This NBA season will feature some teams much longer road trips to certain cities this season.

• For the first half of the shortened 72-game season, it’ll be something different where teams going out of state will play two games in that city before moving to another one or going back home.
• The purpose is to limit the amount of travel so teams have a better chance of staying healthy. Teams still play half their games on the road.
• This may actually be a good thing for players because they won’t feel overtaxed with the cut schedule.
• Still with these changes, there will be no fans in opening night on Dec. 22 with two games: Golden State at Brooklyn and then the Los Angeles Clippers visiting the Los Angeles Lakers in the arena they share.
• The other 26 teams all open the next day, including the Toronto Raptors, at their temporary spot in Tampa, Florida when they face off against  New Orleans. Dec. 24 there are no games, but Christmas is the quintupleheader.
• Even amid a spike of Covid-19 cases, the season will still start. It’s a time to proceed with caution because the NBA had 48 players test positive between Nov. 24 and Nov. 30.
• Teams got the first 37 or 38 games of their schedule Friday to go through March 4. They’ll get the second-half in February, which include any make up days.
• The regular season is to end around mid-May, and playoffs start May 22.
• When it comes to Super Bowl Sunday, there will be five games tipping off between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Eastern to end hours before kick off.
• Miami plays the Lakers in an NBA Finals rematch in Los Angeles on Feb. 20. Lakers won’t play at Miami until the second-part of the season.
• The Grammys are scheduled for Jan. 31 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, which both the Clippers and Lakers also have extended road trips ahead.
• It’s still up in the air if the Lakers will take a trip to Washington to visit the White House during the first half of the season during the beginning of President-elect Joe Biden’s administration.