Today the official schedules for the 2009-2010 NBA season were released. This announcement is particularly exciting because it gives us fans an early look at which opponents our favorite teams will be facing and when.  You can find the Lakers schedule released by the NBA.

Because the regular season is 82 games long and most of us have lives outside of our NBA fanaticism, it’s difficult to catch every single game.  Not that we don’t try our hardest, mind you.  However, by looking at the schedule beforehand, one can deduce which matchups are going to be the most interesting. I would mark the following dates on my calendar because you are not going to want to miss these games.

October 27th – Nobody wants to miss the very first game of the season. The Lakers’ season kicks off against their cross-town rival, the Los Angeles Clippers.  This also marks the pro debut of this year’s number one draft pick, Blake Griffin. His first game in the NBA and he’s facing our reigning World Championship team? Ouch, sorry Blake.

November 4th and November 15th – @ Houston and Vs Houston, respectively. These two games are going to be particularly painful to watch for those of us who are still mourning the loss of Trevor Ariza. On the 4th the Lakers visit Houston and face Ariza as an opponent for the first time since they won the Championship together. On the 15th, Trevor returns to the Staples Center for the first time in his new Rockets uniform.  Will he be applauded? Will he be booed? Will Ron Artest shave the Lakers’ logo into his head? Tune in to find out.

December 25th – Christmas day always promises a riveting matchup. This year, the Cavaliers visit the Staples Center for a game of epic proportions. Literally, if one considers the massive frame of Shaquille O’Neal. With Shaq having pledged to “win a ring for the King,” and the Lebron/Kobe debate flaring hotter than ever, this Christmas day matchup might just melt the snow right off your lawn.  For us Los Angelinos, it will probably be just another sunny LA day.

January 8th – Return to Portland. It’s slightly disappointing that we have to wait all the way until January to finally face Portland. The Lakers haven’t been able to get a win at the dreaded Rose Garden in years but I have a feeling that the next time these two teams meet, that curse will be broken. The losses we endured last season in Portland were crushing, and when asked if he’d like to see Portland in the finals, Kobe responded with the following: “I’d ****ing love it.”

January 18th – The Orlando Magic and the Lakers face off for the first time since the Lakers defeated them on their home court in the franchise’s 15th championship. Will the addition of Vince Carter be enough to soften the blow of the loss of Hedo Turkoglu? Significant changes to Orlando’s roster make the Magic a markedly different team, and it will be interesting to see how they differ from last year’s championship contenders.

January 31st – This marks the first time the Lakers and the Celtics will meet up next season and it might be one of the most pivotal matchups yet. Last season, a significant knee injury to Kevin Garnett most likely lost the Celtics their rematch with the Lakers for the 2009 NBA finals. If KG can get back to form, it will be interesting to see if they can reclaim their spot as the East’s powerhouse in the face of new competition for the top spot in the form of Shaq/Lebron.  Also, what Laker fan doesn’t bask in another victory over the Lepers? The rivalry between the two teams is infamous, after all.

February 5th – The Denver Nuggets visit the Staples Center. Billups and Birdman are threats, plain and simple. They’re both talented players, and although we beat them in the Western Conference finals, Billups has had more time to get used to his new team, possibly making him a bigger problem for us than he was last time around.

February 8th – Versus San Antonio. Anyone can tell you, the Spurs are one of the teams to watch in the West, and they’ve always put up a strong fight whenever we’ve faced off against them. It’ll be interesting to see how things will pan out, especially considering Tony Parker’s recent injury.

February 14th – The All Star game from Dallas! It’s likely that Kobe and Pau will both be making consecutive appearances, so Laker fans will surely not want to miss the festivities of the All Star weekend.  Also, word on the street is that Shannon Brown is going to be entering the dunk contest this year!

March 19th – Minnesota Timberwolves visit. The March matchups look a bit lukewarm to me, so I threw this one in because this team has faced quite a bit of changes in the offseason and has some exciting young talent. If Ricky Rubio manages to make it to the NBA, this game gets exponentially more interesting.

April 11th – Portland visits. If we aren’t able to crush them on their home floor earlier in the season, then at the very least we get a chance to beat them on our home floor in one of the last games prior to playoffs. Whether this second matchup turns into a high stakes revenge game or just us looking to pound home the message that we’re the better team, it’s definitely one I’ll be watching.

April 14th – The Lakers are the Clippers’ “guests” in the last game of the 2009-2010 NBA season.  It’s rather poetic that the season starts and ends with identical matchups. I for one rather appreciate the symmetry, and if nothing else comes of this game, we’ll get a chance to see how the #1 draft pick has matured over the course of the year.