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Sports InsiderTeams to Watch on NBA Friday
November 7th 2008 15:36
Another 13-game NBA playdate. Let's brace ourselves for another treat.
NBA Loud lists the teams to watch later today.
New Orleans Hornets:
The Atlanta Hawks may have outwilled them last time but that doesn't change a thing about this cohesive unit. Look for them to bounce back big time from that loss. Don't expect so much of a tough stand from the Bobcats.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
There will come a time when the Cavs will finally get strings of wins to get themselves on the contenders track. The Indiana Pacers may have proved that they can beat the defending champion Celtics but they couldn't possibly keep that rep for long as the season wores on.
Lebron James is coming off a 41-point explosion and he would love to ride that momentum together with his teammates.
Detroit Pistons:
They are 4-0 then comes Allen Iverson. Finally we'll get to see how the ball will be rolling in Detroit because of his acquisition. New Jersey could have a shot at pulling off an upset on their home floor if they can capitalize on this latest change in the Piston roster.
Boston Celtics:
The defending champs aren't making much noise in our receivers because of that embarassing loss to Indiana but their latest wins against the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder simply catapulted them back into our hot list.
The Milwaukee Bucks are handling themselves quite well thus far early this season but they will surely hit a brick wall in the Celtics now that they are here on the road.
Phoenix Suns:
A couple of days into the new season, Steve Nash said that his team is experiencing an identity crisis. A couple of days further into the season, they start to play like their old dominant selves... though in a different type of pace in their execution. Let's see if they could keep their winning momentum against the young and athletic Chicago Bulls.
Utah Jazz:
We won't be surprised if they go 5-0. The Thunder are big underdogs and the Jazz has yet to slack off in one of their games. Deron Williams need not to force himself back so soon.
Denver Nuggets:
The only reason we included them in this list is the anticipation of Chauncey Billups' homecoming. Let's see how he will affect Nuggets basketball on his arrival.
Houston Rockets:
Rafer Alston was right when he said that his team has to move on. Losing back-to-back close games shouldn't damper their stock. As long as injuries to key players leaves them be this season, they will always be favorites. Taking on the groggy Clippers is their opportunity to rack successive wins again.
_____________________________ ___________
And on this corner, instead of analyzing the chances of the favorite team, we will be taking a peak at the game of the night.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors
Just as we said the last time, if the Hawks beat the Hornets, we will place them in a higher plateau. Surprise! surprise! its Hawks 87 Hornets 79 the Atlanta stock upgade well deserved.
On the contrary, the Raptors are coming off their first loss of the season in the hands of the Detroit Pistons and they are headed to Atlanta to face a team that is showing a lot of spunk to start the season.
We will be looking at this match-up with equal regard for both teams given that Toronto is just as potent as the Hawks on a good day and Atlanta is running on so much emotion and momentum yet they aren't really expected to start like this very early.
The player match-up's will be really intriguing. It'll be very interesting to see how the Hawks frontline will respond to Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal and how the Raptors will handle Joe Johnson's offensive forays. Who's going to be the x-factor? Is it going to be Zaza Pachulia's hard-nosed stand in the paint? Or will it be Anthony Parker's defense at 2-guard.
We will all see how it all boils down tonight.
photo courtesy of NBAE via Getty Images
Jose Calderon with a jump pass over Joe Johnson. The Raptors and the Hawks battle it out tonight in a game of Eastern Conference playoff contenders.
NBA Loud lists the teams to watch later today.
New Orleans Hornets:
The Atlanta Hawks may have outwilled them last time but that doesn't change a thing about this cohesive unit. Look for them to bounce back big time from that loss. Don't expect so much of a tough stand from the Bobcats.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
There will come a time when the Cavs will finally get strings of wins to get themselves on the contenders track. The Indiana Pacers may have proved that they can beat the defending champion Celtics but they couldn't possibly keep that rep for long as the season wores on.
Lebron James is coming off a 41-point explosion and he would love to ride that momentum together with his teammates.
Detroit Pistons:
They are 4-0 then comes Allen Iverson. Finally we'll get to see how the ball will be rolling in Detroit because of his acquisition. New Jersey could have a shot at pulling off an upset on their home floor if they can capitalize on this latest change in the Piston roster.
Boston Celtics:
The defending champs aren't making much noise in our receivers because of that embarassing loss to Indiana but their latest wins against the Houston Rockets and the Oklahoma City Thunder simply catapulted them back into our hot list.
The Milwaukee Bucks are handling themselves quite well thus far early this season but they will surely hit a brick wall in the Celtics now that they are here on the road.
Phoenix Suns:
A couple of days into the new season, Steve Nash said that his team is experiencing an identity crisis. A couple of days further into the season, they start to play like their old dominant selves... though in a different type of pace in their execution. Let's see if they could keep their winning momentum against the young and athletic Chicago Bulls.
Utah Jazz:
We won't be surprised if they go 5-0. The Thunder are big underdogs and the Jazz has yet to slack off in one of their games. Deron Williams need not to force himself back so soon.
Denver Nuggets:
The only reason we included them in this list is the anticipation of Chauncey Billups' homecoming. Let's see how he will affect Nuggets basketball on his arrival.
Houston Rockets:
Rafer Alston was right when he said that his team has to move on. Losing back-to-back close games shouldn't damper their stock. As long as injuries to key players leaves them be this season, they will always be favorites. Taking on the groggy Clippers is their opportunity to rack successive wins again.
_____________________________ ___________
And on this corner, instead of analyzing the chances of the favorite team, we will be taking a peak at the game of the night.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Toronto Raptors
Just as we said the last time, if the Hawks beat the Hornets, we will place them in a higher plateau. Surprise! surprise! its Hawks 87 Hornets 79 the Atlanta stock upgade well deserved.
On the contrary, the Raptors are coming off their first loss of the season in the hands of the Detroit Pistons and they are headed to Atlanta to face a team that is showing a lot of spunk to start the season.
We will be looking at this match-up with equal regard for both teams given that Toronto is just as potent as the Hawks on a good day and Atlanta is running on so much emotion and momentum yet they aren't really expected to start like this very early.
The player match-up's will be really intriguing. It'll be very interesting to see how the Hawks frontline will respond to Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal and how the Raptors will handle Joe Johnson's offensive forays. Who's going to be the x-factor? Is it going to be Zaza Pachulia's hard-nosed stand in the paint? Or will it be Anthony Parker's defense at 2-guard.
We will all see how it all boils down tonight.
photo courtesy of NBAE via Getty Images
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