The NBA lockout looks like it could go on for quite some time as the players and owners are nowhere near to seeing eye-to-eye. With that being said, there are a lot of people that believe the upcoming NBA regular season might not even happen and could end up being much worse than the lockout in 1998.

Even though the upcoming NBA season might be a lost cause, the NBA has released the schedule for the 2011-2012 with some pretty intriguing matchups below to mark on your calendar:

Opening Night: Chicago Bulls @ Dallas Mavericks Nov. 1 (8 p.m. EST) followed by Oklahoma City Thunder @ Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 p.m. EST)

These two games on opening night will be interesting to see the least as the Dallas Mavericks start their NBA title defense against the up-and-coming Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers will begin the post-Phil Jackson era against the Oklahoma City Thunder that came just short of the NBA Finals last season.

Rematch of Western Conference Finals: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Dallas Mavericks Nov. 5 (8:30 p.m. EST)

Kevin Durant and company will look to prove that they have made the next step by trying to get the best of the defending NBA champs on their home floor in Dallas.

Kobe vs. LeBron: Los Angeles Lakers @ Miami Heat Dec. 8 (8 p.m. EST) and Miami Heat @ Los Angeles Lakers March 4 (3:30 p.m. EST)

At this point in the NBA regular season it will have become clear for the Lakers whether or not Mike Brown is working out as the Lakeshow’s new head coach. The Miami Heat on the other hand will most likely have a lot of pressure on them at this point in time if they are struggling, but could already be crowned as NBA champs if playing up to their potential.

Christmas Day: Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks (12 p.m. EST), Miami Heat @ Dallas Mavericks (2:30 p.m. EST) and Chicago Bulls @ Los Angeles Lakers (5 p.m. EST)

Pretty entertaining triple-header here, but the NBA Finals rematch is what everyone will be waiting to see!

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