Games To Watch, Week Four (1/16-1/22)

Monday, January 16th: Nets @ Clippers, 3:30 ET, NBALP: Am I serious?  Yes, I am serious.  Chris Paul is questionable and the Nets are a trainwreck… why in the world would I tell you to watch this game?  Well, first of all, you probably haven’t even seen the Nets this year.  Why not watch them once?  MarShon Brooks is worth your time, and you’ll get a laugh or two out of Shelden Williams.  Most importantly, though, you should watch this game because Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan could go absolutely ham on these scrubs.  They don’t need Chris Paul to feed them in this one, so whether or not he plays is a nonfactor.  I want to see flashes of last year’s Clippers; Blake Griffin on every possession with DeAndre Jordan cleaning up whatever messes he makes.  I swear, Chauncey, if you even think about trying to put up a bunch of points against a crappy opponent…

Tuesday, January 17th: Clippers @ Jazz, 9:00 ET, NBALP: I’m just going to let you all know right now: I’m rolling with the Clippers three times this week.  Sorry, but it’s more about their opposition than it is about them.  As of right now, this is a match up of the West’s third and fourth ranked squads.  The Jazz are playing excellent ball right now, having won 8 of their last 10.  This should be one hell of a battle in the paint.  You’ve got the hard-working Paul Millsap matched up with the gifted Blake Griffin at the power forward spot, and then you’ve got Al Jefferson and his grounded, fundamental game against the hyper-athletic DeAndre Jordan.  Hopefully CP will be ready to roll so we can see both teams at full strength. 

Wednesday, January 18th: Nuggets @ Sixers, 7:00 ET, NBALP: The Nuggets and Sixers have my favorite bench units in the entire league.  I think the Sixers have the better group of reserves, but not by a whole lot.  Al Harrington, Rudy Fernandez, and Andre Miller have all made excellent contributions thus far, and guys like Birdman and Corey Brewer are capable.  The starters aren’t half bad themselves.  Ty Lawson and Jrue Holiday make for an interesting match up of diminutive point guards.  This should be an energetic game with lots of up-and-down action.

Thursday, January 19th: Lakers @ Heat, 8:00 ET, TNT: If Kobe’s 40-point streak is still alive and the Heat come in on a four-game losing streak… the (basketball) world could very well come to an end in 2012.  Kobe drops 40+ as LeBron misses a potential game-tying freethrow with no time left on the clock?  It’s over, folks.

Friday, January 20th: Timberwolves @ Clippers, 10:30 ET, ESPN: Lob City South vs Lob City North.  Must-see TV, mark it on your calendar, be there or be square, if you don’t like that you don’t like NBA basketball… etc.

Saturday, January 21st: Nuggets @ Knicks, 7:30 ET, NBATV: I’m not particularly excited about any of this Saturday’s 10 games, but at least this one’s got the whole Knicks/Nuggets subplot.  Too bad it’s not in Denver.  Melo’s set to get it worse than Vince Carter when he makes his return.

Sunday, January 22nd: Pacers @ Lakers, 9:30 ET, NBALP: I’m curious to see how Roy Hibbert will perform against Andrew Bynum.  I guess I’m curious to see how Bynum performs against Hibbert as well.  Hibbs is one of the few guys in the league with the size and length necessary to compete with him physically.  The Pacers are third in the East as of right now and boast a better record than the Lakers do, but the Cleveland f@cking Cavaliers might be the second-best team they’ve beaten thus far.  The Lakers will certainly be a test like none other they’ve faced thus far.