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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz fans can now save some dates.
The long-awaited NBA schedule has been announced — at least the first half of it. On Friday, the NBA announced the beginning of the abbreviated 72-game season, with the Jazz tipping the season off Dec. 23 in Portland against the Trail Blazers. Utah's final game of the first half of the season will be March 3 at Philadelphia.
Here are some of the highlights of the first-half schedule:
The opener: Dec. 23 at Portland. This will be the first regular-season game the Jazz will play in an NBA arena since the infamous night in March in Oklahoma City when Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
The first home game: Dec. 26 vs. Minnesota. The Jazz will play in front of 1,500 fans at Vivint Arena — they are one of three teams that will allow fans — in their home opener against the Timberwolves.
National TV contests: In the first half of the schedule, the Jazz will have just four games broadcast on the main national networks (two on ESPN and two on TNT). An additional five games will be carried on NBA TV. For comparison, the Jazz had 16 games scheduled for ESPN and TNT when the schedule came out in 2019.
The mini-series games: A new quirk to the schedule this season, as clubs try to limit travel due to the ongoing pandemic, will be teams facing each other in consecutive games. The Jazz have three sets of these mini-series games: New Orleans (Jan. 19 and 20), Dallas (Jan. 27 and 29), and the L.A. Clippers (Feb. 17 and 19).
🕹 𝚁𝙴𝙰𝙳𝚈. 𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗬!#TakeNote
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) December 4, 2020
𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 @UofUHealth 👾 pic.twitter.com/kBGUh71MYK
The long road trip: The Jazz will go on a seven-game road trip at the beginning of January. The 11-day trip will take the Jazz to San Antonio, Brooklyn, New York, Milwaukee, Detroit and Cleveland before finishing in Washington D.C. The Jazz will have a six-game home swing in the first half as well.
Games we are looking forward to watching:
- Dec. 26 vs. Minnesota — The first regular-season game in Salt Lake City since March. Plus, the Jazz will see an old friend in Ricky Rubio.
- Dec. 31 vs. Phoenix — The Jazz will get their first (regular season) look at the re-tooled Suns featuring Chris Paul.
- Jan. 5 at Brooklyn — The Nets made waves last offseason by acquiring Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant. Will the Jazz finally see them at full strength?
- Jan. 17 at Denver — The first time Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell will go head to head since their epic duel in Orlando. The Nuggets will be in Utah on Jan. 31.
- Feb. 22 vs. Charlotte — Gordon Hayward returns with his new team. We'll see how loud 1,500 fans can boo.
- Feb. 24 vs. Los Angeles Lakers — The defending champs come to Utah in their only matchup with the Jazz during the first half.
