NBA Schedule Rumors | Hoops Rumors

NBA Reschedules Two Postponed Games, Moves Seven Others

January 28th, 2025 at 11:50am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has announced a series of changes to its game schedule, issuing a press release on Tuesday (via Twitter) stating that two postponed games have been rescheduled and seven others have been moved around as a result of the changes.

The two postponed games are the Spurs/Lakers contest from Saturday, January 11 that wasn’t played due to the Los Angeles wildfires and a Jan. 22 matchup between the Bucks and Pelicans that was postponed due to severe winter weather in New Orleans. According to the league, the new dates for those games are as follows:

San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers: Monday, March 17.
Milwaukee Bucks at New Orleans Pelicans: Sunday, April 6.

The NBA also announced the following seven schedule changes to accommodate the rescheduled games:

Chicago Bulls at Orlando Magic: Moved from March 12 to March 6.
Orlando Magic at San Antonio Spurs: Moved from March 17 to April 1.
Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers; Moved from March 18 to March 20.
Toronto Raptors at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 19 to March 20.
Milwaukee Bucks at Golden State Warriors: Moved from March 20 to March 18.
Orlando Magic at New Orleans Pelicans: Moved from April 6 to March 13.
New Orleans Pelicans at Milwaukee Bucks: Moved from April 9 to April 10.

In addition to the four teams affected by the original postponements, the Bulls, Magic, Raptors, and Warriors also had games affected as a result of today’s announcement.

It’s the second time this month that the league has made a series of changes to its schedule to accommodate postponed games — the NBA announced on January 15 that nine games had been rescheduled.

There are no more postponed games still requiring new dates, so if no additional postponements take place for the rest of this season, this should be the last schedule adjustment the league needs to make.

NBA Postpones Wednesday’s Bucks/Pelicans Game

January 22nd, 2025 at 11:27am CST by Luke Adams

The game scheduled to be played between the Bucks and Pelicans on Wednesday at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans has been postponed due to “extreme weather conditions” in New Orleans, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).

The league intends to announce a new date for the game at a later time.

New Orleans has received a rare winter storm this week, with snow blanketing the city and icy conditions affecting travel in the area.

Chris Haynes, who first reported (via Twitter) that the game between the Bucks and Pelicans would be postponed, notes that there’s concern about whether the Bucks will be able to depart New Orleans in time to get home to host the Heat on Thursday (Twitter link). The Pelicans’ next game is scheduled for Friday in Memphis.

The NBA had to postpone a handful of games earlier this month due to the wildfires in Los Angeles and extreme weather in Atlanta. Most of the new dates for those contests were announced last Wednesday, but the league has yet to confirm a rescheduled date for a Spurs/Lakers game that was postponed.

That game and this Bucks/Pelicans matchup will likely be among the next set of rescheduled contests announced by the NBA.

NBA Announces New Dates For Nine Games

January 15th, 2025 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA, which recently had to postpone four games as a result of wildfires in Los Angeles and severe weather in Atlanta, has rescheduled three of those contests and announced date changes for six others, the league announced in a press release (Twitter link).

The Hornets/Lakers game that was supposed to be played last Thursday will take place at Crypto.com Arena on February 19, while the Hornets/Clippers game that had been scheduled for last Saturday has been moved to March 16.

Additionally, last Saturday’s Rockets/Hawks that was postponed due to the weather in Atlanta will now be played on January 28 at State Farm Arena.

There’s still no new date for last Saturday’s Spurs/Lakers game, with the NBA indicating that a make-up date for that contest will be announced at a later time.

In order to accommodate the rescheduled games, the NBA has also announced the following tweaks to the schedule:

The Bulls/Clippers game scheduled for January 21 in L.A. has been moved up to Jan. 20.
The Wizards/Jazz game scheduled for Jan. 23 in Utah has been moved back to March 19.
The Jazz/Lakers game scheduled for Feb. 11 in L.A. has been moved up to Feb. 10.
The Wizards/Clippers game scheduled for March 16 in L.A. has been moved up to Jan. 23.
The Wizards/Trail Blazers game scheduled for March 18 in Portland has been moved up to March 17.
The Clippers/Jazz game scheduled for March 19 in Utah has been moved up to Feb. 13.

