Print RSS Feeds FastBreak Tix

August 6, 2008

MILWAUKEE -- The Milwaukee Bucks will open their 41st season with a road game in Chicago on Tuesday, October 28, the team announced today in conjunction with the release of the 2008-09 NBA regular season schedule. Following the first NBA regular season game in Oklahoma City’s franchise history on Wednesday, October 29, the Bucks will tip-off their 41-game home schedule with a contest against Eastern Conference rival Toronto on Saturday, November 1 at the Bradley Center, the first of 23 weekend home games.

The NBA Champion Boston Celtics will make an early season visit to the Bradley Center on Saturday, November 15, as well as a Sunday matinee (Noon CT) contest on March 15. LeBron James and the Eastern Conference finalist Cleveland Cavaliers come to Milwaukee on Saturday, November 26 and Friday, February 20. Following the 2009 All-Star Weekend (February 15), the Bucks will play 16 of their final 27 games at home, including a six-game homestand from March 7 to March 21 (Golden State, New York, New Orleans, Boston, Orlando and Portland). The team will also enjoy four straight games at home from April 4 - 13 (Memphis, Atlanta, Oklahoma City and Orlando), before closing out the regular season at Indiana on Wednesday, April 15.

Milwaukee will also have five separate three-game homestands on the 2008-09 schedule beginning with the November 29 game vs. Cleveland, Chicago (December 3) and Charlotte (December 5). Central Division rival Detroit makes their first trip to Milwaukee on Friday, December 27, as part of a Los Angeles Clippers (December 20), Utah (December 23) and Pistons homestand. In January, Toronto (5), Philadelphia (7) and New Jersey (9) are in Milwaukee for three games. Prior to the All-Star break, Detroit (February 7), Houston (February 9) and Indiana (February 11) visit the Bradley Center. After a one-game trip to Detroit on February 17, the Bucks will be back home to take on Chicago (February 18), Cleveland (February 20) and Denver (February 22).

The 2008-09 schedule features three weeklong road trips, unusually, all in the East. Two of those Eastern trips are four games long. The last time the Bucks had an Eastern trip of four games in length was during the 2003-04 season. The four-game trips include November 22 to November 28 (at Charlotte, at Orlando, at Atlanta, at Detroit) and March 25 to March 30 (at Toronto, at Orlando, at Miami, at New Jersey). The other extended road trip in the East is December 15 to December 19 (at Miami, at Philadelphia, at NY).

The Bucks will make two three-game road trips against Western Conference opponents. The first takes Milwaukee to face the Los Angeles Lakers (December 7), Phoenix (December 9) and Golden State (December 10), while the second has the Bucks taking on Sacramento (January 16), the Los Angeles Clippers (January 17) and Portland (January 19).

Milwaukee has one nationally televised ESPN game scheduled at New Orleans on Friday, February 27.

Once again this season, weekday home games will start at 7:00 p.m. and all but one of the Friday/Saturday games will start at 7:30 p.m. The Saturday, November 29 Cavaliers-Bucks home game will begin at 8:00 p.m. Milwaukee’s two Sunday home games will be played at 4:00 p.m. (February 22 vs. Denver) and noon (March 15 vs. Boston).

SCHEDULING NOTES: The Bucks will play each team in the Eastern Conference four times with the exception of Boston (2 home, 1 road), Miami, (1 home, 2 road), Philadelphia (1 home, 2 road) and Washington (2 home, 1 road) … They will play each Western Conference team twice … The Bucks have 22 back-to-back sets (10 road/home, 6 home/road, 6 road/road) … The Bucks will open their season on the road for the 24th consecutive season (14-9 during that span) … This will be the first season opener at Chicago in team history … Milwaukee is 21-19 all-time in road openers and 29-11 in home openers … The Bucks have won their last five home openers.

SCHEDULE BY MONTH (HOME/ROAD): October (0/2), November (7/10), December (6/8), January (9/9), February (7/4), March (7/6) and April (5/2).

SCHEDULE BY DAY OF THE WEEK (HOME/ROAD): Sunday (2/2), Monday (4/5), Tuesday (3/7), Wednesday (11/11), Thursday (0/1), Friday (6/10) and Saturday (15/5).