The 2020-21 NBA season will be here before you know it.
On Tuesday, Nov. 17, the NBA announced the structure and format for the upcoming season, which is scheduled to tip-off on Dec. 22 and will feature 72 games for each team.
Not only will the regular season be shorter than usual, but the breakdown of each team's schedule will also be different in 2020-21.
As the NBA announced on Tuesday:
- Each team will play three games against each intraconference opponent (42 total games per team), with each pairing featuring either two home games and one road game or one home game and two road games. Within each team’s division, the league office has randomly assigned which two opponents will be played twice at home and which two opponents will be played twice on the road.
- All five teams from within a division will play all five teams from one other intraconference division twice at home, and all five teams from the remaining intraconference division twice on the road.
- Each team will play two games against each interconference opponent (30 total games per team), with each pairing featuring one home game and one road game.
For the Toronto Raptors, that means they'll play one home game and one road game against each team in the Western Conference this season. They'll also play two home games and one away game against each team in the Southwest Division, which is made up of the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards.
That makes for a total of 45 games. The remaining 27 will be played against teams in the Atlanta Division and Central Division as such for the Raptors:
- vs. Boston Celtics (one home, two away)
- vs. Brooklyn Nets (two home, one away)
- vs. New York Knicks (one home, two away)
- vs. Philadelphia 76ers (two home, one away)
- vs. Chicago Bulls (one home, two away)
- vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (one home, two away)
- vs. Detroit Pistons (one home, two away)
- vs. Indiana Pacers (one home, two away)
- vs. Milwaukee Bucks (one home, two away)
The full schedule of when those games will be played will be released at a later date.
In the 2019-20 season, the Raptors posted a 34-11 record against Eastern Conference opponents and a 19-8 record against Western Conference opponents. The Raptors also went 9-5 against the Celtics, Nets, Knicks and 76ers in 2019-20, giving them the best record in the Atlantic Division.
In 2020-21, the Raptors will play three less games against Eastern Conference opponents and three more games against Western Conference opponents compared to last season. Additionally, they'll play two less games against Atlantic Division opponents.
To view the complete regular season matrix, click here.
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