Bulls open next season against Spurs, Celtics

The Bulls will open the 2009-10 season with an unusual opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, on Oct. 29 at the United Center. A day later, they'll visit Boston for a rematch of last spring's epic first-round playoff series, won by the Celtics in seven games.

As usual, the Bulls will face a tough stretch early in the season, with 10 of the first 15 games on the road. Seven of the 10 opponents made the playoffs last year. They'll return to play 13 of the next 17 games at home, including a season-high six-game home stand from Dec. 11-21.

One big change is the start time for home games, which will move up to 7 p.m. after decades of 7:30 tip-offs. Here are some more highlights:

• Ben Gordon is set to make his return to the United Center as a member of the Detroit Pistons on Dec. 2. Detroit's second visit is Jan. 11.

• The defending champion Los Angeles Lakers will be in town on Dec. 15. The Bulls face the Lakers on the road Nov. 19.

• The November home schedule will be interesting. After the Spurs visit for the opener, the Bulls host Milwaukee and coach Scott Skiles on Nov. 3. They'll see Tyson Chandler in a Charlotte uniform on Nov. 7, host Western Conference runner-up Denver on Nov. 10, then see if Elton Brand is healthy when Philadelphia makes a stop on Nov. 14.

• Both of the Bulls' first two games will be national cable broadcasts. They'll face San Antonio on TNT, and Boston on ESPN.

• The Celtics will visit the United Center on Dec. 12, then again for the Bulls' last home game of the regular season on April 13. The Bulls finish the regular season a day later in Charlotte.

• Both road games in Cleveland will occur early in the season, on Nov. 5 and Dec. 4. LeBron James and the Cavaliers don't visit Chicago until March 19 and April 8.

• The annual circus road trip is six games long and features a Thanksgiving evening game at Utah on TNT. The other opponents are Sacramento, the Lakers, Denver and Portland, followed by a side trip to Milwaukee on Nov. 30.

• The ice show road trip will take place earlier than usual this season, beginning on Jan. 18. This seven-game trip starts with a Martin Luther King Day matinee at Golden State, followed by contests against the Clippers, Phoenix, Houston, San Antonio, Oklahoma City and New Orleans.

• The NBA tossed the Bulls a bonus road trip in March, even though the building will not host the Big Ten or NCAA Tournaments next year. The Bulls travel to Orlando, Miami, Memphis and Dallas from March 11-17 - with three days off in between two sets of back-to-back games.

• Which Eastern Conference teams will the Bulls miss? They visit Orlando and New Jersey just once, while Toronto and Washington make a single trip to Chicago.

• The Bulls were slated for nine appearances on TNT, same as the Lakers and Celtics; one less than Cleveland, Denver and Orlando.

• The preseason will include visits from Milwaukee (Oct. 13), Minnesota (Oct. 16), Orlando (Oct. 19) and Washington (Oct. 23). The Bulls will open the preseason at Indiana on Oct. 2, then cross the Atlantic to play Utah at London's O2 Arena on Oct. 6. They'll also battle the Bucks in Green Bay on Oct. 10.

• Individual game tickets will go on sale Oct. 2 at 10 a.m.

Bulls 2009 schedule

The Bulls released their entire 2009-10 schedule for the NBA season.

Tickets: Bulls home game tickets will go on sale at 10 Oct. 2 at the United Center Box Office, Ticketmaster locations, online at Bulls.com or at 1-800-4NBA-TIX. For season tickets, 11-game plans or groups, call 312-455-4000.

Preseason games

Fri. Oct. 2: at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Tue. Oct. 6: Utah, TBD *

Sat. Oct. 10: at Milwaukee, 7:30+

Tue. Oct. 13: Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Wed. Oct. 14: at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 16: Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Mon. Oct. 19: Orlando, 7 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 23: Washington, 7 p.m.

Regular season

Thu. Oct. 29: San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Fri. Oct. 30: at Boston, 7 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 1: at Miami, 5 p.m.

Tue. Nov. 3: Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Thu. Nov. 5: at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 7: Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Tue. Nov. 10: Denver, 7 p.m.

Wed. Nov. 11: at Toronto, 6 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 14: Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Tue. Nov. 17: at Sacramento, 9 p.m.

Thu. Nov. 19: at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 21: at Denver, 8 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 23: at Portland, 9 p.m.

Thu. Nov. 26: at Utah, 9:30 p.m.

Mon. Nov. 30: at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 2: Detroit, 7 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 4: at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Sat. Dec. 5: Toronto, 7 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 8: New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Wed. Dec. 9: at Atlanta, 6 p.m.

Fri. Dec. 11: Golden State, 7 p.m.

Sat. Dec. 12: Boston, 7 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 15: L.A. Lakers, 7 p.m.

Thu. Dec. 17: New York, 7 p.m.

Sat. Dec. 19: Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Mon. Dec. 21: Sacramento, 7 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 22: at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Sat. Dec. 26: New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Tue. Dec. 29: Indiana, 7 p.m.

Thu. Dec. 31: at Detroit, 2 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 2: Orlando, 7 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 4: Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Tue. Jan. 5: at Charlotte, 6 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 8: at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 9: Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Mon. Jan.11: Detroit, 7 p.m.

Thu. Jan. 14: at Boston, 7 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 15: Washington, 7 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 18: at Golden State, 3 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 20: at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 22: at Phoenix, 9:30 p.m.

Sat. Jan. 23: at Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Mon. Jan. 25: at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Wed. Jan. 27: at Oklahoma City, 7 p.m.

Fri. Jan. 29: at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Tue. Feb. 2: L.A. Clippers, 7 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 3: at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Fri. Feb. 5: at Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Sat. Feb. 6: Miami, 7 p.m.

Tue. Feb. 9: at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 10: Orlando, 7 p.m.

Tue. Feb. 16: New York, 7 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 17: at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Fri. Feb. 19: at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Sat. Feb. 20: Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Mon. Feb. 22: at Washington, 6 p.m.

Wed. Feb. 24: Indiana, 7 p.m.

Fri. Feb. 26: Portland, 7 p.m.

Sat. Feb. 27: at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Mon. Mar. 1: Atlanta, 7 p.m.

Thu. Mar. 4: Memphis, 7 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 6: Dallas, 7 p.m.

Tue. Mar. 9: Utah, 7 p.m.

Thu. Mar. 11: at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Fri. Mar. 12: at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

Tue. Mar. 16: at Memphis, 7 p.m.

Wed. Mar. 17: at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Fri. Mar. 19: Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 20: at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Mon. Mar. 22: Houston, 7 p.m.

Thu. Mar. 25: Miami, 7 p.m.

Sat. Mar. 27: New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Sun. Mar. 28: at Detroit, 5 p.m.

Tue. Mar. 30: Phoenix, 7 p.m.

Fri. Apr. 2: at Washington, 6 p.m.

Sat. Apr. 3: Charlotte, 7 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 6: Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Thu. Apr. 8: Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Fri. Apr. 9: at New Jersey, 7 p.m.

Sun. Apr. 11: at Toronto, 5 p.m.

Tue. Apr. 13: Boston, 7 p.m.

Wed. Apr. 14: at Charlotte, 7 p.m.

* Game in London, England

+ Game in Green Bay, Wis.