Top 10 Must-See Games 1. @ Oklahoma City Thunder, April 4th (ESPN) This will be the game that decides whether we are true contenders or not. All the bad blood, all the hype, will culminate here. Harden & Howard vs Durant & Westbrook. This is a potential WC Finals match-up. Will OKC remain on top? Will Westbrook show he's the best PG in the league? Or will our Rockets ascend the hierarchy of the WC, led by Harden and Howard? Can Lin redeem himself? So many questions, so little time to answer before the playoffs. 2. @ L.A. Lakers, February 19th (ESPN) Howard's first game back in LA. No doubt to be a lot of boos in the crowd, but we are all looking forward to Howard putting up a 40 PT - 20 RB game like he did against Orlando in his return. Let's avoid any close nailbiters and curbstomp the Lakeshow. Kobe will be back, so there will be no excuses. This could be the game Harden finally shows that he is, without a doubt, the best shooting guard in the NBA. Also; Parsons recruits celebrities to team Houston with his good looks. 3. @ San Antonio, Christmas Day (ESPN) Gotta be happy we get a second consecutive Christmas day game, and against the WC champions to boot. An old fashioned Texas show-down; this will prove whether Houston is ready to take the reins as the SW kings. Curious to see if we get another set snazzy X-Mas day uniforms. 4. @ Miami, March 16th (ABC) Game against the defending champs, the team we are built to defeat. MUST have big games from Harden-Howard-Parsons trio to come out on top here. Win here, and we will be taken seriously on the road to the gold. 5. @ Golden State, December 13th (ESPN) In my opinion, a potential first round match-up. Two teams who skyrocketed into contentionship over the summer. I don't think I need to go into detail about how heated things got between the two teams. Lookin' forward to see how Harden can handle being guarded by Iggy. Can Lin step up his game? 6. @ L.A. Clippers, February 26th (ESPN) Lob City vs. Clutch City. The two heads of the 2013 FA Class face off in what is going to be an exciting game. We got throttled a lot by the Floppers, so i am hoping with our improved roster we will be able to take down this team, whom could very well win the West. 7. vs. Chicago, December 18th (ESPN) The return of Derrick Rose to Houston. Let's see if we can beat the hell outta' them like we did on Christmas Day. The Bulls are hungry to dethrone the Heat, so you've got two contenders eager to prove they are the real deal. Maybe this will lead to a rebirth of a Chicago-Houston feud? 8. @ Brooklyn, April 1st (TNT) The Nets formed a big 5 over in New York, so it remains to be seen how good they will be. By this point, we'll have a pretty good idea of how good both teams are, but it wouldn't hurt to see them square off again in the bright lights. Bonus points due to my brother being a fan of them as well. Gotta hope my Rockets back up my trash talk! 9. vs. Memphis, December 26th (TNT) Talk about a hell of a 2nd game to a back to back. We need to be ready to go against the grit-and-grind Grizz, who were one of the final four in the playoffs. This may be one of the games in which a Howard-Asik combo may prove extremely beneficial. Definitely a game to prove our worth and our ability to handle defense-orientated squads. 10. vs. Indiana, March 7th (ESPN) A game against a Final Four team and a dominant defensive team. Indiana has the potential to dethrone the Heat, so don't be surprised to see these two teams meeting up in June. Harden vs George will definitely be the match-up to watch for. Scola returns to Houston as well!
God, remember last season when I don't even think we had 10 National games? Feels good to be contenders.
When does the preseason schedule go up? I know Friedman mentioned Oct 5th being the first home opener for preseason. Wonder if that's the first game of it though.
Preseason Oct 5 vs Nola Oct 10 vs Indy in Manila Oct 13 vs Indy in Taipei Over 16 vs Orlando Oct 21 vs Dallas Oct 24 at San Antonio October 25 at Memphis.