Pacers 2011-12 Schedule (ya know, if there's a season or whatever)
By Jared Wade
The NBA calendar smiths revealed the (hypothetical) schedule for the (theoretically) upcoming season. It’s wishful thinking that any team will play any games anywhere before Thanksgiving probably.
But if the billionaires and millionaires can come together on a labor agreement before Halloween, the Pacers will start their season in the forever-infamous Palace of Auburn Hills before heading to Oklahoma City. Then they rush home for their home opener on a back-to-back that is slated for Saturday night (November 5) against the Celtics. (Here’s the Pacers full schedule.)
Speaking of the dreaded back-to-backs, the Pacers kick off the year with a bunch of them.
Of their first nine games, eight of them come as either the front- or back-end of a back-to-back. For those non-math majors, that is as many as is numerically possible. It also includes an even-more-dreaded four-games-in-five-nights stint for Games 4 through 7. Sheesh. Frank Vogel might actually be hoping we lose a few weeks of the season to the the lockout.
Overall, they have 22 back-to-back sets on the year, which is I believe several more than league average. Four of these are also road/road back-to-backs as opposed to the more usual road/home or home/road. Zero are home/homes, which are the rarest of all.
They have four brutal stretches in which they will play four games in five nights. NBA players and coaches loathe those. Balancing this out ever-so-slightly are two five-game home stands, one in December and on in March.
As far as national exposure, one would think the Pacers would get a little more TV love this season than they have in years past given their playoff birth and new-found “aww-shucks” underdog persona. I honestly can’t even remember the last season during which the Pacers appeared on TNT, ESPN or, god forbid, ABC. They didn’t appear on national TV last year or the year prior, I’m almost certain, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it had been even longer than that.
So while the fact that they will only play a single game in front of a national television audience (in Portland on December 2 on ESPN) is disappointing, it actually is a step forward. They also have three games scheduled to air on NBA TV, including a match-up against their new “playoff rival,” the Bulls, on January 4.
UPDATE: Check out this great breakdown from NBA Stuffer for perspective on how the Pacers schedule stacks up against the rest of the league. The Pacers’ 22 back-to-backs is tied for the most as are their 4 four-games-in-five-nighters. There 8 three-games-in-four-nighters is the third best in the NBA though. So there’s that.
National TV
ESPN – Indiana @ Portland – December 2
Pseudo-National TV
NBATV – Indiana @ New York – November 12
NBATV – Indiana @ Toronto – December 28 (Wednesday)
NBATV – Indiana @ Chicago – January 4 (Wednesday)
Back-to-Backs
November 4 – @ Oklahoma City
November 5 – vs Boston
November 8 – vs Houston
November 9 – @ Milwaukee
November 11 – vs Phoenix
November 12 – @ New York
November 15 – vs Orlando
November 16 – @ Atlanta
November 22 – vs Detroit
November 23 – @ Cleveland
November 29 – @ Denver
November 30 – @ Utah
December 2 – @ Portland
December 3 – @ LA Clippers
December 13 – vs New York
December 14 – @ Miami
January 3 – vs Minnesota
January 4 – @ Chicago
January 6 – @ Boston
January 7 – vs Charlotte
January 13 – @ Toronto
January 14 – vs Philadelphia
January 24 – vs Orlando
January 25 – @ Philadelphia
February 7 – vs Dallas
February 8 – @ Atlanta
February 10 – @ Memphis
February 11 – vs Denver
February 21 – vs Sacramento
February 22 – @ New Jersey
March 2 – @ New Orleans
March 3 – @ Dallas
March 6 – vs Chicago
March 7 – @ Charlotte
March 10 – @ Miami
March 11 – @ Orlando
March 23 – vs Miami
March 24 – @ Chicago
March 27 – @ Philadelphia
March 28 – vs Washington
April 3 – vs Philadelphia
April 4 – @ Washington
April 13 – vs Miami
April 14 – @ Milwaukee
Four Games in Five Nights
November 8 – vs Houston
November 9 – @ Milwaukee
November 11 – vs Phoenix
November 12 – @ New York
November 29 – @ Denver
November 30 – @ Utah
December 2 – @ Portland
December 3 – @ LA Clippers
January 3 – vs Minnesota
January 4 – @ Chicago
January 6 – @ Boston
January 7 – vs Charlotte
February 7 – vs Dallas
February 8 – @ Atlanta
February 10 – @ Memphis
February 11 – vs Denver
Five-Game Home Stands
December 16 – vs Milwaukee
December 18 – vs Utah
December 20 – vs LA Lakers
December 23 – vs New Jersey
December 26 – vs Detroit
March 13 – vs Milwaukee
March 15 – vs Memphis
March 17 – vs New Jersey
March 20 – vs Atlanta
March 23 – vs Miami