Armando
11-25-2007, 12:27 PM
Will all that Thanksgiving goodwill make it through the weekend? In the NBA, it's a valid question.
Valid because the season's maiden Florida Bowl comes Saturday night: Pat Riley coaching against Stan Van Gundy for the first time in a game that counts.
We've actually seen a good number of these less-than-festive occasions already considering that no team, as of Friday morning, had played more than 13 games. New York and Denver completed both legs of their season series (and did so brawl-free) by Nov. 17. Utah's Carlos Boozer survived his second career return to the deep scorn of Cleveland on Nov. 16. Boozer's teammate Deron Williams and New Orleans' Chris Paul -- friendly rivals, but you get the gist -- met for the first of their four regular-season hookups that will all be boiled down to a "which one is better?" debate.
The good news, if you're into the grudge thing, is that there's plenty of tension and backstory forthcoming over the next few months. The following 10 such games are the most intriguing we see on the schedule, resulting in a list so packed that it leaves no room for, say, Rick Adelman's return to Sacramento as Houston's coach (Dec. 1) or Zach Randolph's first trip to Portland as a Knick (Feb. 1) or the first Cleveland-San Antonio rematch (Jan. 17) since June's Finals.
In chronological order:
1. Saturday: Miami at Orlando
Riley and Van Gundy are bound to insist, over and over, that coaching against each other -- teams that share a division and a state and which are separated by just 250 miles -- is only a big deal to us media pests. You buyin' that? You buyin' that any more than these guys insisting to this day that Riles taking over the team from SVG in December 2005 was a mutual decision?
2. Dec. 18: Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago (NBA TV)
I'm sure you're well aware that Bulls fans, not ready to give up on their dreams of Chicago trading for the closest thing to Michael Jordan we've ever seen, have been regularly taunting their own struggling players with chants of "Ko-be, Ko-be, Ko-be" at the United Center. But here's something we don't know yet: What happens when Kobe Bryant is actually in the building with the Bulls and those fans?
3. Dec. 25: Phoenix at Los Angeles Lakers
Christmas is saved! Greg Oden isn't making a miracle comeback in time for Seattle at Portland and his first-ever pro showdown with Kevin Durant, no, but Suns at Lakers means Mike D'Antoni vs. Phil Jackson … which might be even better than Riley vs. Van Gundy. Or have you forgotten the stares, gestures and curses tossed back and forth between the coaches in the Lakers' rout at Phoenix on Nov. 2?
4. Jan. 2: Golden State at Dallas (NBA TV)
These teams have already met once since Golden State stunningly ran 67-win Dallas out of the first round last spring. But this rematch is in Dallas and won't exclude Stephen Jackson, who was suspended when the Mavs won, 120-115, in Oakland on Nov. 8. Figure on the Warriors showing up in a party mood, too, since they'll be finishing up a three-game trip with this game and thus celebrating New Year's Eve in Big D.
5. Jan. 4: Miami at Dallas (ESPN)
The distaste these teams still have for each other is as deep as you'll find anywhere, no matter how much time passes in the wake of the 2006 Finals. That should have been clear at the 2007 All-Star Game in Vegas, where the only two players who didn't shake hands before the opening tip were Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. This is the first time since Vegas that those two will be in the same gym.
6. Jan. 16: Golden State at Indiana
Stephen Jackson has indeed been back in Indy since the teams' eight-player trade in January, scoring 36 points in a Warriors cruise at Conseco Fieldhouse on Feb. 5, 2007. But emotions are still pretty raw given the success Captain Jack has found with the Warriors and the Pacers' deepening struggles since he left. So expect another all-night shower of boos for him.
7. Jan. 31: San Antonio at Phoenix (TNT)
Robert Horry hits the desert for the first time since hip-checking Steve Nash in the playoffs, which led Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw to stray far enough from the bench to earn series-turning suspensions. Loathed in these parts for ages, going all the way back to the towel he flipped in the face of then-coach Danny Ainge in 1997, Horry might now be the most unwelcome Phoenix visitor not named David Stern.
8. Feb. 8: Boston at Minnesota (ESPN)
Wolves fans have to wait until the 48th game of Life After KG to see Kevin Garnett back at the Target Center. At least by then we'll know if Wolves front-office chief Kevin McHale traveled to Boston with Minnesota on Jan. 25 to get the standing ovation C's fans are undoubtedly planning for the next time they see him.
9. March 19: Denver at Philadelphia
Philly fans are scoffing at impatient Wolves fans, since they will have waited a full 15 months to see Allen Iverson in person again. The crowd's reaction, Iverson's reaction, what sort of welcome A.I. gets from the Sixers' organization … lots to wonder about in that year-plus.
10. April 13: Dallas at Seattle
Maybe this won't be the Sonics' last game in Seattle. Maybe it really will take the Sonics' new owners two or three more years to move the team to Oklahoma City as they desire. Yet since no one knows for sure, count on the Sonics' home finale to be an emotional event, more emotional than either Rashard Lewis' return with Orlando (Nov. 28) or Ray Allen's return with Boston (Dec. 27).
