The NBA released a condensed 49-game preseason schedule Friday, with teams playing between two and four games starting on Dec. 11. The league plans to reveal the first half of the 72-game regular season schedule - that meaning games to be played between Dec. 22 and March 4 - in the coming days. The defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers will play on the first night of the preseason, technically a home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.