Despite not being involved in any of last week’s postponed matchups, the Jazz and Wizards will each have three games moved around in order to help minimize back-to-backs and reduce travel.

It’s perhaps not a coincidence that Utah and Washington are among the NBA’s cellar dwellers — the league likely wanted to avoid making schedule changes that would significantly impact teams involved in playoff races.

NBA Postpones Saturday’s Rockets-Hawks Game

January 11th, 2025 at 9:17am CST by Tristan Tucker

The NBA is postponing Saturday afternoon’s game between the Rockets and the Hawks, the league announced in a press release (Twitter link).

According to the release, the decision was made in consultation with local officials amid severe weather and hazardous icy conditions in the Atlanta area. The new game date will be decided at a later time.

This marks the league’s third postponement announcement in as many days, though the other affected games are due to the ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area.

The Rockets are next scheduled to return home to play the Grizzlies on Monday while the Hawks don’t play again until Tuesday in Atlanta.

The Hawks have announced (via Twitter) that original parking and tickets would remain valid for entry for the new date, whenever that ends up being.

NBA Postpones Saturday’s Lakers, Clippers Games

January 10th, 2025 at 10:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has decided to postpone the Lakers and Clippers games that had been scheduled to take place on Saturday in Los Angeles, the league announced in a press release (Twitter link).

The Spurs had been scheduled to face the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena, while the Hornets were supposed to make their first visit to the Intuit Dome to face the Clippers. Dates for the rescheduled games will be announced at a later time, according to the league.

The NBA and its two Los Angeles teams have been communicating with local officials in L.A. and Inglewood, the league said in its statement, adding that postponing the games will ensure no resources are diverted from the wildfire response efforts.

The NBA also said that the league and the players’ union are donating $1MM in support of those affected by the L.A. wildfires, with that money going to the American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, and other organizations.

Both the Lakers and Clippers are also scheduled to play home games on Monday, with the Lakers hosting the Spurs (again) and the Clippers scheduled to play the Heat. Those matchups are up in the air for now, though Law Murray of The Athletic (Twitter link) hears that the Clippers expect to play their game vs. Miami.

Saturday’s game is the second postponement for both the Lakers and Hornets, who had been scheduled to face one another on Thursday.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick fought back tears during a media session on Friday discussing the impact of the fires on his community and the loss of his family’s home, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.

“I was not prepared for what I saw,” Redick said. “It’s complete devastation and destruction. I had to go a kind of a different way to the house, but I went through most of the [Palisades] Village and it’s all gone. And I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that. Our home, our home is gone.

“… The Palisades community has really just been so good to us. I think that’s the part for us that we’re really struggling with is just the loss of community. And I recognize that people make up community, and we’re going to rebuild, and we want to help lead on that. But all the churches, the schools, the library, like, it’s all gone.”

Redick spoke to reporters about some of the irreplaceable personal and family items that were lost, but stressed that he’s more concerned about those affected by the fires who will have a harder time dealing with the aftermath.

“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me and my family,” Redick said. “We’re going to be alright. There are people that, because of some political issues and some insurance issues, are not going to be alright. And we’re going to do everything we can to help anybody who is down and out because of this.”

NBA Postpones Thursday’s Hornets-Lakers Game

January 9th, 2025 at 1:22pm CST by Rory Maher

The NBA has postponed Thursday’s matchup between the Hornets and Lakers due to the ongoing wildfires in the Los Angeles area, the league announced today in a press release. The game will be rescheduled at a later date.

According to Shams Charania of ESPN, who first reported the news of the postponement, several members of the Lakers organization have been impacted by the fires, including head coach JJ Redick, who lost his home (Twitter links). Redick said on Tuesday night that his immediate family and members of his extended family had to evacuate their homes in the Pacific Palisades area.

