By Paul Forrester, Sports Illustrated
It's time to get back to healthy habits. Last year's lockout-compressed schedule offered a feast of matchups every night during the compacted 66-game season. Now, with labor peace at hand, the NBA released a standard 82-game slate for the 2012-13 season Thursday night. No more back-to-back-to-back games. No more speculation about how fatigue may be causing a cascade of injuries. Just good, healthy basketball from Oct. 30 until April 17. Let's take a peek at some of the best matchups of the season:
Celtics at Heat, Oct. 30
Nothing to see here, really. Just last season's Eastern Conference finalists meeting on Opening Night. With Ray Allen suiting up for the team in South Beach rather than the one visiting in Celtic green. Featuring an Allen-Rajon Rondo rift that reportedly factored into the shooting guard's decision to leave. And renewing the long-simmering rivalry between Paul Pierce and LeBron James. Nope, nothing to see here. Might as well flip the channel.
Knicks at Nets, Nov. 1
The battle for New York begins. Yes, the Knicks generally own New York, but the bad feelings surrounding Jeremy Lin's departure have opened the door for the Nets to gain some fans now that they also call New York home. A win in Brooklyn to start the season would be all the city's media needs to debate which team is better. Debate means buzz. Buzz means ticket sales. And ticket sales mean a chance to chip away at the Knicks' popularity.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/paul_forrester/07/25/nba-best-games/index.html
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