Clippers Tip Off the 2006-07 Season at Phoenix on November 1

The Los Angeles Clippers will open the 2006-07 NBA season against two familiar foes, their 2006 playoff opponents the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. The season tips-off on Wednesday, November 1st in Phoenix with a nationally televised playoff re-match against the Suns, beginning at 7:30 PM PST on ESPN. The Clippers were defeated by the Suns after a tightly contested seven game series in the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals. In a back-to-back playoff re-match, the Clippers will return to Los Angeles for their home opener against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday, November 2nd, in a contest nationally televised on TNT. Los Angeles handed Denver a five game series defeat in the first round of the 2006 Playoffs.

The Clippers will play eight of their first ten games at STAPLES Center, facing the Phoenix Suns in two of their first three games of the season. On November 21st, the Clippers will serve as the visiting team in their first matchup of the season with the Lakers. Other meetings between the building rivals include a December 2nd showdown with the Clippers being the home team, a nationally televised contest (ESPN) on April 4th again with the Clippers serving as home team and an April 12th meeting on TNT with the Lakers at home.

Los Angeles is currently scheduled for a franchise-high 19 nationally-televised games on ESPN (six games) and TNT (five games). In addition, the Clippers April 15th game against Sacramento is on ABC’s flexible broadcast schedule. Los Angeles will also be featured in eight games to be broadcast on NBATV.

Other highlights of the schedule include the Western Conference Champion Dallas Mavericks returning to STAPLES Center on November 8th, Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade and the 2006 NBA Champion Miami Heat traveling to Los Angeles on December 5th and LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers coming to town on January 13th.

The 2006 schedule also includes three road trips of at least six games, including one seven game trip. On January 2nd, the Clippers begin a six game trip that tips off in Orlando and will include stops in Miami, Washington, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Minnesota. The Clippers longest trip of the season, a seven game march will begin in Boston on February 2nd, and includes stops in Toronto, New York, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Indiana and Detroit. In March, Los Angeles faces another six game trip, beginning on the 13th with a stop in San Antonio and continuing to Houston, Charlotte, New Jersey, Chicago and Milwaukee.

The season will feature a total of 21 sets of back-to-back games, up two from the 19 sets the Clippers had during the 2005-06 campaign. The Clippers will battle the Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves on three occasions during the season while matching up with the remainder of their Western Conference opponents on four occasions during the season. The Clippers will also take part in eleven double-headers at STAPLES Center, five with the Lakers and six with the Los Angeles Kings (NHL).

Since the conclusion of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, the Clippers have sold 2,500 new season tickets and currently have less than 80 lower bowl season seats remaining for purchase.

Click here to view the Los Angeles Clippers 2006-07 schedule.