Nets await schedule release ... and respect?

The NBA doesn’t provide any heads-up on when it will release its regular season schedule, ... but the second week of August is usually a good bet. And unlike the last several years, the Nets have a lot to look forward to.

Beyond the usual features — like Opening Night, the number of back-to-backs and dates for the cross-river games, Brooklyn fans will be checking for evidence that NBA schedule makers recognize that the franchise is now a first-rank attraction.

They’ll be checking on whether the team will play on Christmas, how many times will they play on national television, ESPN and TNT rather than NBA TV, and what kind of attention will their other big games get.

Spencer Dinwiddie tweeted over the weekend that he wants to know when the schedule will be released.

When a fan suggested the Nets are “a lock” for the a Christmas date with the Celtics ... the Kyrie Irving “revenge game,” Dinwiddie responded that he wouldn’t mind the Knicks.

Dinwiddie, of course, has become the Knick fans chief tormentor as they deal with the post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by the Nets successes —and their failures this summer.

The Nets haven’t played on Christmas since 2013 when they had Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce ... and were thoroughly embarrassed by the Bulls, 95-78. As for national TV games, the Nets have played exactly one —last March 13 vs. the Thunder in OKC— in the past three years. The last time the Nets had multiple games on ESPN or TNT was in 2014-15 season when they appeared twice each on ESPN and TNT.

Of course, there will be other games to look for: Nets vs. Celtics, particularly in Boston whether on Christmas Day or at another time —for the obvious reasons; Nets vs. Warriors in Brooklyn when D’Angelo Russell returns (and maybe Durant, will be back depending on when the teams play). Also, if KD is back, home games vs. the Clippers and Lakers, with their own dynamic duos, should be big draws.

And as Dinwiddie mentioned, there’s always the games vs. the Knicks, all four of them.

Brian Lewis reported Monday that there’s been speculation the NBA could release the national TV slate including Christmas on August 6 and the full regular-season schedule two days later.

• Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie wants Christmas game against Knicks or Celtics - Brian Lewis - New York Post