If you tuned in to the NBA’s in-season tournament action on Friday, you were probably itching to get to Tuesday considering how good those games were.
But when you searched for the schedule, you were probably shocked to learn that there are actually no NBA games on the league’s schedule on Tuesday, Nov. 7 2023. I don’t just mean in-season tournament games, either. There’s not a single game being played on Tuesday.
That’s weird considering that the in-season tournament games are supposed to be broadcast every Tuesday and Friday until December when the tournament ends.
But there’s a simple explanation for this — and it’s a pretty good reason, too. The reason why is it’s election day in certain states across the country.
Why does that matter for the NBA? Let’s dive into it.
From Boston to Los Angeles and every franchise in between, here’s when the #Rockets will face each NBA team during the 2023-24 season.
With games starting in October, the 2023-24 schedule has been released for the Houston Rockets ahead of a grueling 82-game grind. Broadcast information for each matchup is available here.
Led by Ime Udoka as the new head coach and offseason veteran additions such as Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Jeff Green, the rebuilding Rockets have hopes of taking a leap forward this season.
Even so, expectations should be kept in check. For a mostly young team that went 22-60 last season while finishing last in the Western Conference for three straight years, even making a push for the West’s 2023-24 play-in tournament would constitute major growth.
Thus, for many NBA fans in Houston, part of the incentive to take in games at Toyota Center and watch their local team on television involves watching title contenders from elsewhere across the league.
With that in mind, here’s an alphabetically sorted list of when each team faces the Rockets (home and away) this season. Two games from Dec. 4-9 will be added at a later date depending on results from the NBA’s new in-season tournament, which is played in November.
Here’s the full #Rockets schedule for the 2023-24 NBA regular season, including dates and locations, tipoff times, and broadcast information. It all begins on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in Orlando.
Complete with a release video featuring Jabari Smith Jr., the Houston Rockets’ schedule for the 2023-24 NBA season is now available.
The rebuilding Rockets have had the Western Conference’s worst record for three years running, but there’s new energy this season. Ime Udoka is in as head coach, replacing Stephen Silas. Houston’s young prospect core of Smith, Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson was supplemented this offseason with veteran free agent signings led by Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.
Scroll on for a month-by-month look at all games, opponents and tip times for the Rockets during the upcoming 2023-24 campaign. Training camp will open in early October, followed by the start of preseason games in the second week of that month.
Based on the NBA’s new in-season tournament, the current 2023-24 schedule will have two additions at a later date. Teams who fail to advance to the knockout stage of that tournament will have two games added to their schedule on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8, while teams who lose in the quarterfinals will have one game added on Dec. 8.
The NBA’s Christmas schedule has Devin Booker vs. Luka Doncic so you just KNOW it’s going to be fun
Welcome to Layup Lines, For the Win’s basketball newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox every afternoon. This is Mike Sykes
NBA training camp is almost here, which means it’s almost time for us to get the league’s full schedule.
Ahead of the big schedule drop, though, we always get reports about the upcoming Christmas Day slate for the season. This, folks. This is the part of the schedule everyone is itching for. There are a couple of reasons behind that.
First, it’s when all you NFL folks are finally starting to check in with other sports. You heathens. It’s OK. We still love y’all.
Secondly, and most importantly, everyone wants to see what Christmas Day matchups we’re looking at to know exactly who is playing who. What time will LeBron and the Lakers be on? Are we getting an NBA Finals rematch? Will the league feature any young up-and-comers on the Christmas Day slate? It’s a rite of passage for the next generation.
Once you get past the obligatory Knicks matchup at MSG in the afternoon, this slate gets pretty interesting. Some of these games are certainly much more intriguing than others, though.
Of course, I ranked them. Let’s start with:
Mavericks @ Suns: Obviously, these two teams are completely different than they were a couple of seasons ago when the Mavs absolutely destroyed the Suns in the playoffs. But I can’t help but feel like that rivalry is still there considering Devin Booker and Luka Doncic probably still want to rip each other’s faces off. Should be fun. Especially now that we’ve added Kevin Durant in there. Sign me up.
