As March comes in like a lion, the madness of the NBA that began on Christmas Day marches right on — following a quick pit stop for gas and coffee otherwise known as the All-Star break — into the regular season’s second half. The season is moving at a blistering pace and yet, there of course remains much to be decided and settled. In short, there’s a lot going on, especially with the shadow of the trade deadline growing larger every day. So yeah, for the NBA, March is coming in like a deranged lion on the Serengeti that hasn’t seen a gazelle in weeks. With that, a look at the weekend.
Friday.
Chicago at Cleveland – B-. The skinny of this one is Derrick Rose V. Kyrie Irving. The rest of the story is that oh who am I kidding if you’re watching this you’re probably watching for Rose and Irving. Unless you’re there for Anthony Parker V. Ronnie Brewer, in which case you have a greater internal fortitude than I.
Golden State at Philadelphia – S(mall). Which would be better: Seeing these teams attempt to form big lineups against one another or both squads trying to out-small the other with incredibly crowded perimeters? Let the chess match begin.
Los Angeles Clippers at Phoenix – #FreeSteveNash. You see, Steve Nash? Just handle the whole trade demand thing in a little more Nash-ier manner than Chris Paul did and you could possibly be on a contender too! You know it’s what you want, Steve. And to clarify, by ‘you’ I mean every NBA fan ever.
Saturday.
An Oral History of the Malice at the Palace – READ. Start your Saturday off with one of the worst moments in NBA history. Okay, I realize that may sound like way too much fun for a weekend, but seriously: the work Jonathan Abrams did in this piece in collecting, organizing and retelling the memories of a good portion of the people involved in that infamous night in the league’s history is stunning and gripping and an absolute must-read.
Minnesota at Portland – B. Both teams are currently on the outside of the playoffs by a game or less. These are the sort of games that could come back in the form of a tiebreaker at some point down the line. Remember: You always want to be haunted by friendly ghosts.
Sunday.
New York at Boston – B. The seventh and eighth seeded teams in the Eastern Conference will attempt to climb over one another in avoidance of the Heat and Bulls; they also feel quite different from each other right now, as the Knicks are trying to mold all their talent into the dynamo they could be, while the Celtics probably just want the trade deadline to get the hell over with already.
Miami at Los Angeles Lakers – A. The masked Kobe Bryant is not going to retaliate against Dwyane Wade for making him drink his own sweat. If Gatorade can’t find a commercial somewhere in this, consider it a big opportunity gone by the wayside.
Chicago at Philadelphia – A-. Philly took it to the Bulls in a 98-82 win about a month ago. Derrick Rose does not seem to forget these things.
Denver at San Antonio – B+. It would be nice for the Nuggets to get healthy and back on track soon; when they’re rolling, Denver is one of the most entertaining teams to watch zip up and down the floor. The Spurs are pretty fun too, but everyone knows that, even if few want to admit it.
Enjoy the weekend, all.
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.
