NBA's TV schedule for India released: Here are the must-watch games

Yes, yes, my fellow NBA fans in Hindustan - or as I like to dub them, my fellow 'Hoopistanis'! - the NBA has finally released the live TV broadcast schedule for games in India. Rarely do early mornings excite me so, but it's time to get ready for a shortened season full of rising before the sun and NBA breakfasts!

Like last season, live games in India will once again be shown on Ten Sports & Sony PIX this year, as well as one game being streamed live per week on NBA.com/India. Bookmark this page for the full broadcast schedule of NBA games in India this season.

At this point, the NBA will be showing four live games on TV every week in India and an additional game streamed live on the NBA-India website. After the opening night blitz, PIX is scheduled to show live games on Thursday and Saturday morning, while Ten Sports will show games on Friday and Sunday morning. I'm optimistic that the game frequency will increase as the regular season progresses: by the end of last season, I remember that the TV channels in India were showing six live NBA games per week!

As you may already know by now, the NBA season starts with an absolute BANG on Christmas Day to help make up for the Lockout Dark Ages this offseason. Five games are scheduled on the NBA calender on December 25th, two of which will be shown in India. The first game of the year? Boston Celtics vs. my beloved New York Knicks on Ten Sports, live from the world's most famous arena, the Madison Square Garden, on Christmas Night. Yes, the last time I received a Christmas present so awesome was when my mother/Santa got me He-Man's Castle Grayskull toy in 1989. A few hours later, in the wee hours of the morning of December 26th, PIX will be showing two of the most historically popular franchises open their season against each other: Bulls @ Lakers!

If you're like me, you're probably going to try and watch as many live games as possible this year. But if you can't, here is my list of can't-miss NBA regular season games to be shown on PIX and Ten Sports live this year:

December 25th 10:30 PM: Celtics @ Knicks (Ten Sports) - Can it get any better for me as a Knicks and an NBA fan? The first game this season features my favourite team, freshly rebooted with the addition NBA champion Center Tyson Chandler from the Mavs, taking on one of the NBA's most stories franchises, the Celtics. There are enough Celtic fans in India to enjoy this matchup: Rondo, Ray, KG and Pierce versus Melo, Amare, and Chandler. But this game is more than an exciting start to the season: with the Knicks getting stronger and the Celtics getting older, this could be a big statement to determine who becomes the best team in the Atlantic Division. Remember, it was Boston who swept the Knicks in the first round of last season's playoffs. Will the Knicks beat their most immediate division rivals and announce their place amongst the contenders? Or will the Celtics show the world that they haven't grown too old just yet?

December 26th 3:30 AM: Bulls @ Lakers (PIX) - One team on the rise, is the other on the fall? The league's reigning MVP Derrick Rose takes his squad to the Staples Center to take on the Kobe and the Lakers. All eyes will be on how Lakers will respond to their strange off-season, where they lost the legendary coach Phil Jackson, didn't get Chris Paul, traded away an unhappy Lamar Odom, and are still mulling about sending out Andrew Bynum in exchange for Dwight Howard. Bynum won't play this game - suspended for his JJ Barea clothesline from last season - but it will be a chance for Kobe and Gasol to show they have enough in their tank. Plus, it will be the regular season debut of a man named Metta World Peace or formerly, Ron Artest. Chicago were the league's best regular season team last year. Can D-Rose set a positive tone for this season with a win on opening night?

December 30th 6:30 AM: Mavericks @ Thunder (Ten Sports) - A rematch of last year's conference finals and your first look at the reigning NBA champions Mavericks and the Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki. We'll get to see how the Mavs carry themselves with the target of being champions, especially now that they're without Chandler and Barea, but reloaded with Lamar Odom and Vince Carter. On the other side, you have OKC Thunder, everyone's favourite young team who is now a year older and a year wiser. To rise to become the best in the west, the Thunder has to go through the Mavs - are they up to it yet?

December 31st 9 AM: Bulls @ Clippers (PIX) - Your first look at the new look Clippers, plus an excellent battle between the NBA's two best point guards, Derrick Rose vs. Chris Paul. This game is sure to be a firecracker, and what a way to say goodbye to 2011!

January 20th 6:30 AM: Lakers @ Heat (Ten Sports) - Kobe vs. LeBron. Did I say Kobe vs. LeBron? I don't think any further selling points are needed. But if you need another, then there's Dwyane Wade, too.

January 26th 9 AM: Clippers @ Lakers (PIX) - The New Battle of Los Angeles. For the first time in like, ever, both LA teams are strong. Are Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and the Clippers good enough to defeat the bigger brothers? Expect real fireworks and the start of a great rivalry of two exciting teams who share the same home court. Plus, remember that Chris Paul was nearly a Laker. This is gonna be epic.

January 27th 6:30 AM Celtics @ Magic (Ten Sports) - Will Dwight Howard still be a Magic player by this game? (what do you call a Magic player, anyways? A magician?) How will the old Celtics be dealing with a packed, grueling schedule this time of the year? I have many questions - this game will answer some.

February 23rd 7:30 AM: Warriors @ Suns (PIX) - Don't bother waking up for this if you like defense.

