The Brooklyn Nets are set to face a grueling start to the NBA season, with tough opponents awaiting them in the opener. The Nets will begin their season at home against Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, October 25 at Barclays Center. Following this, they will embark on a challenging four-game road trip, facing the Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, and Chicago Bulls.
Once the Nets return to Brooklyn, they will face three bona fide championship contenders in a demanding three-game homestand. The Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Clippers will test the Nets in the opening weeks of the season.
Out of the Nets’ first 19 games, four of them will be part of the In-Season Tournament Group Play, which will determine the seeding for the NBA’s new tournament. They will face the Chicago Bulls on November 3, the Boston Celtics on November 10, the Orlando Magic at home on November 14, and the Toronto Raptors in Brooklyn on November 28.
The In-Season Tournament Knockout Rounds will take place from December 4 to December 9. Notably, the Nets won’t be playing on Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, or New Year’s Day, but they will be spending New Year’s Eve in Oklahoma City for a matchup against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder.
Brooklyn’s schedule includes numerous back-to-back games, with 14 sets in total. Additionally, they face a particularly taxing stretch of four games in six nights in late December. The Nets have six road trips consisting of at least four games, including a challenging six-game road trip in mid-March that takes them through Detroit, Charlotte, Cleveland, Orlando, Indiana, and San Antonio. Following this trip, the Nets will have only one home game before embarking on another four-game road trip in a 20-day span.
In March, the Nets face three sets of back-to-back games within a two-week period. During this time, they will play eight games in 13 days, including back-to-back matchups against the Memphis Grizzlies and Philadelphia 76ers, the Charlotte Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs.
As the regular season winds down, the Nets will end with two divisional rival matchups. They will face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden before their finale against Ben Simmons’ former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Notable matchups this season include the face-offs between Mikal Bridges and Cam Johnson of the Phoenix Suns against stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. The Nets will play against the Suns on December 13 in Phoenix and on January 31 at home.
The Brooklyn Nets have a total of 11 games scheduled to be aired on national television, with only five set to air on channels other than NBA TV. These include matchups against the Boston Celtics on ESPN on November 10, the New York Knicks on TNT on January 23, Kevin Durant’s return to Brooklyn on ESPN on January 31, Kyrie Irving’s return to Barclays Center on TNT on February 6, and a March 10 game in Cleveland against the Utah Jazz.
Eight out of Brooklyn’s first 10 opponents are projected to be playoff contenders, making the four-game stretch against the Boston Celtics, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers, and the Celtics again one of the toughest slates of the season. The Nets will also face a challenging five-game West Coast road trip in mid-December, facing the Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets, and Golden State Warriors, followed by a finale against the Utah Jazz.
To secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament, the Nets will likely need to finish the regular season with at least a .500, 41-41 record. However, they will need a stronger record to secure a higher seed in the Eastern Conference. With tough competition from the Bucks, Celtics, Heat, 76ers, Hawks, and the Knicks, the Nets will face an uphill battle to finish in the top six of the conference.
