Bulls schedule released; LeBron's up first

The Bulls will ring in the new NBA season on Tuesday, Oct. 27 by hosting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers at the United Center.

That's the same way last season ended, with a forgettable 21-point loss to the Cavs in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Bulls-Cavs will begin an opening-night doubleheader on TNT. The second game features New Orleans at Golden State. The following day, the Bulls travel to Brooklyn, then play at Detroit on Fri., Oct. 30.

Here are some other scheduling highlights for the 2015-16 season:

• The Bulls will be featured on Christmas Day for the sixth straight season, playing at Oklahoma City at 1:30 p.m. on ABC.

• Steve Kerr and the defending champion Golden State Warriors visit the UC on Wed., Jan. 20. The Cavaliers' second visit is not until Sat., Apr. 9.

• The Bulls will be the first team to appear on ABC's new Saturday night NBA schedule, playing at Cleveland on Jan. 23. They'll appear two more times, at home against Houston on Mar. 5 and home against the Cavs on Apr. 9.

• This seems like a typo: The annual circus road trip in November is just four games long and features stops in Phoenix, Golden State, Portland and Indiana. The ice show road trip, which begins Jan. 28, is more grueling, with seven games in 12 days against the Lakers, Clippers, Utah, Sacramento, Denver, Minnesota and Charlotte.

• The NBA is trying to cut down on teams playing four games in five nights this season. The Bulls have just one such stretch, from Jan. 11-15. To help spread out the schedule, the Bulls have 11 home games on Mondays, easily their busiest day at the UC this season.

• The Bulls will appear on TNT nine times, ESPN eight times. They'll also have one Sunday afternoon ABC appearance, at the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 31.

• They'll close the regular season at home against Philadelphia on Apr. 13.