Raptors Release 2011-12 Schedule

July 19, 2011 The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday their 2011-12 regular season schedule, in the event the NBA is able to reach a new collective bargaining agreement with the NBPA in a timely fashion. The club will tip-off its 17th season in the National Basketball Association at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday, November 2 versus the Philadelphia 76ers. The November 2 start is the latest for a season opener since the same date in 2005-06. Last season’s October 27 opener was the earliest in franchise history. This also marks the 12th time in team history the club has started the regular season at home.

The schedule features six home games in the first month, which equals a franchise low set in the 2006-07 and 1998-99 seasons. November includes eight road games consisting of four separate trips away from Toronto. March will mark the first month in which the Raptors have more home (9) than road (6) games. March and April combine to showcase 15 home versus 10 road contests.

The longest road swing is four games which occurs on three occasions: December 10-14, January 22-27 and March 13-20. The longest home stand of the season is seven games March 21 – April 3, which equals the club record set from November 30 – December 14 in the 1999-2000 campaign.

Noteworthy games on the 2011-12 schedule include an early season visit by the 2011 NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks on Monday, November 7. The Raptors will face the defending Eastern Conference Champion Miami Heat only once at Air Canada Centre on Friday, December 2. The Los Angeles Lakers make their lone visit to Toronto on Sunday, February 12. Other Sunday matinee affairs feature New York (December 4), New Orleans (December 18), Golden State (March 4), Portland (March 11) and Utah (March 25).

Toronto will play its eighth season in the Atlantic Division, joining Boston, New Jersey, New York and Philadelphia. The Raptors were a member of the Central Division from 1995-2004.

The schedule features four games against divisional foes with two home and two away. The remaining 10 conference teams will be played twice at home and on the road with the exception of four teams – two will be played once at home and twice on the road (Detroit and Miami) and two will be faced twice at home and once on the road (Charlotte and Indiana). Each Western Conference team will be played once at home and on the road.

The busiest day for the Raptors this season will be Wednesday with 24 games on the schedule. Wednesday has a season-high 10 road games and the second-most home contests with 14. Friday tops the home schedule with 15 games at Air Canada Centre.

The majority of the team’s home games will fall on the weekend with 15 games on a Friday and seven on a Sunday, accounting for more than half of the 41 home dates.

The Raptors’ busiest month is December with 16 games followed by March with 15 contests. The busiest home month is March with nine games, while the busiest road months are November, December and January with the Raptors facing eight games away from Toronto.

The Raptors will have 17 back-to-back games this season (down one from last season and four from 2009-10), with a high of 10 being a road game followed by a road game.

The Raptors’ 2011 preseason schedule and 2011-12 local television schedule will be released at a later date. For the sixth consecutive season, all 82 Raptors games will be aired nationally in Canada.

Raptors season tickets are available by calling (416) 366-DUNK (3865), while single-game ticket information will be released at a later date.

RAPTORS 2011-12 SCHEDULE NOTES

Atlantic Division

Boston (H: 11/29, 3/21, A: 11/23, 2/1); New Jersey (H: 1/6, 4/13, A: 12/5, 3/14); New York (H: 12/4, 3/2, A: 1/2, 3/20); Philadelphia (H: 11/2, 4/11, A: 1/18, 4/4) Total (H: 8, A: 8)

Central Division

Chicago (H: 3/23, 4/6, A: 2/14, 3/17); Cleveland (H: 1/4, 2/22, A: 11/4, 12/26); Detroit (H: 12/21, A: 2/19, 3/6); Indiana (H: 12/28, 1/13, A: 4/9); Milwaukee (H: 11/18, 2/8, A: 11/30, 4/7) Total (H: 9, A: 9)

Southeast Division

Atlanta (H: 1/20, 4/16, A: 1/16, 2/6); Charlotte (H: 12/16, 2/17, A: 3/9); Miami (H: 12/2, A: 11/25, 2/5); Orlando (H: 1/31, 3/28, A: 11/26, 3/13); Washington (H: 2/3, 4/1, A: 1/8, 4/18) Total (H: 9, A: 9)

Northwest Division

Denver (H: 3/30, A: 1/27); Minnesota (H: 4/3, A: 11/5); Portland (H: 3/11, A: 12/14); Oklahoma City (H: 12/7, A: 11/13); Utah (H: 3/25, A: 1/25) Total (H: 5, A: 5)

Pacific Division

Golden State (H: 3/4, A: 12/10); L.A. Clippers (H: 11/9, A: 1/22); L.A. Lakers (H: 2/12, A: 12/13); Phoenix (H: 11/16, A: 1/24); Sacramento (H: 1/11, A: 12/11) Total (H: 5, A: 5)

Southwest Division Dallas (H: 11/7, A: 12/30); Houston (H: 3/7, A: 2/28); Memphis (H: 12/23, A: 11/12); New Orleans (H: 12/18, A: 2/29); San Antonio: (H: 2/10, A: 12/31) Total (H: 5, A: 5)

Games by Month

November: 14 (6 home, 8 away) December: 16 (8 home, 8 away) January: 14 (6 home, 8 away) February: 13 (6 home, 7 away) March: 15 (9 home, 6 away) April: 10 (6 home, 4 away)

Games by Day

Sunday: 13 (7 home, 6 away) Monday 8 (2 home, 6 away) Tuesday: 10 (3 home, 7 away) Wednesday: 24 (14 home, 10 away) Thursday: 0 (0 home, 0 away) Friday: 20 (15 home, 5 away) Saturday: 9 (0 home, 7 away)

Longest Homestand

7 games: 3/21 vs. Boston, 3/23 vs. Chicago, 3/25 vs. Utah, 3/28 vs. Orlando; 3/30 vs. Denver, 4/1 vs. Washington, 4/3 vs. Washington

Longest Road Trip

4 games: 12/10 at Golden State, 12/11 at Sacramento, 12/13 at L.A. Lakers, 12/14 at Portland; 1/22 at L.A. Clippers, 1/24 at Phoenix, 1/25 at Utah, 1/27 at Denver; 3/13 at Orlando, 3/14 at New Jersey, 3/17 at Chicago, 3/20 at New York

Back-to-Back-Games

Overall: 17 Home game, followed by home games: 0 Home game, followed by road game: 4 Road game, followed by home game: 3 Road game, followed by road game: 10