Only game on ESPN is Feb. 27 vs. Pistons
The NBA schedule makers still aren’t convinced the Wizards will become a compelling national story next season. One year after making zero appearances on either of the league’s major partner networks, Washington will appear on ESPN just once during the 2012-13 schedule released Thursday.
The Wizards will open the season at Cleveland on Oct. 30, then kick off the Verizon Center slate against Boston on Nov. 3. Their lone national TV game will come when they host the Detroit Pistons and former Georgetown standout Greg Monroe on Feb. ?27. Washington will play twice on NBA TV — at New York on Nov. 30 and vs. Chicago on Jan. 26.
| Games to watch |
| Dec. 4 vs. Miami » LeBron James and the NBA champion Heat visit Washington for the first of four games during the season. |
| Jan. 7 vs. Oklahoma City » After upsetting Kevin Durant and the Thunder at home last year, the Wizards get a chance to make it two in a row. |
| Jan. 18 at Denver » Nene faces the Nuggets and the Wizards face JaVale McGee for the first time since the teams swapped players in a trade in March. |
A return to the league’s normal 82-game slate means relief from the threat of three games in three days. But the Wizards will play 20 sets of games on consecutive nights, including a December stretch of five consecutive back-to-backs.
That stretch also might prove difficult because of opponents and travel. After hosting the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 14, the Wizards play the next evening at defending NBA champion Miami. They will return home to face Atlanta on Dec.? 18, only to return south to Florida again and play Orlando on Dec. 19.
Washington’s most daunting road trip is a five-game swing from Jan. 16 to 23. The Wizards also will depart for a four-game road trip in March.
The team’s longest homestand is just three games, although six out of seven games take place at Verizon Center between Feb. 19 and March 3.
The Wizards won’t have their usual day home game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January. But with a presidential inauguration taking place, the city will be plenty busy. Similar scheduling sent them on the road in 2009.
The Wizards will make their first visit to the Brooklyn Nets’ new home, Barclays Center, on March 8.
Nationally, a rematch of the NBA Finals between Miami and Oklahoma City is the centerpiece of five games on Christmas Day. The holiday schedule also includes Boston at Brooklyn, New York at the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston at Chicago and Denver at the Los Angeles Clippers.
