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The NBA created some buzz this past week by revealing the Christmas Day slate of games and
then the regular season schedule. A near perfect day of games, with tons of star power. Our
first matchup is Trae Young vs. New York Knicks. Young led the Atlanta Hawks to the Eastern
Conference finals. A key series was round 1, helping the Hawks eliminate Julius Randle’s New
York Knicks. No one expected the Atlanta Hawks to make it as far as they did. After game one
we get Boston Celtics vs. the defending champions, Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo
looking to keep the momentum going a year after winning his first Finals and Finals MVP. New
head coach and dynamic young core, Celtics look to bounce back from a down year. Jaylen
Brown and Jayson Tatum lead this young team with Al Horford coming back as well. Can Ime
Udoka get these underachievers back to the Eastern Conference Finals? Next up at 4pm CST,
the Golden State Warriors tip-off against the Phoenix Suns. A crushing defeat in the NBA finals
but a new contract extension for Chris Paul, he looks to get back to the big dance. Facing off
against the Splash Bro’s back in action for the first time since 2019. My Western Conference
Final pick, I expect nothing less than fireworks. A healthy Klay Thompson and this Warriors is
back to being the scary monster of the west. Continuing on, if both teams can stay healthy in
the playoffs, these next two teams I believe would make the Finals against each other. That is a
big IF, as these 2 teams are a bit older and have been bitten with the injury bug. For example,
Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis missed significant time this past playoff. Lastly supermax Luka
Doncic faces off verse the 2020-2021 Western Conference regular season winners the Utah
Jazz. Not the flashiest of games, I would have preferred a Mavericks and Pelicans matchup.
Nonetheless we all still get Luka Doncic who has been growing more and more popular each
year with his style of play. Being the one man show in Dallas will need more help but can easily
be the NBA MVP by seasons end.
Additionally, The NBA has just released the full 2021-2022 NBA regular season schedule. The
highlight of the schedule being released, are the games opening night/week. October 19 th, we
get, what I think, will be both Conference Finals matchups. Kevin Durant and Giannis
Antetokounmpo going head-to-head. As both being discussed as the “World’s best basketball
player” this past offseason. One thing the NBA has been doing well the past decade is
marketing and having some of the best players to advertise. This keeps the regular season
interesting after we saw a time when it was inevitable that the finals would look more or less
what we thought it would. With teams being a little more evened out, other than the “Super
Team” in Brooklyn. Which they fell short of the Conference Finals last year due to injuries. What
I am saying is, although they’re still ways away from the NFL, the NBA has shown why it is the
number 2 rated sport in the Country. Strategically putting the Golden State Warriors vs the Los
Angeles Lakers. Steph Curry who single handedly got the Warriors into a play-in game, looks to
be back to his MVP form, and gets his lethal shooting partner back in Klay Thompson.
Thompson was sidelined with injuries for almost 2 seasons now. I can’t forget LeBron James on
the other side. James is motivated as he has heard clamoring about if he is washed up. Doubts
that the newly acquired Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony won’t be enough to help
LeBron and Anthony Davis bring another title to Los Angeles. As long as we keep getting games
with the best stories, NBA will continue to bring in viewership and maintain the massive market
share that they have.
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