2002-03 NBA Schedule: What to Watch For
Contents
- The 2002-03 NBA season is just around the corner, and there are plenty of great match-ups to look forward to.
- Here are some of the most anticipated games of the upcoming season
- The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will look to repeat, but they’ll have plenty of competition.
- The Eastern Conference is wide open, and any one of a number of teams could come out on top.
- The New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons are two of the teams to watch in the East.
- In the West, the Lakers will have to contend with the likes of the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks
- There are a number of intriguing individual match-ups to keep an eye on as well.
- Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal will go head-to-head with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming
- Jason Kidd will face off against his former team, the New Jersey Nets.
- And of course, there are the always-entertaining rivalry games.
As the 2002-03 NBA schedule is released, we take a look at some of the most intriguing match-ups and storylines to keep an eye on.
The 2002-03 NBA season is just around the corner, and there are plenty of great match-ups to look forward to.
Here are some of the key match-ups to keep an eye on:
* The Los Angeles Lakers will face the San Antonio Spurs in a rematch of last year’s Western Conference Finals.
* The New Jersey Nets will take on the Boston Celtics in a battle of the Eastern Conference’s top two teams.
* The Chicago Bulls will face the Indiana Pacers another top Eastern Conference team.
* The Houston Rockets will take on the Dallas Mavericks two of the league’s hottest teams.
Here are some of the most anticipated games of the upcoming season
The NBA season is almost upon us, and there are plenty of intriguing matchups to look forward to. Here are some of the most highly-anticipated games of the upcoming campaign:
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings (October 29)
The Lakers and Kings have been two of the best teams in the Western Conference over the past few years, and there is no love lost between these two rivals. This should be a great game to kick off the NBA season
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers (November 1)
This is a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference semifinal series, which Boston won in seven games. The Sixers will be out for revenge, and with both teams expected to be among the best in the East again this year, this should be a great game
Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs (November 5)
The Spurs have been the Lakers’ biggest thorn in recent years knocking them out of the playoffs three times since 1999. This should be a great game between two of the top teams in the West.
The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will look to repeat, but they’ll have plenty of competition.
The Los Angeles Lakers will look to repeat as NBA champions in the 2002-03 season, but they’ll have plenty of competition. The defending champion Lakers will face stiff challenges from the likes of the San Antonio Spurs Sacramento Kings Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers Other Teams to Watch out for include the New Jersey Nets Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves
The Eastern Conference is wide open, and any one of a number of teams could come out on top.
The Eastern Conference is wide open, and any one of a number of teams could come out on top. The Indiana Pacers are the defending conference champions, but they will have their work cut out for them if they want to repeat. The Detroit Pistons Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics all made major improvements to their rosters during the off-season and are expected to be contenders. The New Jersey Nets should also be in the mix, as they have one of the best point guards in the league in Jason Kidd
The New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons are two of the teams to watch in the East.
In the Eastern Conference the New Jersey Nets and the Detroit Pistons are two of the Teams to Watch The Nets added All-Star guard Jason Kidd during the offseason, and they are now a favorite to reach the NBA Finals The Pistons kept their core group of players together, and they are also a contender to reach the NBA Finals
In the West, the Lakers will have to contend with the likes of the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks
In the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers will have to contend with the likes of the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks The Kings are coming off a season in which they went 61-21 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals while the Mavericks went 57-25 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
The Lakers will also have to deal with the San Antonio Spurs, who went 58-24 last season and lost in the second round of the playoffs. The Spurs have been one of the most successful teams in the NBA over the past few seasons, winning three championships in five years.
Other teams to watch out for in the West include the Minnesota Timberwolves who went 50-32 last season and made it to the Conference Finals and the Houston Rockets who went 52-30 and lost in the first round of the playoffs.
There are a number of intriguing individual match-ups to keep an eye on as well.
The 2002-03 NBA Schedule was released Wednesday, and there are a number of intriguing individual match-ups to keep an eye on as well.
While the Kobe Bryant Lebron James battle everyone has been waiting for will have to wait until March, there are plenty of other great match-ups to tide NBA fans over until then.
Here are some games to keep an eye on:
November 5: San Antonio at Philadelphia – The Spurs will be looking to avenge their loss in the NBA Finals last season, and the 76ers will be looking to prove they can hang with the best in the West.
December 12: Detroit at Los Angeles Lakers – The two best teams in the NBA last season will go head-to-head early this season. This could be a preview of the NBA Finals
January 16: Indiana at Detroit – These two Central Division rivals always have heated match-ups, and this one should be no different. Expect a physical game with plenty of fouls called.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal will go head-to-head with Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming
The 2002-03 NBA schedule is loaded with marquee matchups, featuring the league’s best players going up against each other on a nightly basis.
Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, who have won three consecutive NBA championships together with the Los Angeles Lakers will face off against Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming of the Houston Rockets in two highly anticipated games.
The first matchup between the two teams will take place on Christmas Day at Staples Center in Los Angeles with the second game happening at Toyota Center in Houston on February 8th.
Other top games to watch for include a meeting between defending NBA champions the San Antonio Spurs and the up-and-coming Minnesota Timberwolves on November 27th, as well as a battle between Eastern Conference rivals the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics on December 12th.
Jason Kidd will face off against his former team, the New Jersey Nets.
It’ll be an emotional homecoming for Kidd when he takes the court against the team he helped lead to two NBA Finals appearances. Now with the Mavericks, Kidd has Dallas off to a solid start this season.
And of course, there are the always-entertaining rivalry games.
As the Christmas Day games always denote the unofficial start to the NBA season the schedule release is always an exciting moment for basketball fans Although we don’t know exactly what to expect from any team until a few games have been played, there are always marquee matchups and storylines to follow as the season progresses. Here are a few of the most interesting games on the 2002-03 NBA schedule.
