doncic said. "I've got to be better, we've got to be better. We've got to focus. They're a great team, a great defensive team, so it's not going to be easy at all."

    "We have to put a complete game together against this young OKC team because they have an endless amount of energy," added Kyle Irving, who finished with 20 points. "They're never going to stop attacking."

    The youngest team in NBA history to win a playoff series following their triumph over the Pelicans, Oklahoma made it five straight wins in the postseason with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 29 points along the way.

    The Thunder have only conceded 90.6 points per game in the playoffs, the fewest by any team across five games in the postseason since the San Antonio Spurs in 2016.

    "[The defence is] where we hang our hat every night," Gilgeous-Alexander said. "Especially this late in the season, we know that if we want to win basketball games, that it's going to start on that end.

    "Obviously, we have some really talented players at that end of the floor, but we also like to do it together and not just rely on those guys."

     

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