The schedule begins with nine of the first 12 games against opponents that participated in the 2009 postseason - Cleveland, Orlando, Detroit, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, Denver and Utah. November has two trips out west that are separated by a single home game with November 6-9 at New Orleans, Dallas and San Antonio followed by November 13-18 at the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix, Denver and Utah. The club will play a stretch of 11 of 14 games at home from January 22 -- February 26.
The longest road swing occurs twice with four games (November 13-18 and March 9-14). The longest home stand of the season is four games from February 3-17, which includes the All-Star break. Noteworthy games in Toronto on the 2009-10 schedule include two afternoon visits by Dwight Howard and his defending Eastern Conference Champion Orlando Magic on November 1 and 22; Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns make their only regular season trip to Canada on Sunday, November 29; Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets visit town Sunday, December 20; Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics come to town Sunday, January 10 and Wednesday, April 7; Kobe Bryant and his World Champion Los Angeles Lakers appear on Sunday, January 24; a rare Saturday home contest February 20 versus Washington, the team’s first since February 3, 2001 versus Minnesota; and LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers make a second trip to Toronto on Wednesday, February 26. On the road, newly-acquired Raptor Hedo Turkoglu will make his first trip back to Orlando on Wednesday, December 16 to face his former Magic squad.
Toronto will play its sixth 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 (Charlotte and Milwaukee) and two will be faced twice at home and once on the road (Chicago and Washington). 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 23 games on the schedule. Sunday features a season-high 15 home games, while Wednesday shows 14 games at Air Canada Centre. On the road, the busiest day is Wednesday and Friday with nine games each.
The majority of the team’s home games will fall on the weekend with eight games on a Friday and 15 on a Sunday, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the 41 home dates.
The Raptors’ busiest month is October/November with 18 games. The busiest home months are October/November and December with eight games, while the busiest road month will be October/November with the Raptors facing 10 games away from Toronto. The schedule is evenly balanced with 19 home and 22 road games for the first half of the season and 22 home and 19 road outings for the final 41 contests.
The Raptors will have 21 back-to-back games this season (up four from last season), with a high of nine being a road game followed by a road game.
The Raptors will release their 2009 preseason schedule in the near future. The team’s 2009-10 local television schedule will be released at a later date. For the fourth consecutive season, all 82 Raptors games will be aired nationally in Canada. At the present time, the Raptors have one nationally televised game in the United States, January 15 at New York on ESPN.
Raptors season tickets are available by calling (416) 366-DUNK, while single-game ticket information will be released at a later date. RAPTORS 2009-10 SCHEDULE NOTES Atlantic Division Boston (H: 1/10, 4/7, A: 11/27, 1/2); New Jersey (H: 12/18, 2/3, A: 2/19, 3/20); New York (H: 3/5, 4/14, A: 1/15, 1/28); Philadelphia (H: 2/10, 3/7, A: 1/8, 4/3) Total (H: 8, A: 8) Central Division Chicago (H: 11/11, 4/11, A: 12/5); Cleveland (H: 10/28, 2/26, A: 1/19, 4/6); Detroit (H: 11/4, 12/27, A: 12/23, 4/12); Indiana (H: 11/24, 1/31, A: 1/11, 2/2); Milwaukee (H: 1/22, A: 12/9, 1/20) Total (H: 9, A: 9)Southeast Division Atlanta (H: 12/11, 3/17, A: 12/2, 4/9); Charlotte (H: 12/30, A: 11/25, 3/29); Miami (H: 11/20, 1/27, A: 12/15, 3/28); Orlando (H: 11/1, 11/22, A: 12/16, 1/6); Washington (H: 12/1, 2/20, A: 12/4) Total (H: 9, A: 9)Northwest Division Denver (H: 3/26, A: 11/17); Minnesota (H: 12/8, A: 3/22); Portland (H: 2/24, A: 3/14); Oklahoma City (H: 3/19, A: 2/28); Utah (H: 3/24, A: 11/18) Total (H: 5, A: 5) Pacific Division Golden State (H: 4/4, A: 3/13); L.A. Clippers (H: 3/31, A: 11/13); L.A. Lakers (H: 1/24, A: 3/9); Phoenix (H: 11/29, A: 11/15); Sacramento (H: 2/7, A: 3/10) Total (H: 5, A: 5) Southwest Division Dallas (H: 1/17, A: 11/7); Houston (H: 12/13, A: 3/1); Memphis (H: 2/17, A: 10/30); New Orleans (H: 12/20, A: 11/6); San Antonio: (H: 1/3, A: 11/9) Total (H: 5, A: 5) Games by Month
Games By Day
Longest Homestand 4 games: 2/3 vs. New Jersey, 2/7 vs. Sacramento, 2/10 vs. Philadelphia, 2/17 vs. Memphis Longest Road Trip 4 games (twice): 11/13 at L.A. Clippers, 11/15 at Phoenix, 11/17 at Denver, 11/18 at Utah and 3/9 at L.A. Lakers, 3/10 at Sacramento, 3/13 at Golden State, 3/14 at Portland Back-to-Back Games