The NBA is set to release its official 2011-12 schedule later this evening, during a program which will be broadcast on NBA TV at 7 p. m. ET. But one team’s schedule has leaked in its entirety, and it shows that plenty of fans won’t be happy with the way things shake out.
The Phoenix Suns’ 2011-12 schedule was obtained by Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, and has been posted on the paper’s website. We already knew going in that not every out-of-conference team would be seen in every NBA city, and the Suns are one team that certainly seemed to get the short end of that stick.
The NBA let us know ahead of time that as far as non-conference scheduling would go, home teams could expect to play three teams two times (one home, one away), play six teams one time at home, and play six teams one time on the road. So, there will be some teams in the West who don’t host the best teams featuring the biggest stars of the East, and vice versa. The Suns? They don’t host almost any of them.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and the Miami Heat will not be coming to Phoenix, nor will the reigning MVP Derrick Rose be visiting with his Chicago Bulls. Dwight Howard (if indeed he remains in Orlando this season) won’t be coming to town either, and neither will the Boston Celtics.
Most importantly to Suns fans, perhaps, is the fact that Amar’e Stoudemire won’t be back for the second time as a member of the New York Knicks.
The Suns aren’t likely to be the only team affected by the schedule this way, and they won’t be the only team affected by the loss of ticket sales from the guaranteed sellouts that these star-laden teams would provide. They’re just the first example of how the shortened season is going to impact fans in most markets who will be denied the chance to see the NBA’s biggest stars play in person.
