What games should be on the NBA’s big days?

Naveen Ganglani

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What games should be on the NBA’s big days?
What NBA games should be on Opening Night and Christmas Day?

MANILA, Philippines – It’s been more than a month since the Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers to clinch their first NBA title in 40 years. The 2015 NBA Draft has come and go. Free agency is all but done, save for a few more names. The Summer League has come to a close.

We’ve officially reached that point in the sports calendar where the NBA is most inactive. 

August might be the least interesting month for the biggest basketball league in the world, but there’s always one day that die-hard hoop junkies look forward to by this time of the year: when the NBA releases its schedule for the next season. 

Only NBA fanatics can understand the impact of schedule release day. Calendars will be marked for the rest of the year. Dates will be moved. Valentine’s dinners will have to be postponed. Anniversaries will have to take a back seat.  

If Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are coming to town to take on your Cleveland Cavaliers, your wife/husband has to understand that the dinner she/he spent weeks trying to get a reservation for at the best restaurant in town has to be moved, right?

For this article, I decided to write what I feel should be the games on the two biggest days of the league’s regular season schedule: Opening Night and Christmas Day. 

While selecting which teams and games should be in action, I took into account some of the traditions the NBA uses when plotting their big-day matchups. 

For instance, as much as I would love to pick 8 Western Conference teams to play on Christmas, the league usually has an Eastern Conference contest kick things off at the 12 noon/1 pm (Eastern Time) slot. Here’s another: the defending champions are always in action on the first day of the season, which is also when their title banner goes up the rafters. And, of course, Kobe Bryant will never not be around.

Let’s get started:

 

  

Opening Night (all times Eastern):

 

7:00 PM: Milwaukee Bucks at Orlando Magic

 

Opening Night of the NBA usually has 3 contests: the headliner (which will be the defending champions lifting their banner), the other main attraction, and then the filler. That last role is what the Bucks and Magic will be in.

 

While the other nationally-televised games will draw most of the attention, a contest between two of the younger and more interesting teams the NBA has to offer should be interesting as well. 

 

With the addition of Greg Monroe, Milwaukee has solidified itself as a team that could attain a homecourt seed in the first round of the playoffs this year. And with a full offseason to get used to the schemes of Head Coach Jason Kidd together, Michael Carter-Williams, Khris Middleton, and Giannis Antetokounmpo should be even better when the new NBA season comes around the corner.

 

Of course, there’s also the return of Jabari Parker, who if not for a torn ACL injury last season, would have seriously competed with Andrew Wiggins for the Rookie of the Year Award. 

 

Orlando, on the other hand, is one of the younger teams in the league that has a deep collection of talent themselves, with some analysts saying that they, too, could make the playoffs.

 

Victor Oladipo is only going to get better, as well as last year’s rookies Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton Jr. Tobias Harris is back – and with a lot to prove because of his huge contract. Maybe Nik Vucevic finally improved on his paltry defense?

 

 

 

Also, wouldn’t it be fun to see cocky, brash, and arrogant rookie Mario Hezonja make his debut against a strong defensive team? 

 

8:00 PM: Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers

 

Nothing will say welcome to the NBA for new Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg more than going up against the best player in the world and his defending eastern conference champions.

 

In what could be a conference finals preview, the Bulls and Cavaliers should give the national and worldwide audience a treat. 

 

It’s clear there’s animosity between both sides – dating back to 2010, when a LeBron team first eliminated the Bulls from the postseason. Make no mistake: Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, and Chicago have not forgotten that defeat, and neither have they let go of their elimination at the hands of the Cavaliers last season – especially that embarrassing Game 6 loss.

 

10:30 PM: Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors

 

How much do you think it bugs Chris Paul, who’s never made it to the Western Conference Finals, that the new face of the NBA point guard, Steph Curry, last year’s league MVP, won a championship before him?

 

Well, that thought will surely be in the mind of Paul when his re-tooled Clippers – now with Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, and Josh Smith – take on the defending champions moments after they get their rings. Golden State, meanwhile, has their entire championship core returning, giving reason to believe they will just be as good as last season. 

