The 10th season of Maine Red Claws basketball is just over two months away, and now the Red Claws and their fans know who the team will be playing to get the season started.

The Red Claws released their 2018-19 regular-season schedule Tuesday, and the team will tip off its milestone season on Friday, Nov. 2 at home against the Westchester Knicks.

Five of the first six games will be played at the Portland Expo, including the first three. Matchups against the Delaware Blue Coats on Sunday, Nov. 4, and the Canton Charge on Thursday, Nov. 8, follow the opener against the Knicks.

The 50-game schedule, which includes the NBA G League showcase in December, finishes up with a March 23 road game at Delaware. The home finale is scheduled for Sunday, March 17 against the Lakeland Magic.

The Red Claws are looking to rebound in head coach Brandon Bailey’s second year and win a fourth Atlantic Division title in the last five years.

Back-to-backs lessened again in the G League

NEW YORK (AP) — The G League’s 18th season starts Nov. 2, and much like in the NBA the schedule formula has been changed to further reduce the amount of back-to-back games for teams.

Teams will play an average of 6.6 back-to-backs in the G League this season, a drop of nearly 6 percent from a year ago. Also like the NBA schedule, no team will have any stretches of four games in five nights.

This will be the largest G League ever, with the addition of the Washington Wizards’ affiliate Capital City Go-Go pushing the league’s total membership to 27 clubs. The Go-Go will open their inaugural season in Washington on Nov. 3.

G League teams play 50 games — 24 at home, 24 on the road and two others at the league’s annual showcase. The regular season ends March 23, and playoffs will not begin before March 26.