Read More: Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics

The full NBA 2011-2012 schedule will be released at 7 p.m. EDT on Tuesday night, but information has already started to leak out of the league offices, including rumors about the Boston Celtics’ schedule.

According to Greg Dickerson of Comcast SportsNet New England, the Boston Celtics will take on the Washington Wizards in Washington D.C. on New Year’s Day. In addition, the Celtics will have their home opener on December 30.

 

 

The NBA has already announced that the Boston Celtics will open up the season against the New York Knicks at noon EDT on Christmas Day at Madison Square Garden in New York City. In addition, four other games will be played that day.

The Miami Heat are at the Dallas Mavericks at 2:30 p.m. EDT (ABC), the Los Angeles Lakers host the Chicago Bulls (5 p.m.; ABC), the Oklahoma City Thunder host the Orlando Magic (8 p.m.; ESPN) and the Golden State Warriors host the Los Angeles Clippers (10:30 p.m.; ESPN).

For more Boston Celtics coverage, visit our team page and blog, CelticsBlog.

John Wall may have been “happy” to hear that representatives for NBA owners and players reached a tentative settlement that could mean the end of a nearly five-month long lockout. But if the Washington Wizards guard has had time to review the details of the agreement — which still needs approval from the majority of the players and owners before being ratified — he should truly be elated about at least one of the negotiated provisions.

Since they were established in 1995, rookie scale contracts have been some of the NBA’s best bargains, with superstar talents often exceeding their value in the first four years of their career. But players who prove to be elite talents before signing their first contract extensions now have the opportunity to reap financial rewards earlier.

If Wall is able to make the all-NBA team twice, get voted as an all-star starter twice, or win an MVP award over the next three seasons, he could receive the same maximum-salary extension as players with at least six years of service in the league — worth 30 percent of the salary cap instead of 25 percent.

Derrick Rose, who won the league’s MVP award in his third season with Chicago, will be among the first to take advantage of the provision and Kevin Durant may also be eligible to receive the extra five percent bump because the extension he signed in 2010 does not take effect until this season. Wall, the 2010 No. 1 overall pick and runner-up to Los Angeles Clippers all-star forward Blake Griffin for rookie of the year last season, faces a steep climb to reach elite status but certainly has considerably more incentive to get there.

Players benefitted from several compromises from the league over the weekend and several of the rules, according to a memo Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver distributed to team executives, will have an immediate effect on the Wizards.

The split of the revenues was an important part of the negotiations, and players will receive 51.2 percent of the basketball-related income in the first year of the 10-year deal (players and owners can each opt out of the deal after six years). But they will also have to absorb huge financial losses with a 66-game season beginning on Dec. 25.

Contracts will also be prorated, so players will receive about 80.5 percent of their salaries from an 82-game season. Based on an estimated $2 billion in player income, players have lost about $390 million because of the delayed start. While Wizards forward Rashard Lewis is slated to earn nearly $22 million in the upcoming season, he will now receive about $17.7 million.

The salary cap for next season isn’t expected to go below $58 million and the Wizards have about $52 million committed to salaries for next season. In the past, the teams with cap room, such as the Wizards, were limited to using only their available cap space, then signing minimum salary players to fill out their rosters. But they have now been granted a new exception allows them to sign one or more free agents to a salary up to $2.5 million and two years in length.

With the no end to the NBA labour dispute in sight, sportsnet.ca decided to look at how things went on this day a year ago.

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With the new face of the franchise ailing, the Washington Wizards had little choice but to turn to an old friend, and Gilbert Arenas delivered.

Arenas had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists to help the Wizards beat the Toronto Raptors 109-94 on Tuesday night.

With rookie sensation John Wall out with a sprained left foot, Arenas started for the first time since his suspension for bringing guns into the Verizon Center locker room.

With a small and quiet crowd of 11,513 looking on, Arenas scored 10 points in the third quarter, when Washington outscored Toronto 36-21 to take a 90-68 lead.

After the game, he played the humble Gil, happy to be here, eager to help out the No. 1 draft choice.

“It’s been almost four years since I’ve really played the game. Just going out there playing means a lot to me – whether it’s starting or coming off the bench,” Arenas said.

Since March 2007, there have been a host of injuries, real and imagined, knee surgeries and the infamous gun incident, which resulted in a season-ending suspension.

Starting for the first time at home since Jan. 2, the fans applauded warmly when he was introduced and no boos were heard. He thought he’d get the same sort of reception that a one-time top Wizards draft pick turned bust regularly received.

“It surprised me, especially when I had a rough summer. All the stuff I’m reading, I thought the fans were just going to murder me – ’cause I was here with Kwame Brown,” Arenas said.

“I was expecting the same thing. They tricked me a little bit.”

Washington coach Flip Saunders thinks he’s seeing glimpses of the old Arenas, who scored 30 points in Chicago after Wall was hurt last Saturday.

“He’s starting to get his legs under him,” Saunders said. “He puts so much pressure on the other team knowing that they have to guard him.”

Wall, who entered the locker room about an hour before gametime on crutches, traveled with the Wizards to Boston for their game on Wednesday night. Saunders said he hoped the No. 1 pick would play.

