The Toronto Raptors announced their 2020-21 first half schedule on Friday. The Raptors will tip off their 26th season in the National Basketball Association on Wednesday, Dec. 23 when they host New Orleans at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Amalie Arena will be the team’s home for at least the first half of their schedule. This marks the 11th time in the past 12 seasons - and the 20th time in team history – the Raptors have started the regular season at home. Toronto’s road debut is set for Friday, Dec. 26 when they visit San Antonio.
The longest homestand of the first half schedule is five games from Jan. 14-22, while the longest road trip is six games which occurs Feb. 2-12. The Raptors will have five back-to-back sets, with four of those being a road games followed by another road game.
The first half schedule features seven U.S. national television appearances. Toronto has three games on NBATV and two games apiece on ESPN and TNT. The Raptors local television schedule will be released at a later date.
This season marks Toronto’s 17th in the Atlantic Division, joining Boston, Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia. The Raptors were a member of the Central Division from 1995-2004.
For the first half schedule, all weekday home games will start at 7:30 p.m. Weekend home games will tip at either 6 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Each team will play 72 games in the 2020-21 season, facing each opponent in its conference three times (42 total games per team) and each opponent in the other conference twice (30 total games per team). In the First Half, each team will play 37 or 38 games, including a minimum of 17 home games and a maximum of 20. Nearly 52% of all regular-season games (558 of 1,080) have been scheduled for the First Half.
The schedule incorporates steps to reduce travel, including the use of a “series” model. In some instances where a team is scheduled to play twice in one market, those games have been scheduled to be played consecutively. Each team will play an average of four “series” in the First Half – two at home and two on the road. Additional steps include more instances of teams playing consecutive road games against teams that are geographically close, and roughly 50% fewer instances of teams making single-game road trips.
Atlantic Division Boston (H: 1/4, A: 2/12, 3/4); Brooklyn (A: 2/5); New York (H: 12/31); Philadelphia (H: 2/21, 2/23, A: 12/29); Total (H: 4, A: 4)Central DivisionChicago (H: 2/28); Detroit (H: 3/2); Indiana (A: 1/24, 1/25); Milwaukee (H: 1/27, A: 2/16, 2/18); Total (H: 3, A: 4)
Southeast Division Atlanta (A: 2/6); Charlotte (H: 1/14, 1/16); Miami (H: 1/20, 1/22, A: 2/24); Orlando (H: 1/31, A: 2/2); Washington (A: 2/10); Total (H: 5, A: 4) Northwest Division Minnesota (H: 2/14, A: 2/19); Portland (A: 1/11); Total (H: 1, A: 2) Pacific Division Golden State (A: 1/10); Phoenix (A: 1/6); Sacramento (H: 1/29, A: 1/8); Total (H: 1, A: 3) Southwest Division Dallas (H: 1/18); Houston (H: 2/26); Memphis (A: 2/8); New Orleans (H: 12/23, A: 1/2); San Antonio: (A: 12/26); Total (H: 3, A: 3)
