10 NBA Games to Watch This Season
With the release of the official NBA schedule this afternoon, we cruised through to pick out 10 must-see games this season:
Oct 27 – Celtics @ Cavaliers – Both teams open their season in what should be a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup. It will also be the first official game for Shaq as LeBron’s sidekick and Rasheed Wallace as the cranky, three-point shooting addition the Big 3.
Nov 7 – Grizzlies @ Clippers – The 2009 NBA Draft’s No. 1 & No. 2 picks face off against each other in what is sure to be the first of many games that Blake Griffin tries to cram some vicious dunks all over Hasheem Thabeet.
Nov 13 – Warriors @ Knicks – Stephen Curry has his first professional game at MSG against the fans that so badly wanted their Knicks to select him on draft night.
Dec 25 – Cavaliers @ Lakers – On Christmas day, the NBA gives the gift of watching the two best players in the league go head-to-head. It’ll be fun watching this potential NBA Finals preview and which Nike Puppet will come out with the win.
Jan 29 – Nuggets @ Thunder – Two of the NBA’s best pure scorers in Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant will get after it in what should be one of the highest scoring games of the year.
Jan 18 – Magic @ Lakers – The Magic get their first shot at revenge for their NBA Finals loss against the Lakers in this Stapes Centers visit. Both Vince Carter and Ron Artest will get their first taste of the new Magic and Lakers rivalry.
Jan 27 – Jazz @ Portland – Both the Jazz and the Trail Blazers are young teams hoping that retaining Paul Millsap and singing Andre Miller can push their respective teams up to the upper echelon of the Western Conference.
Feb 10 – Heat @ Hawks – Dwyane Wade visits Phillips Arena seeking revenge for last year’s playoff series loss against an exciting Atlanta Hawks team.
Mar 5 – Hornets @ Spurs – The Hornets and Spurs will be battling for playoff position as they still try to prove that they’re contenders in the West.
Apr 13 – Celtics @ Bulls – Both the Celtics and Bulls will be jockeying for some sort of playoff position at the end of the season. The Rajon Rondo/Derrick Rose point guard battle is sure to be one of the NBA’s best point guard rivalries for years to come.
What matchups did we miss? Let us know…
August 4th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
dennis stone says:
all four nationally tel.games portland vs denver
August 4th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
got'em says:
Miami’s opening day game to see what Jordan’s Dywane Wade Rocks.
August 4th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
wiz says:
Wizards vs. Cavs…………enough said
August 4th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
dphoenix says:
I respectfully disagree, Jeff.
Neither the Grizzlies nor the Clippers should be anywhere near a top-ten list of must see games, let alone when they play each other.
Lakers-Magic cannot be called rivalry. That word is thrown around far too often. An underwhelming 5-game finals series between those two doesn’t necessarily give them Bird-Magic status.
Isn’t the first Cavs-Magic match-up must see game? It cracks my top ten.
August 4th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
wiz says:
Just to back up my prev. comment one of the Wizards vs Cavs games is on Gilberts b-day…you know thats gonna be good….
August 4th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
STFU dphoenix you sound like a bitch!
August 4th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
Gerard says:
0 Rockets games on national television.
August 4th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
12t says:
You missed some of the games that will be huge due to free agency movement: What about Hedo’s return to Orlando? Boozer’s eventual new team making their first trip to Utah? The Rockets & Lakers?
August 4th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Hugo says:
+1 @4 … I would put at least one Dallas x San Antonio game there too …
August 4th, 2009 at 4:38 pm
isotope says:
yeah the Rockets vs Lakers will be interesting.
Ariza and Battier vs Kobe and Artest.
Scola vs Gasol
Brooks vs Fisher (u know how well that went for the lakers)
TMac returning??? (ok maybe not)
Not much competition for LA but should be at the very least interesting.
August 4th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
JJ says:
lakers vs. portland!! don’t sleep on the blazers!, they coming hard! but not as hard as the champs!!!!!
August 4th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
BRUCE says:
Carlos Boozer returns to Cleveland.
August 4th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Balla says:
Why do Kobe and Shaq always get the Xmas games?
August 4th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
isotope says:
Its funny that LA vs Cle is Kobe vs Shaq and not Kobe vs Lebron.
Maybe it should be Bynum vs Shaq. Or Artest vs Lebron.
August 4th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
rlf says:
“Balla says:
Why do Kobe and Shaq always get the Xmas games?”
do you really have to ask that question? here’s the answer, simple”
because they are KOBE and SHAQ
August 4th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
BRUCE says:
We want drama on XMAS, the TV ratings! Who are you kidding? Are you willing to watch the Sacramento Kings and the LA Clippers on XMAS? Spare me the torture!
August 4th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
David_Brandon says:
hey bruce, dont be hatin on my kings man! lol but i dont think i’d even watch a xmas game w/ them and the clips either haha! i’d be forced to watch A Christmas Story one more time….
August 4th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Luigi says:
Wiz….Cavs…ALWAYS GOOD. remember last yr when we ALMOST gave em their first L at the Q. haha. it should be good
August 4th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
bruce21 says:
Lakers vs Celtics… potential chip… and with kg with a chip on his shoulder it should be interesting.
Lakers wanna see how they stack up the celts are the only real barometer out there
August 5th, 2009 at 12:30 am
samucrack says:
Wizards Cavs
Hibachi against The King
Caron, Antawn, Mo, Shaq
wowwwww
August 5th, 2009 at 3:14 am
bigger_daddy says:
maybe they would like to see blake versus brother-no-name griffin go head-to-head during garbage time?
or at least a friendly baron and stevie PG duel could come as a second (but not as good) guess
August 5th, 2009 at 3:38 am
spirow says:
What about the spurs vs lakers or lakers vs clippers . . . i doubt n e of us wanna see memphis, we know blakes better then thabeet. . . i’d love to see wizz vs cavs and orlando vs toronto or even cavs vs orlando!
August 5th, 2009 at 11:38 am
JamesinVA says:
What is with all this “WIZARDS!!” BullSht?!?!
I love in northern VA right by DC and there aint no Wizards fans ANYWHERE to be seen, but theres like 4 posting in here? You gotta be kidding me….LOL
August 8th, 2009 at 5:23 am
Matt says:
@ Bruce;
Boozer’s return to Cleveland was hyped in ‘05 when he signed with the Jazz, then was injured for a period of 83 games where he didn’t play, and during that span, he missed both games @ cleveland, so it really isn’t that big of a deal.
December 13th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Air Force Ones says:
I’ve been checking your blog for a while now, seems like everyday I learn something new
Thanks