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Hornets To Open 2006-07 Season November 1 in Boston
August 1, 2006
Oklahoma City - The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets will tip off the 2006-07 regular season in Boston on Wednesday, Nov. 1 when they take on Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics. They will open their home schedule in New Orleans hosting Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming and the Houston Rockets on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m, while they open in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m. against Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors. “From the players and coaches to the front office staff, our entire organization is eager to get the 2006-07 Hornets season underway,” said Hornets Owner George Shinn. “We are excited for our home fans in both New Orleans and Oklahoma City to see Peja (Stojakovic), Bobby (Jackson) and Tyson (Chandler) in a Hornets uniform, while seeing how fun, entertaining and exciting Hornets games are in person.” The Hornets will play 35 of their 41 home games at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, while the remaining six home games will be at the New Orleans Arena in New Orleans. The team will play seven of their first 10 games on the road, then host four of the next six games at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. Included in that stretch is the only appearance by Shaquille O’Neal, Dwyane Wade and the World Champion Miami Heat on Nov. 21 and an appearance by first overall pick Andrea Bargnani and the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 28. All home playoff games will be played at the Ford Center. Five Hornet games will be televised nationally, including an ABC home matchup against Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and the Houston Rockets on March 25. Other televised games include a TNT home tilt against Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 14 in New Orleans; a TNT Ford Center game against Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and the Detroit Pistons on Jan. 4; an ESPN game against Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards at the Ford Center on Jan. 12; and an ESPN road game against Elton Brand and the Los Angeles Clippers to end the season on April 18. The Hornets will also appear on NBATV seven times throughout the season. Among the games is the New Orleans home opener on Nov. 5; the only home appearance for LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Ford Center on Dec. 11; the only Oklahoma City appearance of the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 23; and a division matchup against Pau Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 10 in the Ford Center. The Hornets will play 18 of their 41 home games on either Friday (11) or Saturday (7) night. Their most frequent game night will be Friday. All home games will tip off at 7:00 p.m. with the exception of Sunday, Nov. 5 vs. Houston, Thursday, Dec. 14 vs. San Antonio, Sunday, March 4 vs. Utah, and a day game against the Houston Rockets on March 25. The Rockets and Jazz games will tip of at 6:00 p.m., the Spurs game at 8:30 p.m., while the Rockets game will tip at 2:30 p.m. The Hornets’ longest road trips will be five three-game road swings, while the longest home stand is five games. The five-game home stand takes place Jan. 26-Feb. 2 (with games against Sacramento in New Orleans, Utah, Portland, Philadelphia and Minnesota). The Hornets will play Southwest Division rivals (Dallas, Houston, Memphis and San Antonio) four times each (twice at home/twice on the road). The same holds true for Pacific and Northwest Division teams, with the exception of Phoenix (one home game on April 6), L.A. Lakers (one road game on Dec. 6), Utah (one road game on Mar. 30) and Portland (one home game on Jan. 29). NBA All-Star Weekend will be held in Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack Center from Feb. 16-18. Season tickets are available by calling (405) 208-HOOP, (504) 525-HOOP or by logging on to Hornets.com. On-sale dates for individual game tickets for both preseason and regular season games and the Hornets’ local television schedule will be released at a later date.
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