The NBA will hold its 2nd annual NBA Canada Series with the Boston Celtics versus the Minnesota Timberwolves in the preseason at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec. The home of the NHL blue blood franchise Montreal Canadiens will tip off October 20.
The NBA Canada series began with the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks in Montreal and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Detroit Pistons in Winnipeg.
“The NBA Canada Series captures the unique experience of a live NBA game for our fans outside of Toronto, and helps fuel the increasing interest in our game across the country,” said Dan MacKenzie, Vice President and General Manager, NBA Canada. “Montreal is a great sporting city and we look forward to returning this year with another exciting match-up.”
The Boston Celtics tipped-off their 2012 season with preseason games in Turkey and Italy as part of NBA Europe Live. The Minnesota Timberwolves have played preseason games in the Dominican Republic, Turkey, UK and France as well as regular season games in Japan.
The game in Montreal should draw well as Canada has a presence in the league. The ’12-’13 NBA season saw eight Canadians on team rosters. 21 total Canadians have played in the NBA. Five Canadians have been drafted in the past two years.
Montreal sees plenty of NBA games on television too. During the 2012-13 regular season, more than 200 games were broadcast nationally in Canada on TSN, TSN 2, The Score, Rogers Sportsnet, Sportsnet One and NBA TV Canada.
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