Now that we’re set to begin the season’s second act, the NBA has graciously lowered the price of all forms of its League Pass product. By graciously, it should be noted, I mean gracious like raising the overall price of League Pass for a lockout-shortened season and now only dropping the cost because we’ve hit the midway point that is the All-Star break.
But another slap to NBA fans aside — okay, I’ll stop — one of the options of the online component, League Pass Broadband, is to choose five teams to get access to every game instead of the entire league for a discounted price. With around 30 games worth of a sample size for every team in the Association, the question now is this: If you were able to subscribe to five teams in each conference, which would be worth the night-by-night commitment? These are the big choices in life folks, and here are some suggestions.
Eastern Conference.
– New York Knicks. With Linsanity sort of just settling in as a nightly condition in New York, the growing process between all the new and different pieces for the Knicks — ‘Melo, Amar’e, Lin, J.R. Smith, Baron Davis, to start — will probably be the most talked about plot-line as we head towards the postseason. All of the chemistry questions will be highlighted by the fact that if they can figure one another out well enough, nobody will want the Knicks in the playoffs. And that is something different.
– Cleveland Cavaliers. Currently a game-and-a-half behind Boston, the Cavs could be the team most likely to keep the flame under the eight seed’s feet for the remainder of the season. That, and Kyrie Irving really doesn’t look like he’s going to be slowing down anytime soon
– Miami Heat. Because the winners of eight straight are playing so well that an obvious choice becomes even more obvious. I think you’ll find some reasons to watch on a nightly basis, yes?
– Chicago Bulls. The other half of the Eastern Conference Finals pairing that we’re all pretty much expecting should be followed as well, for balance’s sake. The Bulls have played through multiple injuries all season long, so it should be interesting to see them attempt to round into full-strength at the right time. Also, Derrick Rose will be playing basketball, which makes him infinitely more happy than dancing.
– Indiana Pacers. Currently third in the East, Indiana continues to impress by actually meeting their preseason buzz-worthiness so far. Their all-around evenness as a team means the Pacers should likely stay in the race for home-court and be a dangerous, well put together squad once the postseason arrives.
Western Conference.
– Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves are only a game out of the playoffs at this point, and they’ll be the team everyone should want to see sneak in for the simple fact that Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love and the gang are fun to watch almost any single night anyway. Throwing in a little postseason suspense would only make Minnesota — and particularly they’re guns-blazing style — all the more intriguing down the stretch.
– San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs once again have made themselves impossible to ignore and more-so, a legitimate consideration for the best team in the West so far. As we all wait for San Antonio’s final demise of the Duncan Era, the Spurs will make us wait until the playoffs for another season to know their fate. If they can continue on this pace before that, they might force themselves into the favorite spot.
– Oklahoma City Thunder. If the Spurs are on their last run (again), this could be considered Oklahoma City’s first true title push. With the necessary scars of last season’s Western Conference Finals defeat providing the lessons the every NBA contender must learn, and the duo of Durant and Westbrook providing God-knows-what on a nightly basis this year, the Thunder will be expected to be the West’s one seed. Anything further than that could be determined by how they look getting there.
– Los Angeles Clippers. For a consistent West Coast League Pass viewing option, it probably doesn’t get better than Lob City. Aside from that, Chris Paul is taking over games in the fourth quarter — a warmup for postseason ball, no doubt — and the rest of the Clippers have followed his confident, cross lead.
– Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis has tread water pretty well without Zach Randolph, and when he returns the Grizzlies will be at full strength for the first time since last season, pre-Rudy Gay injury. Once Randolph and All-Star Marc Gasol get re-accustommed to playing alongside one another, the Grizzlies will again be a pretty complete team that most will want to avoid as the playoff match-ups take shape.
Griffin Gotta contributes to The Hoop Doctors and is a co-managing editor of Straight Outta Vancouver. The story arcs and infinite weirdness of the NBA are addictions he deals with every day. Email him at griffingotta at gmail dot com.