Nuggets @ Warriors: Lakers fans, y’all are going to hate me for saying this. But this is the Western Conference Finals I wanted. The Warriors have always given the Nuggets a ton of problems with how they stretch Nikola Jokic on defense. We get a taste of that here. Oh, and Chris Paul is there now, too!
Celtics @ Lakers: Both of these teams should be pretty good if healthy. I just want to see LeBron James try and get revenge on the Celtics for causing his complete meltdown last year. This was the best moment of the season, man. Give me more of that. Please.
76ers @ Heat: I’ll be real with y’all here. This one isn’t that interesting to me right now. BUT. There’s a but. It could be more interesting if Damian Lillard is finally on the Miami Heat by Christmas. Cue the Mariah Carey “All I want for Christmas is you” tune for the Heat fans out there.
Bucks @ Knicks: I mean, I guess. Again, this is the obligatory MSG matchup of Christmas day. These teams are both good. But there’s not really anything interesting between them. Just give us a good game, y’all.
Sorry, Knicks fans. I promise I don’t hate your team! I just wish they were more interesting. Regardless, though, I think this will be a pretty fun Christmas Day slate. I’m surprised there’s no Victor Wembanyama on schedule.
I can’t wait to watch these games, though.
The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports
There’s been lots of talk about which teams have the best chance to knock Team USA out of this year’s FIBA World Cup action and Greece was thought to be one of them.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo removing himself from the action, though, that probably isn’t the case anymore.
“Everyone knows my passion and love for my national team has and never will change,” Antetokounmpo said in a statment. “Since the conclusion of my NBA season I have been pushing my body to the limits to be the player I need to be to help our team achieve the goals we set. But after months of work and multiple meetings with medical staff it is clear that I am not ready to compete in the level that I need to be to participate in the World Cup.”
We never usually see injuries sidelining Giannis. He acts like he’s Iron Man out there on the court, which is why he came back early from a back injury this postseason.
But the sobering reality is this: Antetokounmpo will be 29 years old next season. He plays a physical brand of basketball. We might need to see a lot more of this selective version of Giannis moving forward.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It may ultimately prolong his career, which is good. It’s just something to watch for as we continue to follow his career.
The #Rockets will play 10 of their 17 March games at home, including matchups versus the Spurs, Nets, and Pistons that could be important in the 2023 NBA draft race.
In February, between the NBA’s 2022-23 All-Star break and a five-game road trip spanning both sides of it, the Houston Rockets went nearly three full weeks without a home game.
That’s not going to be the case in March.
Fans in Houston may not be entirely thrilled with their team’s results, since the Rockets (13-47) enter the month with the NBA’s worst record and yet again in a battle for draft positioning, as opposed to a potential playoff race. But they will at least be able to see it play out within the friendly home confines of Toyota Center.
Ten of Houston’s 17 games this month are at home, including matchups versus the San Antonio Spurs (March 5), Brooklyn Nets (March 7), and Detroit Pistons (March 31) that could prove pivotal for draft positioning. The Rockets will also play road games versus Brooklyn and San Antonio in that same month.
The Rockets will have a six-game homestand from March 11-20, followed immediately by a five-game road trip from March 22-29.
Here’s a game-by-game look at the March schedule, which includes several back-to-backs. That could mean planned maintenance on either side for any veterans or young players coming off injuries.
All games will be televised regionally via AT&T SportsNet Southwest and available out of market via NBA League Pass.
Houston’s NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (@RGVVipers), has released its complete schedule for the 2022-23 season. Here’s a look at the highlights.
The 2021-22 NBA G League champions, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers, the G League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, announced their 2022-23 season schedule as the team looks to defend its title.
This year’s schedule features 50 games in total, including 24 home games at Bert Ogden Arena in Edinburg, Texas; 24 road games; and two games at the NBA G League Showcase. Television details are not yet available, though most games from last season were available on either an ESPN network or the ESPN+ streaming service.
For the second consecutive season, the G League schedule will be split into two parts: the 18-game Showcase Cup followed by a 32-game regular season. The Showcase Cup begins on Friday, Nov. 4 and culminates with a single-elimination tournament to crown a champion at the 2022 AT&T NBA G League Winter Showcase from Dec. 19-22. Following the Showcase Cup, team records will reset in advance of the 32-game regular season, which tips off on Dec. 27.
