Magic open 2008-09 regular season vs ATL on October 29th

The 2008-09 NBA schedule was released on Wednesday, and the Magic will open their 20th anniversary season with 6 of their first 7 games at home, including opening night against the Hawks at Amway Arena on Wednesday, October 29th. The Magic then travel to Memphis on Halloween, then have a season-long 5 game homestand.

The Magic will be on national TV at least 11 times, with ESPN televising 6 games and TNT televising 5 games, with possibly some games on ABC later in the season.

The Magic play on Christmas Day for the first time in 5 years as they play host to the New Orleans Hornets at noon, which will be televised on ESPN.

The Magic's longest road trip will be 5 games from DEC 8th-15th.

The most difficult stretch this season for the Magic will be between DEC 8th and JAN 17th, as 14 of their 21 games in this stretch will be on the road, with 13 of those 21 games against teams that made the playoffs last season. After that, the schedule relaxes a bit as 8 of the next 11 games are at home, with 6 of those 11 games against non-playoff teams from last year.

Another difficult stretch figures to be after the All-Star Break, as the Magic play 8 games in 12 nights (3 Home 5 Away) from FEB 17th-28th.

A month-by-month breakdown of the Magic schedule:

OCT/NOV... 10 Home 7 Away
DEC............. 6 Home 9 Away
JAN............. 6 Home 7 Away
FEB............. 7 Home 7 Away
MAR............ 7 Home 7 Away
APR............. 5 Home 4 Away

For the complete schedule click here
82 days until opening night!