Over my week of being sick the NBA landscape had some pretty dramatic changes; Blake Griffin established himself in the national spotlight with a monster dunk involving a car, Carmelo Anthony brought relevancy back to the New York Knicks, Deron Williams got out of Utah and made his way to the New Jersey Nets and the Boston Celtics sent their big-man, Kendrick Perkins, to the young Oklahoma City Thunder. With these changes the power has shifted to the East Coast. With the Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks containing rosters of All Stars, the Western Conference really only has the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs as their big guns. The next few years after these new players fully gel and become a true team, the Eastern Conference is going to be tough to beat.
This is a fantastic week for basketball fans, with big playoff style games being played. Sunday will be the highlight with an afternoon filled with top quality basketball match ups. We’re past the half-way point in the season and now teams will be looking to situate themselves for a strong run in the post season. Now we get to see which teams want to secure home court advantages against tough opponents which can be critical in Game 7 situations. The cream of the crop will rise and surging lesser teams will make strong pushes for a chance at the top.
I”m going to apologize again for the lack of hockey being included but as I’ve always been honest with, I know nothing about the sport so trying to figure out which games are better than others is a bit rough. If you’re a hockey fan, please comment and let the people know what games they should be watching. (That way I’ll know too)
Top Games To Watch
1. NBA – Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs – March 4 @ 9:30 pm
San Antonio is out to a hot hot start and are currently the top team in the league. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker are a Big 3 that have been together the longest and are looking to put one more title run together before they break up and go their own ways soon. The Miami Heat have Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh who are looking to make themselves the elite Big 3 in the league and take out the “old” guys. This could very well be a preview of the Finals and these teams will treat it as such when they meet to establish superiority this time around. I personally hope San Antonio puts the young upstarts in their place but with the talent on Miami, it’s really any-one’s game to win. Gonna have to watch and see.
2. NBA – Chicago Bulls at Miami Heat – March 6 @ 1 pm
Derrick Rose and Carlos Boozer were hoping Lebron James would bring his talents to the city of Chicago over the summer but instead he went to Miami and now Chicago is coming to show him that he made the wrong choice. Derrick is on his way to his first MVP award with the type of play and leadership he has displayed on the court this year and adding Boozer has only helped him. Chicago is a great team that will be in the running for the title and taking down the hot/sexy team in the Eastern Conference will prove wonders for their confidence and pay dividends if these teams should meet again in the playoffs. See if Lebron made the right decision or the wrong one (at least for this game).
3. NBA – Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs – March 6 @ 3:30 pm
The two teams in the Western Conference that have the best chance of capturing the title meet in a mid season showdown that will end up feeling like a playoff game. The Lakers are the New York Yankees of the basketball world; you either love them or loath them and trust me when I tell you, the people of San Antonio do not like the Lakers one bit. The Lakers were on a downward spiral before the All Star break but have since regained their winning ways and beating good teams again. Beating the Spurs would go a long way for the Lakers confidence and momentum. Kobe Bryant won’t let his team go down without a fight when it’s all said and done and we’ll see if he comes out swinging in this game and prove that his winning of back-to-back titles is no fluke.
Things To Keep An Eye On
- NASCAR season is just getting into first gear but the drivers are racing like it’s the last race of the season. If you can, watch this week’s race, theKobalt Tools 400 in Las Vegas and then check out the standings, results and points leaders over at NASCAR.com
- Get all of your hockey info and updates at NHL.com
