Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – The NBA schedule has been released, and the Clippers will open the 2015-16 NBA regular season Oct. 28 at Sacramento before the home opener a day later against the Mavericks.
Those two matchups will be followed by a home game against the Kings on Halloween night and a matchup against the Suns to start November’s action. The Clippers won’t need to wait long before a heavily anticipated road tilt, as they travel to play Golden State on Nov. 4 during a month with plenty of marquee matchups.
After facing the Warriors on the road, the Clippers then host the Rockets and Grizzlies before the first trip to Dallas since DeAndre Jordan’s decision. That Dallas game on Nov. 11 will be the first of a back-to-back which ends in Phoenix.
In total, the Clippers will have 20 back-to-backs during the season for the second straight year. Most teams the last few seasons have averaged around 19 back-to-backs per year. The Clippers also have five road trips of at least three games.
On the bright side, the Clippers play two fewer three-in-fours (three games in four nights), two fewer four-in-fives, and two fewer five-in-sevens than last season.
The Clippers have four separate five-game road trips this season, but they have no road trips longer than five games. Last season, they had an eight-game, 14-day trip as well as a seven-game, 12-day trip. The first two five-game road trips are both in December, when the Clippers have 11 road games. That’s the most they’ll have in any month during the season.
Only six of the Clippers’ first 19 games are on the road, but after hosting Orlando on Dec. 5, the Clippers will be the visitors in 12 of their next 16 games. The busy visiting schedule in December includes a back-to-back against San Antonio and Houston on Dec. 18 and 19, respectively.
Those two games mark the first time the Clippers play on the road against the team they beat in the first round and fell to in the second round last season, respectively. As rough as December will be with travel, the Clippers will be home once again for Christmas, with a matchup planned against the Lakers.
The Clippers’ third five-game road trip starts Jan. 16 in Cleveland and ends Jan. 27 in Atlanta, with all of those games against Eastern Conference squads. While the Clippers don’t have to see LeBron James until January, they’ll have plenty of tough adversaries early in the year, including a home game and a road game against Golden State before the end of November.
The fourth and final five-game road trip is a doozy in March, as all five matchups are against Western Conference playoff teams from last season. After hosting the Cavaliers on March 13, the Clippers then go on the road successively to San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans and Golden State.
NBA TV announced the 2015-16 regular season schedule Wednesday at 3 p.m. PT. The Clippers are scheduled to make 10 appearances each on TNT and ESPN, as well as nine on NBATV and four on ABC.