NBA Schedules Released – Pistons have a tough road

Today the NBA released the long awaited schedules for the 2009-10 season. The Pistons schedule this year appears to be tougher than in recent years, in particular with the high number of back to backs – 23. It’s a lot, but with the Pistons roster getting so much younger this offseason, it shouldn’t be a huge concern.

National Outlook

You won’t be seeing much of the Pistons on a national level this year, and I have a gripe with this. The Pistons have dominated the eastern conference for over half a decade, but following a disappointing year last year, that seems to have earned them little good will with the NBA and the TV producers. The Pistons will only appear in 5 nationally televised games this year, four of them on ESPN.

Dec. 9: at 76ers, 7 p.m., ESPN
Dec. 10: vs. Nuggets , TNT
March 5: at Cavaliers 7 p.m. ESPN
March 15: at Celtics, 8 p.m., ESPN
March 21: at Cavaliers, 8 p.m. ESPN

For a franchise that has accomplished so much in the last quarter-century, this has to feel like a slap in the face. I know the Pistons only won 39 games last year (following a string of 6 consecutive ECF’s). But you would think they would get more leeway than they were afforded this year. The fact that teams like the Clippers (!!), Warriors, Knicks, Wizards and Hawks all have more nationally televised games than the Pistons, makes this Piston fan perplexed and mildly angry at the same time. Those teams lack the pedigree and the starpower to justify them getting more exposure.

Ok – end of rant!

The NBA Christmas day schedule is now lined up with 5 nationally televised games. It begins with a snoozer matchup, Knicks-Heat, followed by Celtics-Magic and Cavs-Lakers on ABC. Clippers-Suns (another snooze-fest) and Denver-Portland round out the games on ESPN.

Schedule Recap

The Detroit Pistons open their campaign in Memphis… easy enough. The Pistons first 10 games are split evenly, with 5 at the comfy confines of The Palace and 5 on the road. Notable games in that stretch include two against Orlando (1 at home, 1 in Orlando) and a Sunday home game against Dallas.

Following that is the Pistons first road trip (Nov 17th-22nd) and arguably one of their toughest of the year. They’ll be at the world champion Lakers, at Portland, at Utah and finish up with Phoenix on the second of a back to back.

The Pistons play 15 games in December, with the highlight games being two against their longtime rival Chicago Bulls and a Motown showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Detroit kicks off January with a tough back to back set at Dallas and at San Antonio (Jan 5-6). On the whole, this is a favorable month for the Pistons, who play 9 of their 14 games at home, including a season long 6 game home stand to finish the month.

March figures to be a tough month, with several high seeded playoff teams on the schedule. The Celtics (twice), Cleveland (three times in 16 days!!), Utah and Chicago. Four of the Pistons 5 nationally televised games are also included in March.

The Pistons finish the season with 5 of their final 7 games on the road… though only 3 of those teams are playoff teams from a year ago.

Pistons Game Breakdown

Month	Home	Road
October	1	2
November	7	7
December	8	7
January	9	5
Febuary	5	8
March	8	7
April	3	5