Hip hip hooray, the NBA season is right around the corner! Men and women jump for joy. The best brand of basketball this planet has to offer is just over two months away.
The league has carefully etched out the new season's schedule with the intentions of exploiting the juicy stories left over from last season.
LeBron James decided to take his talents back to Ohio during the off season. As a result the league has decided to take the national audience back to Ohio. If the Kevin Love trade goes through as expected, the league just may find a way to squeeze the Cavaliers into a few more nationally televised slots. Nationally broadcast games are important to professional sports leagues. This is the leagues opportunity to showcase their brand.
The Eastern Conference is like a J.V league in comparison to the Western Conference. This could be the reason the N.B.A decided to only have teams from the west play on opening night. Players from the Eastern Conference should take this as a slap in the face.
The San Antonio Spurs, the leagues defending champions open up the season at home against the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs were the best team in the league last season wire to wire. This year they open the season against the same team that took them to seven games in the first-round of the playoffs. The Mavericks added Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons and Raymond Felton in the off season. Dallas is poised to take the Spurs spot as kings out west.
The Chicago Bulls were serious candidates in the Carmelo Anthony sweepstakes this past summer. The New York Knicks open the season at home on October 29th against the Bulls. Phil Jackson will begin his first full season in the Knicks front office against the team he guided to six championships during the 90's. Derrick Rose is looking to regain MVP form. Chicago, along with Cleveland are favorites to win the east. This is definitely a statement game for New York.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors will rekindle their rivalry on Christmas day. This is arguably the most exciting rivalry in the N.B.A right now. These two teams don't like one another. The two franchises aren't shy about expressing their disdain for the other.
LeBron will be taking his talents to South Beach for Christmas. Ohio is cold around the holiday season. I'm sure LeBron won't mind a mini vacation. He's likely grown accustomed to the beautiful weather the city of Miami has to offer. Christmas day is important for the N.B.A. Michael Jordan played every Christmas. Kobe Bryant took over that role after Michael called it quits. Now that LeBron is the clear cut best player in the league, playing on Christmas is almost guaranteed.
John Wall and company must have really sent a lasting impression with their surprise run last postseason. The Washington Wizards will travel to New York to take on the Knicks on Christmas day. The Wizards have been irrelevant since Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton tried to turn the team plane into the wild wild west. John Wall and Bradley Beal are both potential all-stars. Basketball is back in the nation's capital. Barack Obama will not have to travel far to see a marquee match-up this season.
Jump for joy, The N.B.A is almost back.
No comments:
Post a Comment