Season Opener Scheduled for December 26 vs. New Jersey at Verizon Center
Washington, DC – The National Basketball Association released the 2011-12 regular season schedule today, and the Washington Wizards will tip off their 2011-12 season at Verizon Center on Monday, Dec. 26, against the New Jersey Nets. The Wizards will then be on the road for consecutive contests against the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, Dec. 28, and Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, Dec. 30, before returning home for a New Year’s Day game against the Boston Celtics.
“We’re excited to have our schedule and for our fans to know when they will be able to see this young, athletic team back in a competitive environment,” said Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld. “We’re looking forward to starting training camp this week and can’t wait for Dec. 26 when we return to the court at Verizon Center.”
Highlights of the 2011-12 home schedule include a five-game homestand from Jan. 14-22 that brings Philadelphia, Houston, Oklahoma City, Denver and Boston back to town, one opportunity for President Obama to see his hometown Bulls in action on Jan. 30, Miami’s first visit to the nation’s capital (Feb. 10) during a stretch of four games on every other day from Feb. 4-10 that also includes the Clippers, Raptors and Knicks, the Lakers’ lone visit of the season on March 7 and the home finale against the Heat on April 26.
The Wizards’ longest road stretch will span five games in nine days with a trip that begins in Detroit on Feb. 12 and will conclude in Phoenix on Feb. 20 with stops at Portland, L.A. Clippers and Utah in the middle. The team also has a five-game, seven-day trip (Mar. 12-18) against San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta and Memphis. The Wizards will play three games on consecutive nights twice this season, when they host Atlanta (Mar. 24), travel to Boston (Mar. 25) and return home to face Detroit (Mar. 26) and host Indiana (April 4) before travelling to Detroit (April 5) and New Jersey (April 6).
The Wizards will host each team in the Eastern Conference twice with the exception of New Jersey (Dec. 26), Chicago (Jan. 30), Atlanta (March 24) and Detroit (March 26), while Washington will travel to play Eastern Conference teams Cleveland (April 25), Indiana (March 29), Miami (April 21) and New York (April 13) on the road one time only during regular season play. The team will not host Western Conference teams Dallas, Memphis, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Antonio and Utah and will not travel to Denver, Golden State, LA. Lakers, Minnesota, Oklahoma City or Sacramento.
All home games will tip off at 7:00 p.m., with the exceptions of Sunday 1:00 p.m. matinees against Minnesota on Jan. 6 and against Boston on Jan. 22, a 2:00 p.m. Martin Luther King Day game against Houston on Jan. 16, a 6:00 p.m. Sunday start time on Jan. 1 against Boston and an 8:00 p.m. tip against Miami on April 26. Overall, the Wizards will play 11 of their 33 home contests on the weekend (Friday-Sunday).