Games To Watch, Week One (10/26-10/31)

I’m going to go ahead and assume that most people don’t care to watch multiple NBA games every single night like I do, I figure most fans will probably just watch one…  that’s why every week I’m going to suggest one game that you should keep an eye on each night.  I will begin with opening week, which starts tonight and goes through the 31st:

Tuesday, October 26th: Miami @ Boston, 7:30 ET, TNT.

This is a no-brainer.  There’s only three games to choose from tonight, the others being Phoenix @ Portland and Houston @ LA.  It’s not that the other two are bad, it’s just that the other two aren’t LBJ/D-Wade/CB4..er..1′s first game together against the East’s defending champs/other big three.  If you don’t tune in for this one you aren’t an NBA fan, period.

Wednesday, October 27th: Chicago @ Oklahoma City, 8:00 ET, ESPN.

Had LeBron kept his talents in Cleveland, my choice probably would’ve been Boston @ Cleveland.  Since LeBron decided to take his talents to South Beach instead, I’ll probably pass on that one.  I’m going to go with Chicago @ Oklahoma City.  Two young teams with high expectations for this season led by two of the most exciting young talents in the league, playing in front of the always-hyped Thunder fans… sounds good to me.  Other decent choices include New York @ Toronto (run-and-gun selection) and Utah @ Denver (these guys just don’t like each other).  If Denver was healthy and I was 100% sure that Melo’s going to give a crap, I probably would’ve chosen that one, but with all the trade talk and no K-Mart/Birdman I’m not sure that the usual grittiness of recent Utah/Denver games will be there.

Thursday, October 28th: Washington @ Orlando, 8:00 ET, TNT.

With only one other game, Phoenix @ Utah, I think this is another no-brainer.  First of all, this is John Wall’s first NBA game.  If watching John Wall play basketball doesn’t excite you, you have no pulse.  Second of all, this will be the first regular season game Agent Zero..er..Nine has played since his suspension!  (Ok, I admit, that doesn’t really excite me either.)  Seeing as Orlando is really good and Washington isn’t, I guess you could argue that Deron Williams vs. Steve Nash should be more exciting, and maybe it will be, but we have seen that 100 times.  John Wall only has one first game, and we have never seen it before and we’ll never see it again.  My true reccomendation for this day: just watch both games, they aren’t on at the same time.

Friday, October 29th: Los Angeles (Clippers) @ Golden State, 10:30 ET, FSPT CSBA.

The obvious choice here is Orlando @ Miami, and that’s a great choice, but it’s not my choice.  If you follow my list you will have already seen one Miami Heat game, so let’s give a couple other teams some love.  Warriors games are rarely not exciting.  They will probably suck, but they make sucking fun to watch.  With Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry on your squad it’s impossible not to entertain.  Throw David Lee and high-flyer Dorrell Wright into the mix, hey, I think I like this team!  As for the Clippers, they may not be all that great either, but they’ve got this guy named Blake Griffin who has looked pretty damn good all preseason long.  He tends to do things like this, things that will make you jump up off your couch and scream “OOOH!”  …and that’s what watching regular season NBA basketball is all about, right?

Saturday, October 30th: Portland @ New York, 8:30 ET, CSNW MSG.

Not much for choices on this particular night, so this is the one I’m rolling with.  Amare Stoudemire is one of my favorite players in the league to watch, and the way he beasted during preseason, I don’t see that changing any time soon.  This is the first time in years that Knicks fans have any real hope of possibly achieving anything at all, and this is NY’s first home game, so the fans should be hyped.  Watching a game played in front of an electric group of fans is always nice.  As for the Blazers, I guess they aren’t known for being fun to watch, but I like them alright.  Andre Miller is my dude, who gets more out of less than he does?  Focus on that and maybe you’ll have as much fun watching him play as I do.  Maybe he’ll score 50 points again.  Yeah, probably not, but the Knicks are still the Knicks, you never know.

Sunday, October 31st: Utah @ Oklahoma City, 7:00 ET, FSUT FSOK.

Yup, I’m going with another Thunder game.  Everyone seems to like the Thunder, so I don’t expect many complaints.  In this one you have two Western Conference playoff teams, two of the most exciting point guards in the game, and the guy who I figure will probably win MVP.  You also have two teams that play “the right way”, so for all of those people out there who diss on NBA basketball for all of your bogus reasons, here’s a good one for you.  For hardcore fans, treat yourself to a nice triple-header on this day: Dallas/LAC, Utah/OKC, LAL/GSW.  All of these games will begin essentially one right after the other, and they all have great entertainment potential.