Though the league and the players union still have to ratify the tentative collective bargaining agreement, the NBA released its revised 2011-12 regular season schedule on Tuesday.
The regular season will begin on Christmas Day with the previously announced Christmas Day quintupleheader on TNT, ABC and ESPN.
National television coverage will resume with Celtics/Heat and Jazz/Lakers on TNT December 27, followed by Mavericks/Thunder and Knicks/Lakers on TNT December 29.
Due to the compressed schedule, there will be more than the customary two-to-three games each Thursday night. TNT will air 45 games during the abbreviated season, down from the 52 originally scheduled.
ESPN, which has college football bowl commitments, will not resume its regular season coverage until January 6, when the network will air Bulls/Magic and Trail Blazers/Suns.
ESPN and ESPN2 have added several Saturday, Sunday and Monday games, including a rare tripleheader on Saturday, April 21 — not coincidentally the same date the network was supposed to air a playoff tripleheader. Games will also be added on Friday and Sunday nights during the NCAA Tournament.
ABC will begin its regular Sunday schedule with Bulls/Heat on January 29.
Of note, every ABC window will remain the same as in the original NBA schedule released in July — with one exception. The Lakers/Thunder game originally scheduled to air on ABC April 8 has been moved to April 22, and will take place from Los Angeles instead of Oklahoma City.
(NBA.com)
