NBA: Where Shifting Happens

I missed out on last week’s post. Meanwhile, the NBA continued to make headlines. There was a big 3 team trade where Rudy Gay, a highly touted small forward, went to Toronto. Tayshaun Prince and (the corpse of) Austin Daye went to Memphis. Jose Calderon went to the Pistons. Toronto gets a near-star in Gay who will probably do well in the environment. The Memphis Grizzlies get to shed salary, so that they’ll have space to make more roster moves later.

Detroit is the winner for purposes of this column though. They get rid of players who are underperforming and in turn they receive Jose Calderon. Jose Calderon isn’t great by any means, and no one thinks he is a future Hall of Fame player or an All Star. However, he is so much better than what they had at point guard, it’s a drastic improvement. He’s easily the best point guard on the team since Billups went to Denver. The Pistons were unwatchable on offense, even with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond on the team. Now, they won’t make any noise in the playoffs, but at least they’ll be watchable.

In the middle of the NBA season, I try to give you reasons to care about teams and certain matchups, even if those teams aren't title contenders. There are fascinating stories in the league, even now in the middle of the season, and I can’t wait to see how those stories play out.

Monday

NOH @ DET LP 5:30PM

After a paragraph about the Detroit Pistons was there any doubt that they’d be mentioned. Sadly, I can’t tout the Anthony Davis vs. Andre Drummond battle because Drummond is hurt. Luckily both teams should still be interesting.

Tuesday

HOU @ GSW NBATV 8:30PM

Let’s have a flashback to last week. Golden State played against the Houston Rockets and the Rockets lit them up. The Rockets almost set a new record for 3 pointers in a game by any team in NBA history. (The 3 pointer was added in October 1979, so yes, it’s been quite a long time.)  The chances that Golden State comes into this game ready to play are very high. Shocker to no one, NBA TV picked this game up.

Wednesday

CHI @ BOS NBA TV 5:30PM

Wednesday is a rough day for the league. Not a lot of games that pique my interest. But it might be worthwhile to see how the post-Rondo Celtics play against the sans-Rose Bulls. Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose have one of the best legitimate rivalries in the league. The game should be good despite their absence.

Thursday

MIA @ OKC TNT 6PM
LAC @ LAL TNT 8:30PM

Do I need a paragraph for these games. The reigning Western Conference champion is playing against the reigning NBA champion in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals. If that’s not enough the 2 best players in the league, Kevin Durant and LeBron James, will be on the same court matched up against each other.

Then after that matchup, the Battle for LA begins. The Lakers have gotten a lot of attention this year, but quietly, the Clippers are one of the best teams in the conference. Do you think the Clippers would love to crush the Lakers on national TV in the last game before the All Star Break?