Reviewing The Best Matchups Of The 2020-21 Season
The NBA released it’s full schedule for the first half of the season (up until March), and there are some very good games on this schedule. Today I will be reviewing the best games of the 2020-21 season (so far).
Opening Night
On December 22nd, the NBA is officially back. And we have two very good games on the schedule. The first game back is Warriors vs Nets.
The Warriors travel to Brooklyn where they meet old friend Kevin Durant. Durant hasn’t played since the 2019 NBA Finals, and Steph Curry hopes to stay healthy as he played just 5 games last season. The Warriors are going to be a playoff team this year, and the Nets are supposed to be contenders. It’ll be interesting to see how new coach Steve Nash and the Nets do in their debut.
And of course, we get the Battle of LA. Probably the best rivalry in the league is the 2nd game of the night. The Clippers will have to watch as the Lakers receive their championship rings. The Lakers are a lot different from last season, as we get to see the new additions of Dennis Schroder and Montrezl Harrell. The Clippers also have some new additions like Luke Kennard and Serge Ibaka, making this matchup a lot different than last season. Will Paul George play like an All-Star, and will Lebron show up to play when the Lakers need him the most? This will be a very good game, and it will be very exciting to watch.
Christmas Games
The NBA gave us 5 really good matchups on Christmas, each of them exciting and interesting in their own way.
The first game on Christmas Day is Pelicans vs Heat. The Pelicans have potential superstar Zion Williamson, and a solid team around him featuring All-Star Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Eric Bledsoe. The Pelicans are a team that could surprise a lot of people this season. The Heat made it to the Finals, using their tight bond and toughness to their advantage. The Heat made some interesting moves this offseason, and it’ll be interesting to see if those moves actually make them a better team.
The 2nd game is Warriors vs Bucks. Curry and the Warriors are looking to bounce back from the bottom of the Western Conference and cause problems. This is like a last chance for the Bucks. The Bucks added Jrue Holiday and a couple of solid bench pieces, trying to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo on the team. Giannis could walk away from the team this offseason, and the Bucks have to win a title this season to keep him.
Kyrie makes his return to Boston on Christmas Day as Brooklyn travels south to face Boston. KD and Kyrie are one of the best duos in the league (on paper), and the Nets are poised to compete for a title. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are lethal in their own way, and even though the Celtics are without Kemba Walker until January, they are still a very good team, making this one heck of a game.
The primetime game of the night is Lakers vs Mavericks. The Mavericks will be without Kristaps Porzingis, but they are still a pretty good team. They added Josh Richardson, and Luka Doncic is an absolute god. The Lakers are the superior team in terms of talent, but don’t count out Luka and the Mavs. This game could be a blowout, but it could be a very intense game.
And the last game of the night is Clippers vs Nuggets. The Clippers got marginally better this offseason, and I expect them to be contending in the Western Conference. The Nuggets got a lot worse this offseason, and they have nobody to try and guard Kawhi and PG on the perimeter. I expect the Clippers to win this matchup, quite easily as the Nuggets have no defensive capabilities to try and stop Kawhi and PG-13.
Best Matchups
Other than Opening Night and Christmas Day, the NBA has some very good matchups.
The Heat travel to LA to take on Lebron and the Lakers, a rematch of the 2020 NBA Finals. These two teams made a lot of moves during the offseason, and they are a lot different from when they last met in the 2020 NBA Finals. This matchup is really even, and I would like to see this matchup on January 21st.
The Hornets travel to New Orleans to take on the Pelicans. 3rd overall pick Lamelo Ball takes on his brother, Lonzo. This will be the first that the two of these guys meet, but I feel like Zion will take some of the limelight. Lonzo isn’t the best player on his team, and Lamelo isn’t even the best player on his team. I doubt that these two brothers will have any sort of duel, it’ll just be the first game that they played against each other.
The Nets travel across the country to take on the Warriors on February 13th. It will be KD’s first game back in Oracle Arena since May 8th, 2019. That was Game 5 of the Western Conference Semi-finals vs the Rockets. The Nets will likely have gotten into some sort of groove in February, and the same goes for the Warriors. So this will be a good matchup as both teams would have found their identities by then.
There are other good games on the schedule, but these are some of the best ones. The NBA has only released part of the schedule due to the uncertainty with Covid-19, so we will likely get even more good games when they release the 2nd half of the schedule.
Which Game Are You Most Excited For? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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