 

Outside of the Spurs, these two teams are the deepest the West has to offer. Their opening night matchup should serve as a perfect “Welcome back, NBA!” special.

 

 

Christmas Day:

 

12:00 noon: Miami Heat at New York Knicks

I get it: the Knicks are blah. But tradition is tradition in the NBA, especially when it comes to Christmas Day. And here’s the thing: the Knicks have been on the biggest day of the NBA regular season for the past 6 years. I guess that’s the advantage Madison Square Garden brings?

New York, despite their often underwhelming product on the basketball court, belongs on Christmas Day. It’s New York City. So, why the Miami Heat? Outside of Dwyane Wade and company being an Eastern Conference contender (when healthy!) the rivalry between both franchises is noteworthy. There’s no more Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning, but the two squads still have entertaining games most of the time.

Here’s another reason: Wade and Carmelo Anthony always step up their games when the spotlight is brightest. I admit it would be a more exciting duel if the year was 2010 instead of 2015, but even these two oldies (should I say veterans?) can still put on quite a show from time to time.

 

 

 

2:30 pm: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets 

I was tempted to slot Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans here instead of Kobe Bryant’s Lakers that will surely miss the playoffs, but, like New York, Los Angeles – and, really, Kobe – belong on Christmas Day. 

The Houston Rockets are a championship contender, so their appeal needs no introduction. Yes, we’re already year 3 into Dwight Howard’s time with Houston, but we all know Bryant and his old-school personality, so rest assured the animosity between both him and Howard has not dwindled a bit. What says “Merry Christmas, NBA style!” more than a few elbows, shoves, harsh words, and maybe a fight, right?

  

Interesting subplots of this game: Julius Randle and D’Angelo Russell’s first Christmas Game. A potential Jordan Clarkson “My time has arrived” performance. James Harden going off for 50 and stealing holiday headlines. Ty Lawson dishing out 18 assists. Kobe screaming at Roy Hibbert. 

This might not have been such a bad idea after all.

 

5:00 pm: Cleveland Cavaliers at Golden State Warriors

This one’s self-explanatory. 

The best player in the world against the reigning MVP (who are both also the most popular players in the NBA right now). 

All the physicality between Tristan Thompson (yes, I’m assuming he will re-sign with Cleveland), Timofey Mozgov, Anderson Varejao, Draymond Green, and Andrew Bogut. 

It’s the rematch of the finals, but hopefully this time with Kyrie Irving’s knee and Kevin Love’s shoulder in the right places. 

If there’s one game you can bet on will surely be on the Christmas Day schedule, it’s this one.

 

8:00 pm: Oklahoma City Thunder at Chicago Bulls

Here’s one of the many harsh realities of injuries in the NBA: we’re robbed of electric duels between two All-Stars playing the same position. Since 2011, that’s been the case with Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose.

God-permitting, I’m hoping the two are in tip-top shape come Christmas, with the Thunder and Bulls hopefully squaring off. Kevin Durant vs. Jimmy Butler is also a sneaky good match-up, and so is this: Hoiberg vs. Billy Donovan, in their first NBA Christmas Day games after leaving the NCAA, going up against each other.

 

10:30 pm: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers

What better way to end Christmas than to go back to the scene where the San Antonio Spurs’ championship defense came to a heartbreaking end thanks to a clutch, unbelievable shot by a hobbled Paul?

 

 

These two teams had arguably the greatest first round series in NBA playoff history last season, and with both clubs coming back improved for another go at an NBA title, it’s likely their paths will clash again in another playoff encounter. What better preview for another thrilling 7-game series than to see the two close out the biggest day of the regular season? 

Here’s another interesting tidbit: the Portland Trail Blazers have played on Christmas Day in the past, but rarely – if ever – in the magnitude the Spurs usually deal with, because, of course, they’re the Spurs. How will LaMarcus Aldridge perform in such a situation? Better yet, will it be a preview of what we can expect from him come the playoffs, when the stakes are at their highest as expectations will be championship or bust for Popovich and San Antonio? 

– Rappler.com

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