FanPost

mchiodo's Weekly NBA Roundup



Hi, I'm mchiodo. I thought this would be a fun little idea, for you to read and me to write. I'm going to leave a poll at the bottom on whether or not you would like me to continue writing these weekly. Basically, I'm going to go through the top NBA matchups, player wise and team wise, the most fun teams to watch, and other rankings once a week. I'll also pick the top Sixers or NBA news story and discuss it. I'm going to write this article based on the week from 12/18-12/24. Most weeks will be all 7 days, but I wanted to save Christmas for next week(if there is one). So, give this article a try and give me your feedback on whether I should continue into the future.

Top Matchups this week:

12/18- Thunder at Warriors, 10:30 PM EST, TNT.

This is a must watch. It is on national TV, and features MVP candidate Steph Curry, along with soon to be MVP candidates Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. The Westbrook-Curry matchup will be a great thing to see. More on that later. I'm taking the Warriors in a shootout.

12/19- Blazers at Spurs, 8:00 PM EST, ESPN

Again, a top matchup. A rematch of the Western Conference Semi Finals matchup in 2013, which the Spurs took 4-1 in a dominating performance. But the Blazers are a different team. Chris Kaman has been a very nice addition. In the end, this is a very close mathcup. I'll take the Spurs.

12/20- Hawks at Rockets, 8:00 PM EST

This may not scream must see TV, but this is a matchup between two top teams in their conferences. Granted, the West is much better than the East, but still two good teams. Assuming Dwight Howard plays, the Howard vs Horford matchup will be interesting. Horford and the Hawks are a team quietly sneaking under the radar this year. The casual NBA fan probably thinks of them as a fringe playoff team, when in reality they have been playing like a dangerous playoff team. Despite this, I'm taking the Rockets in a close one.

12/20- Spurs at Mavericks, 8:30 PM EST

Oh boy. Rajon Rondo's first game in Dallas, teaming up with Dirk, Monta Ellis, and Chandler Parsons. I'm not the biggest Rondo fan, but he put up 10.8 assists per game on a team where his top options were Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger. Nice players, but no stars. Can you imagine what he could put up with Dirk and Monta Ellis? His scoring will go down, but the assists could skyrocket. That said, it'll take some time to mesh with his Mavs teammates. That's why I'm taking the Spurs in this one, even with Duncan potentially resting.

12/21- Grizzlies at Cavs, 4:30 EST

No shame if you skip out on this one. I know I will. Colts-Cowboys is on at the same time. But, this is certainly a matchup you will want to catch the highlights of. The Grizzlies snapped the Warriors long winning streak on Wednesday, and are legit. But I really think LeBron will be too much for the Grizzlies, who will be coming up a tough matchup two days earlier.

12/22- Clippers at Spurs, 8:30 PM EST

More Spurs! But really, what a tough stretch for the Spurs. Blazers, Mavs, Clippers, and then OKC on Christmas. That's what you get for being in the West. I think the Clippers should handle the Spurs rather easily, as San Antonio will be playing their 3rd game in 4 days, with all 3 against championship contenders.

12/23- Bulls at Wizards, 7:00 PM EST

Assuming Derrick Rose is healthy, which is far from certain, this has the makings of a great game. Rose vs Wall. Beal vs Butler. Gortat vs Noah. In the end, it comes down to Rose. If Rose plays, I take the Bulls in a close one. If he's out, Wizards blow out Chicago.

12/23- Blazers at Thunder, 8:00 PM EST

Another top match up, Lilliard and the Blazers travel to OKC to take on Durant and the Thunder. A lot of good match ups in this game, but I think that this is a shootout. Whichever team wins the point guard match up wins this game. I think the Thunder win the match up and game.

12/23- Clippers at Hawks, 7:30 PM EST

The Clippers are the better team. They are more talented. This will be a very fun game to watch. I think the Clippers, looking ahead to the Christmas Day match up with Golden State, drop this one.

Best Player Matchups at each position:

I will give you the best matchup at every position, then give you a "Wild Card(A very good matchup left off), and a "Wait and See(Matchup that could be very good, but could flop)

PG: Steph Curry vs Russell Westbrook

SG: Jimmy Butler vs Bradley Beal

SF: Nicolas Batum vs Kevin Durant

PF/C: Blake Griffin vs Tim Duncan

PF/C: Anthony Davis vs Serge Ibaka

Wild Card: Klay Thompson vs Kobe Bryant

Wait and See: Rajon Rondo vs Tony Parker (Gotta see how Rondo meshes with new teammates)

5 Most Fun teams to Watch:

This is RIGHT NOW, not in a week, so the Rondo trade was not counted.

5. LA Clippers

Love watching Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Other than that, though, not a ton of must see guys.

4. Washington Wizards

John Wall by himself makes this team a blast to watch. Throw in Bradley Beal, Marcin Gortat, and Nene and you've got a fun team.

3. Portland Trail Blazers

Damian Lilliard and LaMarcus Aldridge. Enough said.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers

Kyrie Irving, LeBron, and Kevin Love. Hell, even Dion Waiters and Anderson Varejo are fun to watch on some nights.

1. Golden State Warriors

SPLASH BROS. You've got offense. Defense. Three point shooting. Assists. What more do you want?

Close but no cigar: Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, OKC Thunder, Memphis Grizzlies, San Antonio Spurs.

MVP Watch:

5. LeBron James: Expect him to make a rapid race to the top, but not yet.

4. Marc Gasol: Gasol has been outstanding on both sides of the ball so far this year.

3. Anthony Davis: Davis has cooled off a little bit, but that's not saying much. Still, expect guys like LeBron and Durant to pass him soon.

2. James Harden: Harden is the NBA's leading scorer so far this year, and has led the Rockets to a 20-5 record despite being without Dwight Howard for a decent amount of the year.

1. Steph Curry: Curry has been remarkable this year. He's so fun to watch. Him and Klay Thompson are a match made in Heaven. The only guys who could pass Curry are Durant and LeBron.

That'll do it. In later weeks, there will be more rankings and analysis. Did you enjoy? Tell me below if I should continue.

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