Pacers to open season at Toronto on Oct. 28

For the first time in three years, the Indiana Pacers will open the season on the road.

The NBA will announce the full 2015-16 schedule on Wednesday evening in a special broadcast, however, The Star has learned that Indiana will kick off the new season across the border against the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 28. It will be the first of a back-to-back as the Pacers will open at home on Oct. 29 against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Indiana will also play seven nationally televised games on ESPN, as fans around the league will get to see the new-look team, including star forward Paul George, who should be back to full health. The Pacers' first national televised game will be at home against the Miami Heat on Nov. 6

Other notable 2015-16 games include the Pacers' first meeting with LeBron James and the Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers at Cleveland on Nov. 8.

To start a four-game Western Conference road trip, Indiana will meet former Pacer center Roy Hibbert and the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 29. The next reunion comes on Dec. 21 in San Antonio, when the Pacers travel to Texas to face the Spurs and former teammate David West.

Despite the return of George, who missed most of last season due to recovery from a broken leg, Indiana will not play on Christmas Day or Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the two marquee regular-season slots on the NBA schedule. Last season, the Pacers finished 38-44 but have revamped their roster to play a more uptempo and seemingly better offensive brand of basketball.

Call Star reporter Candace Buckner at (317) 444-6121. Follow her on Twitter: @CandaceDBuckner.