Valid because the season's maiden Florida Bowl comes Saturday night: Pat Riley coaching against Stan Van Gundy for the first time in a game that counts.
We've actually seen a good number of these less-than-festive occasions already considering that no team, as of Friday morning, had played more than 13 games. New York and Denver completed both legs of their season series (and did so brawl-free) by Nov. 17. Utah's Carlos Boozer survived his second career return to the deep scorn of Cleveland on Nov. 16. Boozer's teammate Deron Williams and New Orleans' Chris Paul -- friendly rivals, but you get the gist -- met for the first of their four regular-season hookups that will all be boiled down to a "which one is better?" debate.
The good news, if you're into the grudge thing, is that there's plenty of tension and backstory forthcoming over the next few months. The following 10 such games are the most intriguing we see on the schedule, resulting in a list so packed that it leaves no room for, say, Rick Adelman's return to Sacramento as Houston's coach (Dec. 1) or Zach Randolph's first trip to Portland as a Knick (Feb. 1) or the first Cleveland-San Antonio rematch (Jan. 17) since June's Finals.
In chronological order:
1. Saturday: Miami at Orlando
Riley and Van Gundy are bound to insist, over and over, that coaching against each other -- teams that share a division and a state and which are separated by just 250 miles -- is only a big deal to us media pests. You buyin' that? You buyin' that any more than these guys insisting to this day that Riles taking over the team from SVG in December 2005 was a mutual decision?
2. Dec. 18: Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago (NBA TV)
I'm sure you're well aware that Bulls fans, not ready to give up on their dreams of Chicago trading for the closest thing to Michael Jordan we've ever seen, have been regularly taunting their own struggling players with chants of "Ko-be, Ko-be, Ko-be" at the United Center. But here's something we don't know yet: What happens when Kobe Bryant is actually in the building with the Bulls and those fans?
3. Dec. 25: Phoenix at Los Angeles Lakers
Christmas is saved! Greg Oden isn't making a miracle comeback in time for Seattle at Portland and his first-ever pro showdown with Kevin Durant, no, but Suns at Lakers means Mike D'Antoni vs. Phil Jackson … which might be even better than Riley vs. Van Gundy. Or have you forgotten the stares, gestures and curses tossed back and forth between the coaches in the Lakers' rout at Phoenix on Nov. 2?
4. Jan. 2: Golden State at Dallas (NBA TV)
These teams have already met once since Golden State stunningly ran 67-win Dallas out of the first round last spring. But this rematch is in Dallas and won't exclude Stephen Jackson, who was suspended when the Mavs won, 120-115, in Oakland on Nov. 8. Figure on the Warriors showing up in a party mood, too, since they'll be finishing up a three-game trip with this game and thus celebrating New Year's Eve in Big D.
5. Jan. 4: Miami at Dallas (ESPN)
The distaste these teams still have for each other is as deep as you'll find anywhere, no matter how much time passes in the wake of the 2006 Finals. That should have been clear at the 2007 All-Star Game in Vegas, where the only two players who didn't shake hands before the opening tip were Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki. This is the first time since Vegas that those two will be in the same gym.
6. Jan. 16: Golden State at Indiana
Stephen Jackson has indeed been back in Indy since the teams' eight-player trade in January, scoring 36 points in a Warriors cruise at Conseco Fieldhouse on Feb. 5, 2007. But emotions are still pretty raw given the success Captain Jack has found with the Warriors and the Pacers' deepening struggles since he left. So expect another all-night shower of boos for him.
7. Jan. 31: San Antonio at Phoenix (TNT)
Robert Horry hits the desert for the first time since hip-checking Steve Nash in the playoffs, which led Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw to stray far enough from the bench to earn series-turning suspensions. Loathed in these parts for ages, going all the way back to the towel he flipped in the face of then-coach Danny Ainge in 1997, Horry might now be the most unwelcome Phoenix visitor not named David Stern.
8. Feb. 8: Boston at Minnesota (ESPN)
Wolves fans have to wait until the 48th game of Life After KG to see Kevin Garnett back at the Target Center. At least by then we'll know if Wolves front-office chief Kevin McHale traveled to Boston with Minnesota on Jan. 25 to get the standing ovation C's fans are undoubtedly planning for the next time they see him.
9. March 19: Denver at Philadelphia
Philly fans are scoffing at impatient Wolves fans, since they will have waited a full 15 months to see Allen Iverson in person again. The crowd's reaction, Iverson's reaction, what sort of welcome A.I. gets from the Sixers' organization … lots to wonder about in that year-plus.
10. April 13: Dallas at Seattle
Maybe this won't be the Sonics' last game in Seattle. Maybe it really will take the Sonics' new owners two or three more years to move the team to Oklahoma City as they desire. Yet since no one knows for sure, count on the Sonics' home finale to be an emotional event, more emotional than either Rashard Lewis' return with Orlando (Nov. 28) or Ray Allen's return with Boston (Dec. 27).