Among the disappointments of the 2010-11 regular season for the Miami Heat was coming up somewhat short of homecourt dominance.
Based on the 2011-12 regular-season schedule released Tuesday by the NBA, the Heat, lockout permitting, will have the opportunity to flex their homecourt muscle early.
Not only are nine of the Heat's first 12 regular-season games scheduled for AmericanAirlines Arena, but the schedule over that 12-game span features a three-game homestand and a four-game homestand.
Should the lockout be lifted in time, the Heat would open the season Wednesday Nov. 2 at Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, returning home the following night to host the Orlando Magic at AmericanAirlines Arena, with both of those games nationally televised.
It is the third time in the last four seasons the Heat have opened against the Knicks. It is the fifth time and second consecutive year the Heat's home opener will be against the Magic.
Whether the favorable early schedule pays dividends is another story. Last season, the Heat played eight of their first 12 at home and still stood a much-lamented 9-8 in late November.
The difference with a favorable early schedule this time around is the Heat will have had their core in place for an entire season, after signing LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh during the 2010 free-agency frenzy.
Despite their star attractions, the Heat closed the 2010-11 regular season 30-11 at AmericanAirlines Arena, tied with four other teams, including the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies and Portland Trail Blazers, for the league's fifth-best home record.
A quick start could be essential, with that opening stretch of 9 of 12 at home followed by a stretch of six of the next nine games on the road. In addition, four of the season's final five games are on the road, similar to this past season, when the Heat played six of their last nine on the road.
Of course, the early portion of the 82-game schedule also is the portion most at risk amid the ongoing lockout in the absence of a collective-bargaining agreement. The league's previous lockout did not end until mid-January 1999, when a 50-game schedule was recalculated, with an even 25-25 split between home and road games and only five Western Conference matchups on the revised schedule.
Should the lockout lead to a similar schedule this season, it would necessitate a major revision for the Heat, who currently are scheduled to play 24 of their final 39 games on the road. The Heat are scheduled for 25 home games over the season's first three months and just 16 over the final three.
The current schedule has 30 games against the 15 Western Conference teams on a home-and-home basis, with four games against all Eastern Conference teams with the exceptions of the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks, who visit AmericanAirlines Arena only once, and the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors, teams the Heat visit only once.
The Heat again are scheduled for the maximum 25 appearances on the major national networks, with the maximum six on ABC, the maximum 10 on ESPN and the maximum nine on TNT. While three games are currently scheduled for NBA TV, that maximum limit of nine is expected to be reached via fan voting for the network's Tuesday showcases. The Heat have 12 such Tuesday dates eligible for NBA TV selection. In addition, 12 games are scheduled for ESPN Radio.
Among featured games that would be in peril due to a lockout beyond that opening back-to-back set against the Knicks and Magic are James' Nov. 18 visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Los Angeles Lakers' lone visit to AmericanAirlines Arena, on Dec. 8, and a Christmas Day road game against the Dallas Mavericks, a rematch of the 2011 NBA Finals the Heat lost in six games. It is the seventh time in the last eight years the Heat have been scheduled on Christmas, and their fourth consecutive road Christmas game.
The current schedule features only 17 back-to-back sets for the Heat, the team's fewest since 2006-07, down from the 19 of last season. There are no home games scheduled on consecutive nights. When the NBA went to the shortened schedule after the 1998 lockout, teams occasionally were scheduled on three consecutive nights.
The schedule features three four-game homestands and two five-game trips. There are 16 weekend home games, five on Fridays, three on Saturdays and eight on Sundays.
While the Heat and Miami Dolphins are scheduled on the same day three times (Nov. 6, Nov. 20 and Dec. 4) the only time that both are scheduled at home is Nov. 20, when the Heat host the Philadelphia 76ers at 6 p.m. and the Dolphins host the Buffalo Bills at 1 p.m. at Sun Life Stadium.
The Heat preseason schedule, lockout permitting, will be announced at a later date, as will a sales date for individual-game tickets.