“We’re heartbroken for Los Angeles,” the Lakers said in a statement (Twitter link). “Our thoughts are with all those impacted by this unimaginable situation. And our gratitude is with the first responders and all of you who come together when we need each other most. … We’re with you, L.A.”

In a follow-up tweet, the Lakers told fans with tickets for the game to keep them, as the team will honor the tickets for the rescheduled date.

The Lakers’ and Clippers’ next games are at home on Saturday evening. The league will likely wait and see what happens with the devastating fires over the next few days before determining whether further postponements are required.

In unrelated news, the start of tonight’s game between the Trail Blazers and Mavericks has been moved up an hour (to 6:30pm CT) due to inclement weather in Dallas, per the NBA (Twitter link).

NBA Cup Semifinals Set; Sunday Games Scheduled For Eliminated Teams

December 12th, 2024 at 6:41am CST by Luke Adams

Following Atlanta’s and Houston’s wins in Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal matchups, the semifinals for the NBA’s second annual in-season tournament have been set, with the Hawks, Bucks, Rockets, and Thunder advancing to the final four.

Both games will be played on Saturday, December 14, and the matchups and tip-off times are as follows, per the league (Twitter link):

Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks (3:30 pm Central time)
Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (7:30 pm CT)

Both games will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, with the winners squaring off in the NBA Cup final on Tuesday.

Players on the team that win the NBA Cup will be awarded $514,970 apiece in prize money, while bonuses for the runner-up team will be worth $205,988 apiece and the semifinal losers will receive $102,994 each. In each instance, the bonuses for players on two-way contracts will be worth half that amount.

Players on the Knicks, Magic, Warriors, and Mavericks will receive bonuses of $51,497 apiece ($25,749 for two-way players) after being eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Those four teams have also had an extra game added to their regular season schedules to ensure they get the necessary 82. Those games will be played on Sunday, Dec. 15 and are as follows:

New York Knicks at Orlando Magic (5:00 pm CT)
Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors (7:30 pm CT)

Since both Dallas and Golden State played on the road in the NBA Cup knockout round, the Mavericks will be the unlucky team that ends up with 42 road games and 40 home games on its schedule this season, since they were the lower-seeded quarterfinalist. The Magic played on the road in the quarterfinals, while the Knicks lost at home, so the home/road schedules for the Eastern clubs will be evenly balanced.

Knockout Round Matchups Set For NBA Cup; Games Scheduled For Non-Quarterfinalists

December 4th, 2024 at 6:27am CST by Luke Adams

Following the conclusion of the group play games in the NBA Cup on Tuesday, the eight teams advancing to the knockout round have been set, and the quarterfinal games have been scheduled.

After the Warriors, Rockets, and Hawks previously clinched spots in the knockout round, the Thunder, Mavericks, Bucks, Knicks, and Magic joined them as a result of Tuesday’s outcomes. The quarterfinal matchups are as follows, per the NBA (Twitter links):

Eastern Conference:

Orlando Magic (No. 4) at Milwaukee Bucks (No. 1): Tuesday, December 10 (7 pm ET)
Atlanta Hawks (No. 3) at New York Knicks (No. 2): Wednesday, December 11 (7 pm ET)

Western Conference:

Dallas Mavericks (No. 4) at Oklahoma City Thunder (No. 1): Tuesday, December 10 (9:30 pm ET)
Golden State Warriors (No. 3) at Houston Rockets (No. 2): Wednesday, December 11 (9:30 pm ET)

While those four games will be played in the home team’s arena, the winners will advance to a neutral site for the final four. The semifinals (Dec. 14) and final (Dec. 17) will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The quarterfinal and semifinal results will count toward each team’s regular season record, whereas the final won’t. A team that loses in the quarterfinals will play the other quarterfinal loser in its conference in newly scheduled regular season games to make sure those clubs get the full 82.

Meanwhile, the 22 teams who did not advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup have each had two regular season games added to their initial 80 to fill that mid-December gap on their schedules.

