The NBA’s popularity is on the rise, and the league isn’t wasting any time getting its fans engaged with the 2013-14 season.
The season opens on Tuesday, Oct. 29 with LeBron James and the two-time defending champion Miami Heat getting their rings before hosting the Chicago Bulls in a game that should feature the return of Derrick Rose.
James has won the MVP four of the last five years. The only time he did not win it in that span was 2011, when Rose won it.
That is the opener of a doubleheader on TNT that will be capped by the Clippers taking on the Lakers in a reprise of the Hallway Rivalry. It could also be mark the return of Kobe Bryant, who is making unprecedented progress in his recovery from his torn Achilles tendon, prompting reports that he could be ready by Opening Night.
The schedule was debuted on NBA TV, where the folks were a little too excited about the upcoming season. A graphic highlighting games on Martin Luther King Day had the Grizzlies hosting the Hornets, who are actually now the Pelicans. Oh, well.
Here are the games Sheridan Hoops has highlighted as Must-See TV.
Chicago at Miami, Oct. 29: Derrick Rose’s first game that counts since April 28, 2012, when he suffered the 
worst torn ACL in the recorded history of modern medicine. Only five of his teammates have outlasted his rehabilitation. In addition to Rose’s return for an MVP showdown with James and the ring ceremony, there is the history of Miami bouncing Chicago from the playoffs in two of the last three years and the postseason shoving matches between Chris Andersen and Joakim Noah and James and Nazr Mohammed.
LA Lakers vs. LA Clippers, Oct. 29: Ever since the Clippers moved from San Diego in 1984, they have always been a punchline for spoiled Lakers fans and their annual title expectations. But for one season – and perhaps longer – those roles will be reversed. It is the Lakers who will be saying, “Wait ’til next year!” all season while the Clippers contend for a title. Chris Paul could use this game to embarrass the Lakers, especially if Kobe Bryant isn’t back from his torn Achilles tendon to do something about it.
Brooklyn vs. Cleveland, Oct. 30: Andrew Bynum’s first game that counts since May 21, 2012, when he was with the Lakers. Since then, Bynum has changed teams twice, had special treatments and arthscopic surgery on both of his knees, taken up bowling and dancing and sported several different hairdos. For you sadists, Bynum “returns” to Philadelphia on Nov. 8.
LA Clippers at Golden State, Oct. 31: This is the back end of another TNT doubleheader, following Knicks-Bulls. Folks in the Easterm time zone need to stay up for the late game, simply because these teams don’t like each other.
San Antonio at Oklahoma City, Nov. 27: The Western Conference finals rematch that never happened, thanks to a season-ending injury to previously indestructible Russell Westbrook. After Kawhi Leonard’s postseason coming-out party – featuring a highly credible job on LeBron James – it will be interesting to see how he does against scoring machine Kevin Durant.