The Blazers will play their first game of the 2014-15 season against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 29th.
So says the Oklahoman, at least. We know, though, they put a real premium on reliability, so there's not much reason to doubt them.
The full schedule--which is much more important than this little tidbit--will be released tonight at 6 pm Eastern Time.
The Blazers got hammered last year schedule-wise, with two long grueling roadtrips smashed into their Spring. The result was a bit of a slide from their early-season pyrotechnics, and an injury to Aldridge: it was clear the team was simply tired and beat up. All teams are at that point, but the point is the schedule didn't help it.
That said, an early Eastern road trip helped them get off to that wonderful start. The East won't be so easy this year, but if they pack in as many games East of the Mississippi as they can before December, it might allow them to repeat their tear through the NBA.
The teams in the East are stronger, but only because their compositions were altered by the trades. Hopefully, it will take them a while to get their chemistry right, and the Blazers can swoop in and do damage.
The bad news in general is that the West isn't going to be easy, no matter how the schedule works out. Playing them fresh will be crucial. Starting with OKC is a good thing: the Blazers had to face them at least twice last year on the second night of a back-to-back. Tired legs against the team with the year's MVP in the middle of one of the greatest scoring streaks since Jordan--well, that wasn't a nice prospect to face.
This year, things will be a little different, hopefully.
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