Jazz to open vs. Lakers

The Utah Jazz open the 2004-05 season at home against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Nov. 3.

The game is part of an ESPN double-header featuring Shaquille O'Neal's first game with the Miami Heat against the New Jersey Nets at 6 p.m. followed by the Jazz vs. the Lakers at 8:30 p.m.

The game will be the second for the Lakers, who will have played the night before at home against Denver.

Altogether the Jazz will appear on national TV 12 times during the regular season. The local TV schedule will be announced later. Because the Jazz do not appear on ABC, all nationally televised games are available to KJZZ-TV, Jazz spokesman Kim Turner said Monday. The KJZZ schedule is being worked out along with ESPN, TNT, Fox and the league, he added.

Other highlights of the Jazz 2004-05 schedule include 21 sets of back-to-back games as well as the traditional pre-Christmas road trip from Dec. 15 through 22 against mostly Eastern Conference foes. The Jazz play seven straight games at home from March 22 through April 5.

The Jazz will be playing in the realigned Northwest Division, along with Denver, Minnesota, Portland and Seattle. The realignment was the result of Charlotte joining the league in the Eastern Conference and New Orleans being reassigned to the Western Conference. Each conference consists of 15 teams assigned to three divisions. Division winners will get the conferences' top three spots in the playoffs. The other five conference playoff spots will be determined by best overall records.

The Jazz and new free-agent addition Carlos Boozer — formerly of the Cavaliers in a much-ballyhooed summer departure — will visit Cleveland on Tuesday, March 15. It is the second contest of a five-game road swing that starts off in Detroit against the defending NBA champion Pistons and then concludes at Indiana, New Jersey and Washington.

NBA's realigned divisions

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division — Boston, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto

Central Division — Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee

Southeast Division — Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami, Orlando, Washington

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Northwest Division — Denver, Minnesota, Portland, Seattle, UTAH

Pacific Division — Golden State, L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers, Phoenix, Sacramento