What? No visit by the Miami Heat?

Forget all those nice things I said 24 hours earlier about David Stern. The commissioner and his schedule makers delivered the Lakers for the Kings season opener Dec. 26 – and for the finale here April 26 – but he isn't letting LeBron James take his talents to Sacramento, even for an evening.

"It's unbalanced," Kings coach Paul Westphal said after the NBA's 66-game schedule was released Tuesday afternoon. "That's what happens when the season is shortened. I just looked to see what it looks like for us, and it gave us a huge mountain to climb during the first month. If we get past that, things are a little more favorable the rest of the year."

While the Kings play four of their first five games at Power Balance Pavilion, 21 of the first 33 are on the road. The schedule includes one six-game trip, one five-game swing, 14 back-to-backs and one of those back-to-back-to-back sequences – otherwise known as a triple – that everyone incessantly complained about the last time a labor dispute led to a compressed schedule (1998-99).

A closer peek at what remains of 2011-12:

What was lost

Under the original schedule, the Heat would have visited Jan. 6. In their sole appearance here last season, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh overcame a sluggish start and sprinted past the Kings in the second half. Not this year. Of course, for every negative, there is a plus. The Charlotte Bobcats and Cleveland Cavaliers don't come anywhere near Sacramento, either.

The fab five … or so

So Stern didn't send the Heat to Sacramento. The Commish still does drama. A season opener the day after Christmas against Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and the one-time Kings forward formerly known as Ron Artest is a pretty dynamic tipoff.

The fact the Lakers end the season at the Pavilion for a second consecutive year?

Interesting. Stern must truly be convinced that a new arena is finally coming to fruition, after the emotionally wrenching scene that took place inside the building on April 13. There were so many tears shed that night, the region should have been placed on flood alert.

Stern knows. He watched the tape. He heard the chanting. He saw Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds slobbering all over themselves. He's a bruising litigator, but he's not a fan of cruel and unusual punishment. I'm thinking he thinks the Kings might be sticking around.

A few of the other intriguing matchups include visits by the Chicago Bulls (Dec. 29), Orlando Magic (Jan. 8), Oklahoma City Thunder (Feb. 9), Los Angeles Clippers (March 1) and Boston Celtics (March 16).

The longest road

In a sweetheart of a scheduling twist, the Kings begin their six-game swing Feb. 14 in Chicago, then continue to New York, Detroit, Cleveland, Miami and Washington before catching their collective breaths during the break for the All-Star Game in Orlando. On second thought, since Kings rookies have become annual invitees to the annual rookie competition, a sure-to-be-exhausted Jimmer Fredette might want to start sketching out some creative excuses.

Those triple plays

Every team has at least one back-to-back-to-back stretch, and some teams have been slammed twice, often because of scheduling conflicts in their arenas. But before the players and coaches start whimpering, let's reflect.

When the modern NBA was at its zenith – and the 1980s era of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird easily eclipses anything thereafter – playing games on three consecutive nights was an accepted practice. Bird, Magic, Julius Erving, Bill Walton and Moses Malone all flew commercial, with a few of the lesser players and often the coaches in coach.

Charter travel wasn't even on the radar until Chuck Daly introduced it late in the decade. Yet excluding Daly's Detroit Pistons, the games were played at a much faster pace, with teams routinely averaging well into triple digits. So, please, while the players dribble dents into arena floors, no whining.

Who hurts most?

NBA types are conflicted about whether the compressed schedule more adversely affects veterans, who have less recovery time but are more likely to adapt to the demanding new routine, or younger players, who have more youthful energy but have less of a clue when it comes to coping with a demanding schedule.

"Teams that rely on 10- and 13-year veterans to play most of their minutes, it takes a bit out of them," said Westphal, who coached the Seattle Sonics during the 50-game 1999 season. "There are situations where they sometimes just rest a guy. If you catch them at the right time, and you're a young team, it can be to your advantage.

"On the other hand, experienced teams know how to manage their bodies. The problem they have is when they get dinged up. Depth will matter a lot more."

With a laugh, he added, "View all of this as an opportunity."

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