Were you looking forward to Jacob’s wit this morning, and are disappointed with my name as author? Too bad. To further enrage you, all times are Eastern. Learn to love the bias.
Monday: Los Angeles Clippers at Washington Wizards (7:00 PM on League Pass)
Don’t look now, but the Clippers are 4-6 in their last 10 games, and 2-5 in the latest stint that Chris Paul has sat out with a bruised kneecap. For as good as Eric Bledsoe has played with the second unit this year, he’s no CP3. He’s actually played pretty well as a starter; the problem is that the Clippers don’t actually run an offense, they rely on Paul to orchestrate. Bledsoe isn’t nearly as capable a basketball mind, so while he has gotten his, not everybody else has.
The Wizards are also 4-6 in their last 10 games, but given that they were 7-29 in their previous 36, this represents a massive improvement. John Wall is back, and finally there is some semblance of sense in the Capitol. Tune in to watch Wall take on fellow Kentucky “alum” (does it really count if you only attended for one year and you got in despite sketchy academic records, like both Wall and Bledsoe?) Bledsoe in a battle of hyper-athletic point guards.
Tuesday: Golden State Warriors at Houston Rockets (8:00 PM on League Pass)
On a night of entirely uninspiring matchups, Warriors v Rockets would be must see TV on any night. This game kicks off a brutal six games for the Warriors (at Houston, at Oklahoma City, at Memphis, at Dallas, vs Houston, at Utah), and it will be interesting to see if Mark Jackson plays Andrew Bogut against the Rockets and rests him against the Thunder, or vice versa. Klay Thompson has been lauded for his improved defense this year, but he often gets in foul trouble, and might have a nightmare of a time guarding James Harden. With two of the better fast break teams in the league, will either offense be able to impose itself?
Wednesday: Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks (8:30 PM on League Pass)
A fascinating battle of two teams with playoff dreams that are unlikely to be realized. Dallas is already almost out, and a loss to the Trail Blazers, at home, in their second to last game before the All-Star break, could be the one to convince Mark Cuban to begin the rebuild right now. Watch Dirk Nowitzki comically attempt to guard his heir apparent LaMarcus Aldridge (yeah, I said it), and everybody on the Dallas roster attempt to guard Damian Lillard. I see a big game from him. Oh, right, and this is a rematch of an instant classic from a few days ago. Dis gon be gud.
Thursday: Chicago Bulls at Denver Nuggets (10:30 PM on TNT)
When they scheduled Lakers v Celtics and Bulls v Nuggets back in the summer, I bet the schedule makers thought they had a great night on their hands. Instead, both teams in the early game are dramatically under performing and may miss the playoffs, and the Bulls are missing their two biggest stars. The most interesting thing to me about this game will be watching the absolute clash in styles between the grind it out, defense first Bulls and the high-flying “what the hell is a rotation?” Nuggets. In the high altitude of Denver, where the Nuggets are 20-3, I suspect the Bulls won’t have enough legs to keep it up for four quarters.
Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers (7:30 PM on League Pass)
On another night of otherwise boring games (I guess the Clippers at HEAT could be interesting of Chris Paul plays), I posit: why not just watch Kyrie Irving?
Detroit Pistons at Milwaukee Bucks (8:30 PM on League Pass)
Andre Drummond might well be in the top 5 most fun players to watch at this point. Milwaukee has a plethora of defense-first bigs in Larry Sanders, Samuel Dalembert, John Henson and Ekpe Udoh, who are for the most part athletic enough to prevent Drummond from picking up easy points off of alley-oops. Milwaukee’s guards, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, are also prone to gamble, usually to their detriment, but is Drummond aware enough to pass out of these double teams? How well he does in this game is a great barometer for how much he has actually developed as a player.
Los Angeles Clippers at New York Knicks (1:00 PM on ABC)
Now that football season is over (don’t get us started on the 49ers), the NBA officially takes over. Nothing signifies this better than the Clippers and Knicks kicking off an early double-headers on ABC, followed by a full slate of nine games. Roll out of bed, and prepared to be startled wide awake by a barrage of Knick three-pointers.