General

Can’t-Miss Cult Games on the NBA Schedule

Aug 4, 2009, 6:34 PM UTC

There are important games, those that determine the fate of the future.â†µAnd then there are hidden gems, cult classics, match-ups that most ofâ†µthe world only discovers the next day as eye-popping box scores (theyâ†µbarely crack the highlight packages). Out of marketing savvy or sheerâ†µperversion, these games—which almost invariably take place onâ†µweeknights—are my domain. Here are some underground bangerz I’m lookingâ†µforward to on the 2009-10 schedule, with the caveat that some of theseâ†µcould prove to be utterly unwatchable.â†µ
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â†µNov. 6, Bucks at Wolves: What makes this one golden is thatâ†µit’ll kick whether or not Ricky Rubio ever finds his way over to theseâ†µshores. Perhaps you remember how Brandon Jennings was snubbed not once,â†µbut twice, by the Wolves. Okay, so maybe they had to take Rubio, ifâ†µnothing else for (cough*demographic*cough) marketing reasons. There, isâ†µhowever, something of a rivalry brewing there. Then they had to go andâ†µtake Jonny Flynn, which served no purpose but to slight Jennings, sinceâ†µit’s not like Flynn can handle the two or is more talented thanâ†µJennings. Rubio vs. Jennings is important, but if Kahn were reallyâ†µdaring, he would’ve put them on the same team.
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â†µNo one yet knows how Milwaukee will shape up this season. It’s hard toâ†µimagine things going totally smoothly between him and Skiles, butâ†µownership seems intent on letting Jennings run the show. They’ve givenâ†µhim athletic finishers in Hakim Warrick and Amir Johnson, and a dynamicâ†µPG would, in the best sense possible, put Michael Redd and Andrew Bogutâ†µin their place. Meanwhile, you’ve got this extremely promisingâ†µline-up—with Skiles making sure they’ll play someâ†µdefense—going straight at a murky, still coach-less, Wolves team, withâ†µJennings potentially getting the chance to show up both those PGsâ†µpicked ahead of him. Who says swagger doesn’t sell?â†µ
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â†µJan. 22, Lakers at Knicks: Even before Lamar Odom said it,â†µI was pushing the theory that he and Artest made the Lakers theâ†µleague’s most New York team, especially as the Knicks remain onlyâ†µsemi-relevant and don’t really have any tangible connection to the NYCâ†µgrassroots, or even the city game. However, I totally forgot that Philâ†µJackson was a member of the most Knick-y Knicks teams of them all,â†µarguably the one that put that franchise on the map (sorry, Starks).â†µThanks to Dan and Kenâ†µfor reminding me. We haven’t seen a symbolic moment like this sinceâ†µMarbury came to the Knicks and said it was a dream come true, whichâ†µmade everyone wonder if that team and the most visible “New York”â†µplayer in the league could seek rebirth together.â†µ
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Thatâ†µdidn’t work out, and for better or worse, there’s really no effectiveâ†µcounter to the symbolic importance of Odom, Ron-Ron and Phil coming toâ†µthe Garden. They will get booed, but some will shed tears. Plus,â†µbecause there’s this whole thing about New York as a basketball city,â†µand Knicks fans as knowledgeable, there’s going to be plenty of talkâ†µabout the issue as if to prove that 1. NYK fans haven’t lost touch withâ†µreality after all these years of weirdness and 2. “The Mecca” stillâ†µmeans something, even if it involves paying tribute to today’s enemies.â†µAnyway, expect some highly emotive quotes from Odom, Artest doingâ†µsomething really weird when he’s introduced and Phil taking photos forâ†µa new book while too banged-up to coach.
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â†µIf nothing else, Spike will get it.â†µ
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â†µJan. 26, Warriors at Kings: Both Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curryâ†µwere highly-regarded guards in this lottery. Neither is a true PG, butâ†µeach will be expected by their current team to shoulder a lot of thatâ†µload as a rookie. There’s another crucial difference: Evans is aâ†µstrong, aggressive, lanky anvil of a guard who frankly abused theâ†µsummer league competition. Curry is a three-point specialist whoâ†µhandled the ball a lot for a middling school, and in Vegas looked likeâ†µa gunner with PR. Now granted, Evans went fourth overall, above evenâ†µteen idol Ricky Rubio, and Curry fell unexpectedly to the Warriors atâ†µseventh. But they were seen as neck-in-neck for some time, and watchingâ†µEvans steamroll Curry could be an important lesson to scoutsâ†µeverywhere.â†µ
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â†µOr who knows, maybe I am totally wrong about Curry, and he’llâ†µemerge as a mini-Kevin Martin before our very eyes. That would makeâ†µGolden State’s lineup even more confusing than usual, but it might beâ†µthe best case for him, since he’s no playmaker and will have to thriveâ†µon high-percentage shooting and crafty scoring if he’s going to be moreâ†µthan a role player. Also, if Curry matched up with Martin, then you’dâ†µget Monta Ellis—presumably healthy by now—and Evans going head-to-head,â†µwhich would be some serious fireworks and a real test of both Ellis’sâ†µdefensive mettle and Evans’s ability to keep up with one of theâ†µleague’s most explosive young scorers.
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â†µSome other notes:â†µ
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â†µ1. “Warrior Kings” is always a good reason to do anything.â†µ2. As Anthony Randolph turns into the next Garnett, games like theseâ†µwill be the real taste of things to come. I like Jason Thompson andâ†µgrudgingly respect Spencer Hawes, but Randolph will Heisenberg themâ†µragged, if that’s even a basketball term. 3. I once saw these two teamsâ†µput up an 86-80 half. R. Kelly’s “Fiesta” was on the jukebox and Iâ†µwondered if someone was playing an elaborate prank on me.â†µ4. Francisco Garcia is my favorite player no one cares about, and whenâ†µthe tempo increases, he looks up and sees a different sky than the restâ†µof us. Especially since Ziller just told me that he thinks this is Garcia’s year. â†µ
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â†µMar. 19, Bobcats at Hawks: A perennial favorite of mine, oneâ†µthat has changed shape over the years as the Hawks have grown into aâ†µplayoff team and the Bobcats fell into the hands of MJ and Larry. Itâ†µused to be a super-stupid shootout that lead to embarrassment for bothâ†µcoaches. Now it’s basketball royalty trying to usurp a semi-regionalâ†µsemi-rival, trying to play catch-up and make it a real rivalry again.â†µOr actually, since before it was totally bastard basketball of theâ†µhighest order, attain the high standard the Hawks have since moved upâ†µto. I can’t say I didn’t prefer the wide-open groove-fest Hawks/Bobcatsâ†µused to promise, but if there’s ever a possession where Jamal Crawfordâ†µdrives on Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler, someone needs to take aâ†µpicture and send it to me. That’s like the Loch Ness monster of myâ†µbasketball world.
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