The Vipers (roster) will open the 2022-23 season on the road on Nov. 6 versus the Mexico City Capitanes, who will be joining the G League throughout the full season. Then, the Vipers will host the Birmingham Squadron for the home opener on Friday, Nov. 11.
This season’s home opener will consist of a ring ceremony to embrace the 2021-22 NBA G League champions. The Vipers will be presented with their championship ring on that night, which will also feature the unveiling of the club’s fourth championship banner and a neon-themed jersey to commemorate the team’s neon campaign.
Further details, schedule highlights, and theme nights are available in a press release from the Vipers. Scroll on for a month-by-month breakdown of RGV’s 2022-23 slate for the regular season, which they hope will be followed by another strong postseason run.
The Rockets didn’t have much acting experience prior to their epic schedule release video for the 2022-23 season, so there were understandably a few bloopers.
The Houston Rockets drew rave reviews in recent weeks regarding their epic schedule release video for the 2022-23 NBA season. Not surprisingly, it took quite a bit of work to pull off.
Beyond the production value, it’s not as if the film’s marquee actors had much (if any) acting experience. The video starred head coach Stephen Silas and five players: Eric Gordon, Josh Christopher, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason and TyTy Washington.
With that in mind, there were understandably a few outtakes and bloopers from the acting process, and the Rockets were kind enough to package a small handful of them this week for viewing on Twitter.
At 21 years old, Eason is the oldest member of Houston’s three first-round rookies from the 2022 NBA draft. Yet, as viewers of the blooper reel can tell, he’s still very young at heart, as well.
Scroll on for the complete blooper video from the Rockets.
In today’s podcast, Rockets marketing execs Julian Duncan (@jdhtown) and Paul Suarez (@psuarii) share insight on Houston’s new schedule release and the epic video accompanying it.
In Friday’s episode of “The Lager Line” podcast, Rockets marketing executives Julian Duncan and Paul Suarez share their insight on the release of Houston’s 2022-23 season schedule, as well as the epic video that accompanied its reveal on social media.
Duncan is the team’s chief marketing and strategy officer, while Suarez is vice president of digital marketing with the Rockets.
Topics discussed on the podcast with our Ben DuBose include:
Highlights from Houston’s new schedule and games of interest in the upcoming season;
What the logistics process is like of working with the NBA to put the 82-game schedule together;
Behind-the-scenes information on how the release video featuring players, coaches, and executives came to be;
What to watch for over the remainder of the 2022 offseason, including jersey announcements, fan engagement strategies, and new digital content on the horizon at Rockets.com and via the team’s official social media outlets.
Friday’s full episode can be listened to below. Each episode of the show is also made available via flagship radio station SportsTalk 790, as well as to all major podcast distributors under “The Lager Line.”
This is certainly music to the ears for those who are rooting to tank.
If the Oklahoma City Thunder are to obtain the first pick in the 2023 NBA draft to acquire Victor Wembanyama, the strength of schedule will play a huge role.
According to league analyst Ed Kupfer’s model, the Thunder have the hardest schedule in the NBA for the 2022-23 season. The model takes into account opponent strength for every team besides the Brooklyn Nets, days rest for the team and opponent and if it’s a home or away game.
The model concludes that the Thunder — by a significant margin — have the strongest schedule in the league.
Fellow draft lottery competitors San Antonio, Houston and Indiana make up the top-four for the hardest schedules in the league.
NBA 2022-23 strength of schedule. Model inputs are opp strength (via vegas, aside from the Nets), days rest for team/opp, and home/away. pic.twitter.com/Pa3EHnBZFD
Here is a list of every time the Oklahoma City Thunder match up with every one of the 29 teams in the league in the 2022-23 season.
The 2022-23 schedule for the Oklahoma City Thunder was released on Wednesday. The Thunder will play 82 games spanning from October to April.
The Thunder looks to endure another rebuilding season around the young and exciting core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Josh Giddey and Lu Dort.
For the first time since the 2020 playoffs, the Thunder will play on national TV. The game against the Orlando Magic features the top two picks in this year’s draft: Paolo Banchero and Holmgren.
To make things easier for the fans to read the schedule, the following is a list of the dates of every matchup with the other 29 teams in the NBA going in alphabetical order:
