It would seem that the league has started to gain their footing, with all teams coming out with a W under the win column after this week. But now we take a look into this week and what match-ups that should be on everyone’s radar beginning with today’s game.
Kicking things off on a Monday we have a game against the Bucks and the Timberwolves. Both teams are coming off wins on Saturday against the Raptors and Wizards, respectively. Starting off with the Wolves, they’ve been able to pick up the slack with KAT being suspended after the altercation with Embiid in Philly. They had six players scoring in double figures last time out with 33 assists amongst the entire roster, and hope to do the same versus a very strong Bucks team. As for the Bucks, they’ve been showing glimpses of what the team was last season, despite losing some of their key players off the bench. They had decent scoring amongst their roster with only four players in double figures, but one of those players just so happens to be last year’s league MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo. Going into this game each team has specific keys to win the game. For the Bucks, they have to limit scoring and shut down passing lanes that could lead to open and easy shots. As for the Timberwolves, their biggest key to win is stopping Giannis.
On Tuesday we have a game against the Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets. The Heat have recently gotten Butler back after sitting out the first couple of games. Although he’s still trying to get into the swing of things, he has a solid team surrounding him that can make things easier for him throughout the course of the season. As for the Nuggets, they’re right where we as NBA fans expect them to be towards the top of the Conference standings. The Heat have been playing much better than most initially speculated during the off-season, starting off with a record of 5-1. They’ve had good production throughout the entire roster with amazing contributions from rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro. A lot of these Heat players are really coming into their own, most notably Heat Center Bam Adebayo. While on the discussion of notable Centers, however, Adebayo and the Heat will be tested to say the least against Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets. The Nuggets have been able to consistently be a good team with their starting five. Add in Michael Porter Jr. back into the mix after missing out last season, and the team only gets better.
On Wednesday we’re in for what should be a battle between the Bucks and the Clippers. We’ve already touched upon the Bucks for Monday’s game but it should be really interesting to see last year’s MVP go up against last year’s NBA Finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers have really came out of the gates so far this season, playing a brand of basketball that has been exciting to watch for anyone who loves the game of basketball. This team has shown that they can still play a very good brand of basketball even without Paul George stepping onto the floor yet. Kawhi has been putting up insane numbers so far this season, leading the Clippers statistically in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. This may sound awfully familiar, for this is also the case for Giannis, leading the Bucks in the all five categories. This match-up is going to be a good one, with two of the league’s best going head-to-head on Wednesday night.
Moving onto Thursday, we got the Clippers again going up against the Portland Trail Blazers. The Blazers are in for another challenge going up against one of the many powerhouse teams in the Western Conference, but if anyone were to stand a chance in my opinion, it would be Damian Lillard and the Blazers. The Blazers have started off the season with a record of 3-3 so far and hope to get some more under the win column. The backcourt duo of Lillard and McCollum have been their usual selves, leading the team in scoring, and hope that they can get some more production from the rest of their roster. This should be an interesting challenge for them, considering they will be facing a very strong defensive team with names like Kawhi, Beverly, and Harrell on the other end.
We’re moving to Friday’s match-up now, where the Miami Heat will be taking on the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are currently standing at the top of the Western Conference, with the duo of James and Davis really coming into effect. Not only that but the veteran roster that this team has acquired over the offseason has seemed to be paying off, with players like Danny Green and Dwight Howard really coming into their own. Now with Kuzma back in the fold of things, the team has shown a lot of upside, winning with big margins as well as pulling out victories in close games. This match-up should be particularly interesting with a fairly young Heat team going up against a team with a lot of seasoned veterans in the Lakers.
Getting into the weekend, on Saturday we have a game between the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs. The match-up between these two teams are very interesting to me, for they’re both organizations that take pride in playing team basketball, both teams having more than five players averaging double digit points. This game, like Friday’s, is also a bit of a young vs. old (for lack of a better word) match-up, with names like Taytum and Brown going up against veteran names like DeRozan and Aldridge. Regardless of are these teams facing off should be an interesting one to watch for those who appreciate team basketball.
To wrap things up for the week on Sunday we have a game with the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns. The Nets have had their struggles so far this season with a record of 2-4, but should never be counted out with the roster that they have, specifically with Kyrie Irving. On the flip side of things, the Suns have gotten out to a surprising 4-2 this season. The Nets have been playing a solid brand of basketball with Kyrie leading the team in scoring by an astounding margin. Irving has averaged 30.5 points a game so far, with the next highest average being 18.8 in Caris LeVert. For the Suns, they have six players averaging double figures this season, which is a huge positive for Suns fans considering their 19-63 record last season. Having Devin Booker and Kyrie Irving face off against one another should be a very fun game to watch for NBA fans as well.
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