March 30th 5:30 AM: Mavericks @ Heat (Ten Sports) - After opening night, this will be the second match-up of the season between the last 2 NBA finalists. What is interesting is that this game falls so late in the season, and thus, a lot will be at stake. Depending on how the regular seasons are proceeding for the two teams, this game could even determine home court advantage if the two teams are to meet in the Finals again. I'll have my eye on how LeBron responds to his awful performances versus the Mavs in the Finals. Will Dirk/Terry/Marion etc still hold the psychological advantage over him?

April 21st 7:30 AM: Thunder @ Kings (PIX) - This could be a battle between two teams on the opposite ends of the spectrum in the Western conference, but it will also be a battle between two very exciting young teams. Thunder you know all about, but I'm excited for the Kings for this upcoming year: between Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, and the newly-added rookie Jimmer Fredette, the Kings will at least entertain (even when they lose).

I am also happy to announce that I will be back as a feature writer for NBA.com/India this season, and will be reviewing a lot of the games that I watch live here. What games are you most looking forward to watching this year?

Sights, Words, & Video from the Warriors' "Bollywood Night"

So as you may know, the Golden State Warriors recently celebrated "Bollywood Night" when they hosted the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. It was a celebration of Indian culture by the people behind the Warriors, which include Indian-born owner of the team, Vivek Ranadivé.

Through the course of the night, fans got to see Bollywood-type dances, taste Indian food, go home with cleverly-punned "got Curry" T-shirt (Stephen Curry, get it?), etc. Click here to go on NBA Videos to watch a nice recap of Bollywood Night, featuring interviews with Stephen Curry and Ranadivé.

Ranadivé in particular makes some very interesting points here. It is great to see an Indian man in-charge of a basketball team in the world's richest league. Inviting the Indian community in Oakland/San Francisco region, as well as Indians back home to be a part of the sport of basketball, Ranadivé says, "I believe that basketball will be the sport of the 21st century. Soccer was the sport of the last generation, basketball will the sport of the next generation. It can be played inside and it can be played outside. It can be played in rich countries and in poor countries. Indians love sport, Indians love to celerbate, and Indians love a good show!"

Ranadivé also announced that the game was broadcast live in India. Yes it was, but unfortunately, all the 'Indian' related programmes, which were held pre-game, during halftime, or post-game, were not, since the broadcasting channel PIX, as I predicted, decided to show its own local advertisements. FAIL.

But hey, I'm glad they pulled if off well over there. And I hope you enjoy the pics (courtesy NBA-India) I've attached from the event to his article. In between all this hoo-haa, there was actually a basketball game played, a very entertaining one at that, too. Golden State led most of the way, even going up 18 over an excellent Mavs side at halftime. But Mavericks were a team too deep, and too experienced. Mavs went on a 15-0 fourth quarter run, and led by Dirk Nowitzki's 34 points and 13 rebounds, they pulled off a 112-106 win.

Don't worry Warrior fans. At least you enjoyed some good kebabs.

Golden State Warriors to celebrate the spirit of Bollywood

'Tis the season for... Bollywood?

NBA team Golden State Warriors, whose Vice-Chairman is Mumbai-born software entrepreneur Vivek Ranadivé, will be hosting their first ever 'Bollywood Night' when they face the Dallas Mavericks at the Oracle Arena in Oakland on Wednesday evening, March 16. The game will be shown live in India at 8 AM the next morning, Thursday, March 17, on PIX.

And what is 'Bollywood Night' exactly, you ask? Well, it's pretty much a mish-mash production of everything Indian that the Warriors' management could think of, which, pretty much equals singing, dancing, Indian food, and a couple of software people in suits.

You want Dance Performances? Dances troupes Aerodance and Bhangra Empire will be tickling your senses pre-game and at halftime. Even the Warrior Girls cheerleading troupe will be doing a Bollywood dance performance. You want Indian food? Yes, it will be available at the Oracle Arena Concessions. You want vaguely famous Indian-American popstars singing to you? A finalist at American Idol, Indian-origin American singer Anoop Desai will be crooning on-court postgame.

You want to hang out with Indian people in America / Other people with names that sound like Indian food? Desai, Vivek Ranadivé, Warriors ace guard Stephen Curry, and others will be interviewed post-game by news-anchor in San Jose, Raj Mithai. The last one qualifies for both categories: Indian-ness, and for his name sounding like Indian dessert.

And perhaps my favourite part of the whole show is that the Warriors' are giving away a T-shirt that says 'got Curry' to the first 19,000 attendants, making an awesome reference to an NBA Star and to our masalas. Too bad the Warriors' don't have a Center called Murgh Makhani, which is, my friends, the best thing to eat in the world, ever.

First of all - I need to get my hands, somehow, on that awesome T-Shirt. Secondly, I'm excited to watch this game and all the other India-related paraphernalia. Let's just hope that we can get through the night without a freakin 'Slumdog Millionaire' reference. Unlikely.

Unfortunately, I fear that the PIX channel, like they usually do, are likely to replace all the pre-game, halftime, and post-game events and replace them with a documentary showing the Making of "Did You Hear About the Morgans".

In between of all this, a basketball game will be played. Go David Lee.