There is a tasty tradition in the NBA world. Christmas time doesn’t merely mean Santa Claus, wrapped gifts, and tree decorations, but also clashes between the strongest competitors. In the land where spectacle reigns supreme, it’s not surprising to find the NBA offering special surprises to its fans.
Miami put their perfect home record to the test when hosting Western Conference leaders Los Angeles Lakers at the AmericanAirlines Arena. The Heat have been imperious at this venue with their 11-0 record, but come up against a formidable LA side who have only tasted one defeat from 13 away matches.
The West was impossible to win for a long while with Golden State winning the Conference Finals five years in a row. The new season though also signifies the end of the superteam era, paving the way for a new challenger to claim the throne in the West.
Boston will aim to continue their flawless home record when they host fellow high-flyers Denver in a highly-anticipated clash at TD Garden. The Celtics have seen off some of the bigger hitters already at this venue, defeating defending champions Toronto, Milwaukee and, most recently, Miami.
Punters have the rare chance to back the Los Angeles Lakers as underdogs when they face the Utah Jazz tonight. The Lakers have the joint-best record in the NBA this season and are comfortably leading the way in the Western Conference.
This time around, the Eastern Conference looks ready to go head-to-head with the Western Conference. With the number of All-Stars growing in the East, it seems that teams will no longer bow down before the West – something Eastern teams did in previous years before even entering the court. Among all these strong teams emerging in the East, which will be the one to dominate the regular season, and will it be the same one to reach the Conference Finals?
Boston take on Brooklyn for the second time in three days as the NBA resumes after a Thanksgiving Day break. A fit-again Kemba Walker scored 39 points on Wednesday night as the Celtics eased to a 121-110 success at home, but the Nets will hope to now gain revenge in front of their own fans.
The Los Angeles Lakers continue to lead the way in the Western Conference and are firm favourites to extend their winning run to nine matches. It has been a more difficult start to the season for the New Orleans Pelicans, who are 11th in the same conference with only six wins from 17 matches.
Milwaukee will aim for their sixth successive win when they host the struggling Portland Trail Blazers. The home fans will be expecting to see a dominant Bucks side, who sit in second place in the Eastern Conference ahead of just their fifth match at the Fiserv Forum and have won nine of their last 10 games.
Chances are, if you’re into basketball, that you know all about the NBA All-Star weekend game, but in case you don’t, here’s a brief summary. Taking place each year just before the playoffs, it pits the best NBA players against each other. Although last year saw a change in the institution with Team Lebron competing against Team Giannis, the All-Star used to feature the best players from each Conference putting on display their impressive skills. So, what’s the All-Star game’s significance in this context?
Kristaps Porzingis will expect a hostile atmosphere when he arrives at Madison Square Garden for the first time since his trade to the Dallas Mavericks from the New York Knicks. The 2015 fourth overall draft pick moved to Dallas on January 31 after requesting a trade, despite being sidelined with an ACL injury.
Los Angeles Clippers will look to continue their fine start to the NBA season when they host Portland Trail Blazers at the Staples Center. The Clippers sit in fifth place after five wins from their opening eight matches and take on Western Conference rivals Portland, who are just adrift at 4-3.
An out-of-sorts Golden State Warriors travel to the Toyota Center against an underachieving Houston Rockets side in an intriguing clash on Thursday evening. Both sides were expected to be among the front-runners in the hunt for the NBA crown, but they have already had bumps in their respective roads during the early stages of the campaign.
The basketball landscape has shifted considerably. NBA has called a timeout on Superteams, and now it’s the time for the ’Super Duos’’ to enter the court. Plenty of exciting pairings are meant to emerge this season, so take a front seat on dramatic plays that may last an eternity.