The Cavaliers get the bargain! The key schedule of the 2025-26 season is released. Harden, what did you do wrong!

On August 9, famous speaker Shams successively revealed the key schedules of the NBA 2025-26 season, and Harden and the Clippers were targeted again! According to Shams, the opening match of next season will officially start on October 22. The league has arranged two heavy matches. The first match will be the Houston Rockets, the second in the West, challenged the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder away, and the second match will be played by the Los Angeles Lakers at home against the Golden State Warriors. There is nothing more eye-catching in the league today than the "Lower War"!

The Thunder maintained all the core lineups to win the championship this offseason, while the Rockets gained the three top-level combat powers of Durant, DFS and Capela while retaining the core lineup. The lineup strength has improved significantly compared to last season. The showdown between the Rockets and the Thunder will ultimately determine the overall Western Conference pattern in the next several seasons. Although the Lakers lost DFS, they got the three ready-to-play strengths of Ayton, Laravia and Smart. The team has a starting center, and the lineup is more reasonable than last season. The Warriors have also reached a verbal agreement with Horford, Melton, Curry Jr. and Payton Jr. As long as the problem is solved, they can love them to sign. James and Curry are both at the end of their careers. They directly watch one game less and the venue arrangements for the opening game. The league pushes topics and traffic to a climax!

In addition to the opening game, the annual Christmas battle is also the stage for the league's darlings. Teams that can play Christmas battles are all teams that are loved by thousands of people. The league will arrange a total of 5 matches next season, and only 2 of the 10 teams in the central and eastern regions will participate! Let’s take a look at the 5 specific duels together!

Cavaliers vs. Knicks: Since the Celtics and Pacers have given up next season one after another, if Tatum and Halliburton can ensure health, they will definitely be on the stage of the Christmas game in the new season. From this perspective, the Cavaliers have gained a big advantage, otherwise their current popularity will not be enough to play the Christmas game. The Cavaliers VS Knicks are not only a Christmas battle, but also a battle for the kings in the East in the new season.

Spurs vs Thunder: Wenbanyama played in the first two seasons of phenomenal level. He has already been on the road of historical super giants. Paul left the team in the new season. Wenbanyama will completely take over the team's core power base. How big a challenge can the combination of Fox + Wenbanyama + Harper + Castle + Barnes + Vasel + Sohan + Connett bring to the defending champion? It is worth looking forward to!

Rockets vs Lakers: Durant vs. James, as the two best small forward players in the league in the past 15 years, their every showdown is full of topics! Since following James' example to join the Warriors in 2016, Durant has been criticized. The main reason is that after leaving the Warriors, he formed the Big Three twice, but was unable to achieve good results. Joining the Rockets this offseason will be Durant's last chance. For fans, the showdown between James and Durant has really reached the stage of watching one game less!

Mavericks vs. Warriors: Irving is likely not back to the game during the Christmas battle. The showdown between Curry and Clay will provide unlimited topics to those with ulterior motives. Now that the genius boy Flag has joined, Russell will also face Curry in the Christmas battle for the first time. Davis will once again prove that he is the strongest magic weapon to restrain the Warriors.

Timberwolves vs Nuggets: In the past two seasons, the three-tower lineup created by the Timberwolves is tailor-made to deal with the Nuggets in the future. The Nuggets have completed a major upgrade in the offseason, and the Timberwolves can only be considered as standing still. The super showdown between Edwards and Jokic's two top stars is worth looking forward to. One is the successor supported by the league, and the other is the first-ever combat power in active service. The Timberwolves VS Nuggets have been arranged as the finale of the Christmas battle, just right! Among the eight teams in the West that participated in the Christmas battle, in the top 7 in the Western Conference in 2024-25, only the Clippers missed the Christmas battle. I really don’t understand why the league targets Harden and the Clippers so much. Harden + Leonard + Paul’s popularity is no worse than any team. Harden, what did you do wrong? This led to the team being targeted by the league!