The NBA season is finally upon us. The lockout that began on July 1st and put the entire season in jeopardy is over, and players can look forward to begin their season on Christmas Day.
Owners and players were able to come together to create a new collective bargaining deal to replace the current CBA that expired earlier this year. Negotiations fell apart multiple times, which resulted in weeks upon weeks of games being canceled by NBA Commissioner David Stern. The five month lockout to the NBA season was brought to a close in November and now fans, players, owners and everyone else can turn their eyes towards the court.
Five games are set for December 25th to kick off the 2011-2012 NBA season. Beginning the day at 12pm, the Boston Celtics will travel to New York to face the Knicks. A rematch from the NBA Finals of last season will follow at 2:30pm as the Miami Heat will play the Dallas Mavericks. At 5pm, the Los Angeles Lakers will play host to the Chicago Bulls. The final two games of the evening will feature the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Orlando Magic, while the Golden State Warriors face the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 66-game schedule for the shortened NBA season will run through April 26th of 2012, while the NBA Finals may run to June 26th.