This week, the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors head to England to play the very first two NBA regular season games in the UK. It’s all to promote the NBA in England and to help promote basketball in the country in general. England is still very much a soccer country and seeing the enthusiasm for the English Premier League is proof enough. But the NBA will send two teams out to London to play in the O2 Arena. Those are just two of the games that will be seen live on NBA TV this week and we have the schedule starting from tonight through Saturday.
Fans Select New York Knicks @ Orlando Magic for NBA TV’s Fan Night on Tuesday, Mar. 1
NBA TV to televise first NBA regular-season games to be played in Europe Friday Mar. 4 and Saturday, Mar. 5
The fans have spoken with a resounding 85-percent of the fan vote on NBA.com and have chosen recently acquired forward Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks taking on Eastern Conference rivals and Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic for NBA TV’s Tuesday Fan Night. The game will air on Tues., Mar. 1 at 7:00 p.m. (ET) with host Matt Winer and analysts Kevin McHale and Steve Smith on-hand for studio coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. (ET).
Fan Night voting will continue on nba.com/nbatv/fannight from Tues., Mar.1 (8 a.m. ET) – Mar. 3 (Midnight ET) as fans select the match-up for Tues., Mar. 8 between:
- Golden State Warriors @ Cleveland Cavaliers
- Philadelphia 76ers @ Indiana Pacers
- Milwaukee Bucks @ Washington Wizards
- Portland TrailBlazers @ Miami Heat
- Houston Rockets @ Phoenix Suns
This week, NBA TV will televise the first NBA regular-season games to be played in Europe at The 02 arena in London on Friday, Mar. 4 and Saturday, Mar. 5 at 3:00 p.m. (ET) as part of NBA Games – London 2011. NBA.com’s Sekou Smith will provide pre and post game updates via Skype from the games.
Fans can stay connected to the latest NBA action every Tuesday with The Jump, a live, interactive show designed for the ultimate NBA fan. Fans can submit questions and comments via NBA.com, Facebook or Twitter. Host Kyle Montgomery, analyst Dennis Scott, Kevin McHale and ‘chat-master’ Sekou Smith will respond and give their comments and analysis on everything happening around the league. The show will stream live on Mar. 1 at 1 p.m. (ET) on NBA.com and air at 5:00 p.m. (ET) on NBA TV.
The Beat returns this week to prep fans for the upcoming trade deadline with news and storylines across the league with host Marc Fein, regular contributors David Aldridge, SLAM’s Lang Whitaker as well as reporters from across the country. The Beat airs Mar. 1 at 6:00 p.m. (ET).
NBA TV GAMES OF THE WEEK:
FEBRUARY 28– MARCH 5
NBA TV SCHEDULE (all times ET: FEB. 28 – MAR. 6 MONDAY, FEB. 28 9:00 – 11:00 p.m. NBA Regular Season: Boston Celtics @ Utah Jazz Local Announcers TUESDAY, MAR. 1 Fan Night 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. NBA Regular Season: New York Knicks @ Orlando Magic Matt Winer, Kevin McHale and Steve Smith WEDNESDAY, MAR. 2 7:00 – 9:30 p.m. NBA Regular Season: New Orleans Hornets @ New York Knicks Local Announcers 10:30 p.m – 1:00 a.m NBA Regular Season: Houston Rockets @ LA Clippers Local Announcers FRIDAY, MAR. 4 3:00 – 5:00 p.m NBA Regular Season: Toronto Raptors vs. New Jersey (London, England) Local Announcers SATURDAY, MAR. 5 3:00 – 5:00 p.m NBA Regular Season: Toronto Raptors vs. New Jersey (London, England) Local Announcers
And we’re done here.