Finally, Charlotte Hornets have next opponent, as NBA announces first-half schedule
Nine months after they last played a game, the Charlotte Hornets at least now know their next opponent.
The Hornets will open the 2020-21 season on the road, at the Cleveland Cavaliers Dec. 23. Their first home game -- which will not include fans -- is Dec. 26 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NBA announced the first half of its schedule for all 30 teams Friday. The second half will be announced at a later date, in part to allow for changes due to possible COVID-19 circumstance.
The first-half schedule covers the period from December 22 through March 4. The second-half schedule will span March 11 through May 16. The NBA has shortened its season from the usual 82 regular-season games to 72, in part to get back to its more normal spot on the calendar and to avoid conflicts between the playoffs and the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The Hornets announced Monday they will start the season without home attendance, but hope that will change as COVID-19 circumstances improve. Indoor venues create additional potential infection transmission risk than outdoor stadiums.
Schedule highlights
▪ Former Davidson star Stephen Curry and his Golden State Warriors play their one game in Charlotte on Saturday, Feb. 20. Curry missed most of last season with a hand fracture.
▪ Two-time reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are at Spectrum Center on Saturday, January 30.
▪ MVP candidate Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks are at Spectrum Center Wednesday, Jan. 13.
▪ The Hornets play a game at New Orleans on Jan. 8, to be nationally televised on ESPN. That will be the first NBA matchup for Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball and his older brother Lonzo, a point guard for the Pelicans.
(The home game against the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers is in the second half.)
Schedule breakdown
▪ The first-half is heavily loaded with home games -- 20 of the 36 regular-season games the Hornets play at Spectrum Center.
▪ The first half is equally distributed by conference -- 19 games against East teams and 19 against West opponents.
▪ There is a six-game Western Conference trip that starts Feb. 22 in Utah and ends March 3 in Minneapolis.
▪ Immediately before that West Coast trip, the Hornets play five consecutive home games. That starts Feb. 12 against the Minnesota Timberwolves and ends with the game against the Warriors.
▪ The Hornets play nine sets of games on back-to-back nights the first half of the season. However, four of those sets are a home game followed by a home game. The absence of travel in-between games mitigates some of the wear of back-to-backs.
▪ The Hornets play consecutive games against the same opponent in the same arena four times in the first half of the schedule. Those opponents: Philadelphia, Toronto, Orlando and Indiana. The games against the Sixers, Raptors and Magic are all on the road. The Pacers series is in Charlotte.
