New-look Nets land 12 national TV games this season
The Nets' Dzanan Musa reacts after a play against the Orlando Magic during the second half of an NBA Summer League game on July 10 in Las Vegas. Credit: AP/John Locher
Neither the Nets nor the Knicks will play in a coveted Christmas Day game this year according to their 2019-20 schedules released Monday.
The Knicks, who face another rebuilding season, are being left off the Christmas Day schedule for the first time since 2015. The Nets will be idle on the big day for the sixth straight year, which is considered somewhat of a surprise given the newly added star power of Kyrie Irving on the court and the mending Kevin Durant on the sideline.
That being said, the Nets are definitely considered a team worth highlighting as they will be featured on national television 12 times on either ESPN or TNT. The last time the Nets had more than one game on national TV, not counting NBA TV, was 2015.
Highlights of the nationally televised games are Irving’s return to Boston's TD Garden on Nov. 27 and D'Angelo Russell's return to the Barclays Center with Golden State on Feb. 5. The Nets also host Philadelphia, the team that beat them in the first round of the playoffs last season, on Martin Luther King Day.
The Nets open the season at home against Minnesota on Oct. 23.
With the Knicks coming off a 17-65 season and failing to add any star free-agent, they will be televised nationally just three times on either ESPN or TNT: the Garden reunion game against Kristaps Porzingis and the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 14, a game against the Nets in Brooklyn on Dec. 26 and Zion Williamson’s debut at the Garden with the Pelicans on Jan 10.
The Knicks will play on Martin Luther King Day for the 21st consecutive time, facing the Cavaliers in Cleveland on Jan. 20. The Knicks will open the season with road games against San Antonio and Brooklyn on Oct. 23 and 25. They host the Celtics in the home opener on Oct. 26.
Barbara Barker is an award-winning columnist and features writer in the sports department at Newsday. She has covered sports in New York for more than 20 years.