Here are the newly added games for those clubs, according to the league (Twitter link):

Thursday, December 12:

Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics (7:30 pm ET)
Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat (7:30 pm ET)
Sacramento Kings at New Orleans Pelicans (8 pm ET)

Friday, December 13:

Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers (7 pm ET)
Indiana Pacers at Philadelphia 76ers (7 pm ET)
Los Angeles Lakers at Minnesota Timberwolves (8 pm ET)
Brooklyn Nets at Memphis Grizzlies (8 pm ET)
Charlotte Hornets at Chicago Bulls (8 pm ET)
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets (9 pm ET)
Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz (9:30 pm ET)
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers (10 pm ET)

Sunday, December 15:

New Orleans Pelicans at Indiana Pacers (5 pm ET)
Boston Celtics at Washington Wizards (6 pm ET)
Minnesota Timberwolves at San Antonio Spurs (7 pm ET)
Portland Trail Blazers at Phoenix Suns (8 pm ET)
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Lakers (9:30 pm ET)

Monday, December 16:

Philadelphia 76ers at Charlotte Hornets (7 pm ET)
Miami Heat at Detroit Pistons (7 pm ET)
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors (7:30 pm ET)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Brooklyn Nets (7:30 pm ET)
Denver Nuggets at Sacramento Kings (10 pm ET)
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 pm ET)

Pistons’ Bickerstaff Urges NBA To Reconsider Back-To-Backs Involving Cup Games

December 1st, 2024 at 3:30pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff believes the pressure to win NBA Cup games causes players to treat them like veritable mid-season playoff bouts, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic.

On Friday, the Pistons defeated the Pacers 130-106 in an NBA Cup game. With that win, the Pistons improved to 3-0 in East Group B, tied by record with the Bucks. Milwaukee’s +29 point differential in its three wins is only marginally better than Detroit’s +28 as the two teams prepare to match up on Tuesday.

The Pistons subsequently had to travel to Philadelphia, where they fell in a blowout to the lowly Sixers on Saturday. Citing travel issues and the challenge of playing a back-to-back set that includes an NBA Cup contest, Bickerstaff said his squad was worn out for Saturday’s game.

“I mean, our guys were exhausted,” Bickerstaff said following the Philadelphia defeat. “We sat on the runway last night until 2:30, 3:00 in the morning. Got home at 4:00 in the morning in the snowstorm. They drove home, by the time they got to bed it was 5:00 a.m, 5:30 a.m. I thought they went out and they dug down… They tried to give it what they had. We just didn’t have it tonight, and that’s fair. They tried but today was just a rough day for them.”

Later during his post-game remarks, Bickerstaff advocated for the league to make some tweaks to its NBA Cup scheduling, specifically in regard to how it doles out back-to-back sets of games if one is part of the in-season tournament.

“I’ll scream it to the rooftops, and I hope people will pay attention and they’ll listen,” Bickerstaff said. “I think the league has done a wonderful thing by adding the Cup series. Obviously, as time goes on, there will be adjustments that are made to it, but you should not play a back-to-back after one of those games. The guys are competing their tails off to go out and win at a high level, and it’s just extremely difficult to come back the next night and have to play a back-to-back to follow it up.

“Hopefully, it’s something that they’ll look at. I’m not a scheduling expert by any means. I just think it’s extremely difficult for guys to go out and compete at that intensity that we’re asking them to.”

Patterson notes as a caveat that Detroit has gone 1-4 on the second night of back-to-backs this year, regardless of whether or not an NBA Cup game was part of the set.

And-Ones: Fitts, Gilyard, NBA Schedule, Flagg, Swarm Staff

September 16th, 2024 at 8:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

In an NBA G League swap, the Memphis Hustle acquired a 2025 first-round pick and the returning player rights to forward Malik Fitts from the Cleveland Charge, the Grizzlies’ G League team tweets. The Charge, the Cavaliers’ affiliate, received the returning player rights to guard Jacob Gilyard.

Fitts has appeared in 18 NBA games, most recently in eight contests with Boston during the 2021/22 campaign when he was signed to two 10-day contracts. Gilyard appeared in a combined 41 NBA games with the Grizzlies and Nets last season. He was on a two-way deal with Brooklyn after Memphis waived him.

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