Sean Deveney

Sure, it is still August. Early August, which means the NBA season remains nearly two full months away. But every year about this time, the league offers fans a bit of a respite from the games absence when it releases the schedule. It’s out. Here’s what to most look forward to:

1. Cavaliers at Lakers, Dec. 25
Expect there to be puppets, plenty of puppets, on your television on Christmas day (and we’re not talking claymation). That’s because, of course, we will have the Lakers and 2007-08 MVP Kobe Bryant welcoming to town the 2008-09 MVP LeBron James. There’s a twist, too -- big man Shaquille O’Neal is back in the spotlight as James’ running mate. You might remember that O’Neal had a stint of eight seasons in Los Angeles, winning three championships. Last year’s Christmas showcase featured a Finals rematch between the Celtics and the Lakers, but this year, the defending East champs are relegated to the undercard in a game against Boston.

2. Raptors at Blazers, March 14
The city of Portland is generally a friendly, mild-mannered, laid-back place. You know, a lot of stores that smell like patchouli and guys who play hacky sack in the middle of the afternoon. But one thing to do if the goal is to make the locals turn not-so-nice is this: Slight their basketball team. And no one slighted a team more in the offseason than small forward Hedo Turkoglu, who all but had a free-agent deal finished in Portland before he let his wife talk him out of signing in the Pacific Northwest and instead relocating to Toronto. Turkoglu would have been a perfect fit for the Blazers, who wanted to boost their small forward spot with a versatile, experienced wing man. Alas. “I don’t blame anyone in situations like that, said Portland coach Nate McMillan. “The way I look at it is, nothing is done until the league approves it and the guy is on your roster. Personally, I am not bitter or anything like that.” But what about the rest of the Portlanders?

3. Lakers at Orlando, Jan. 18
Yes, Orlando was the other team in the NBA Finals last year -- it seems the schedule-makers overlooked that fact. Though the Magic were dispatched in five games in that series, don’t forget that their 3-point shooting prowess, the quickness of Jameer Nelson and the presence of Dwight Howard inside gave L.A. trouble during the regular season, when Orlando won both games. Howard certainly had his struggles in the Finals. If he wants to show that he has grown and improved, now would be a very good opportunity to do so.

4. Celtics at Bulls, Dec. 12
Derrick Rose was a rookie last year, but even he knew that, in the midst of the Boston-Chicago first-round playoff series, something special was happening. The series not only featured some of the best games of Rose’s career, but an outstanding duel between he and Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. There was much more. In the seven-game series, one game was decided by a buzzer-beater from Ray Allen. Two others went into overtime. Two more went into double overtime. And one went all the way through three overtimes. “Now that I have time to sit back and think about it, it was pretty crazy,” Rose said. “When we play those guys again, you have to wonder if it’s going to overtime or two overtimes or what. I am sure everyone will be excited.” The Celtics were playing that series without Kevin Garnett, and they’ve since added Rasheed Wallace while the Bulls lost leading scorer Ben Gordon. Still, over the course of the marathon series, bad blood built -- a hard foul on Brad Miller was not called a flagrant and helped cost the Bulls a game, and at one point, Rondo flung Kirk Hinrich into the sideline with no call.

5. Dallas at San Antonio, Nov. 11
This is an old natural rivalry, with the two cities separated by 275 miles on I-35. But it’s a particularly interesting rivalry this year, because both teams are built on aging veteran star players (Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki and San Antonio’s Tim Duncan) whose core group was bolstered by a big-time off-season addition in anticipation of one last possible championship run. For the Spurs, the addition was small forward Richard Jefferson. For the Mavs, it was forward Shawn Marion. The two Texans figure to be among the small handful of teams battling it out for the right to face the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, and given how tightly packed last year’s playoff race wound up being, every head-to-head game will count a little extra.

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