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It may not be the Miami versus Los Angeles series most of us are salivating for (Heat take Lakers in six games during next year’s finals, right?), but that’s OK, because we won’t even get to see it anyway. The NBA has announced that the Heat will head over to China for two preseason games against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The NBA preseason will kick off on October 9, and the Miami Heat will open their preseason activities on October 11 at the MasterCard Center in Beijing against the Clippers. LeBron, Wade and Bosh are familiar with that particular arena. They won a gold medal there in the 2008 Olympics.
Three days later, on the 14th, they’ll take on the team again at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai.
NBA players and the league itself are not shy about courting fans in China. They’re basketball nuts there and have a particular appetite for buying basketball shoes. Some theories say popularity in China weighted heavily on LeBron James’ mind when he made “the decision.” Fans there don’t really care what American city you’re playing for, but they sure do like to buy up your merchandise when you’re winning champions.
The Miami Heat are also scheduled to host the first game of the NBA season on October 30. Their opponent, nor the rest of the schedule, has been announced.
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