Arenas had some help from Andray Blatche, who had 22. Nick Young scored 20, and Kirk Hinrich added 13 points and 12 assists for Washington, which won for just the third time in nine games.

Toronto, which lost for the ninth time in 11 games, was led by Sonny Weems’ 16 points.

“It was surprising to me having our team come out so flat,” Raptors coach Jay Triano said.

Wall, who had a triple-double in his sixth game, leads the Wizards with 18.1 points and 9.8 assists per game. Arenas said he just wants to fit in alongside him.

“You know, you just got to perform, be a great teammate. People are forgiving. I made a mistake. I want to move on,” Arenas said.

NOTES: Washington outrebounded Toronto 47-36. “We kicked their butts on the boards,” Saunders said. … Hinrich scored his 7,000th point. … Raptors G Leandro Barbosa missed his fourth straight game with a strained left shoulder. Triano said he hopes Barbosa will be ready to play Friday. … Raptors F Linas Kleiza returned after missing two games with tendinitis in his right Achilles’. … Wizards C Yi Jianlian missed the game with a bruised right knee. … Washington C JaVale McGee blocked the 200th shot of his career. … Wizards rookie F Kevin Seraphin made his NBA debut, scoring two points in two minutes. … Jaime Moreno, who retired last month after a long career with DC United of the MLS, was saluted on the scoreboard.

Wolf Blitzer has long featured a dry sense of humor that stands in stark contrast to his rather awesome name, which sounds like the titular video game character your little brother played with on Sega Genesis 18 years ago. So we suspect he’s working with his tongue placed firmly in cheek as he discusses his role in convincing then-Washington Wizards GM Michael Jordan to return to the NBA following a three-year absence in 2001.

From an interview with the Washington Post’s Michael Lee:

“At one point, I said to him, ‘This city would really explode if you put your uniform back on and starting playing a little bit.’ And he laughed. Then I pressed him and pressed him. After the interview, he did it,” Blitzer said in a recent telephone interview. “Now being an egomaniac that I am, I take personal credit. But I suspect there were other factors besides my excellent questioning that convinced him to come back and play.”

Again, this is probably a sly joke on Blitzer’s part. And a needed one, because it reminded of the forum in which he asked Jordan — an awful (though no fault of Blitzer’s) town hall meeting on CNN to discuss what was so terribly wrong with the NBA while using 47 descriptions of the same insinuation (“too young, too black,” essentially) while ignoring the real problems (hand-checking and physical play was killing the offenses, stars were in short supply, and too few coaches let their teams run).

If you do take Blitzer at his word, jokes aside, understand that Jordan was going all out at Wizards practice the day he signed with the team as GM and part-owner 13 months before the Blitzer back and forth. He was a regular with the team in practice throughout 2000-01, rumors began to spread about his slow build to a comeback midway through that season, but he waited until Sept. 10, 2001 (seven months after Blitzer’s question) to admit (without much fanfare and late in the evening to the Associated Press, and on the steps of his go-to workout center in Chicago) that he was planning a full-fledged comeback as a player.

Of course Wolf is joking, though. Right? Right.

(Please tell me he’s joking. HT: Tom Ziller at SB Nation.)

Related: Washington Wizards

Wolf Blitzer has long featured a dry sense of humor that stands in stark contrast to his rather awesome name, which sounds like the titular video game character your little brother played with on Sega Genesis 18 years ago. So we suspect he’s working with his tongue placed firmly in cheek as he discusses his role in convincing then-Washington Wizards GM Michael Jordan to return to the NBA following a three-year absence in 2001.

From an interview with the Washington Post’s Michael Lee:

“At one point, I said to him, ‘This city would really explode if you put your uniform back on and starting playing a little bit.’ And he laughed. Then I pressed him and pressed him. After the interview, he did it,” Blitzer said in a recent telephone interview. “Now being an egomaniac that I am, I take personal credit. But I suspect there were other factors besides my excellent questioning that convinced him to come back and play.”

Again, this is probably a sly joke on Blitzer’s part. And a needed one, because it reminded of the forum in which he asked Jordan — an awful (though no fault of Blitzer’s) town hall meeting on CNN to discuss what was so terribly wrong with the NBA while using 47 descriptions of the same insinuation (“too young, too black,” essentially) while ignoring the real problems (hand-checking and physical play was killing the offenses, stars were in short supply, and too few coaches let their teams run).

If you do take Blitzer at his word, jokes aside, understand that Jordan was going all out at Wizards practice the day he signed with the team as GM and part-owner 13 months before the Blitzer back and forth. He was a regular with the team in practice throughout 2000-01, rumors began to spread about his slow build to a comeback midway through that season, but he waited until Sept. 10, 2001 (seven months after Blitzer’s question) to admit (without much fanfare and late in the evening to the Associated Press, and on the steps of his go-to workout center in Chicago) that he was planning a full-fledged comeback as a player.

Of course Wolf is joking, though. Right? Right.

(Please tell me he’s joking. HT: Tom Ziller at SB Nation.)

Related: Washington Wizards