The NBA released the 2011-12 schedule a week ago or so. The schedule came out despite the NBA owners and players being in a labor dispute. Who knows when the lockout will end? All I know is that it will be nasty and I don’t think the season will start on time, and there are many experts saying that the whole season could be missed. So if the lockout continues many of the scheduled games won’t take place, I have no idea how the NBA will handle the schedule then. I think it’s smart for the NBA to release the schedule now since it creates buzz and the hype machine even though the league is still in a lockout.
So don’t get too excited with the release of the schedule , but anyways here are my top 10 games in the month of March.
1.Celtics at Lakers (Mar. 11th) - Any time these two rivals get together it’s a big deal. Many thought that they would play in a third straight NBA finals, but that didn’t happen. Still though both of these fans and players hate each other, and whenever the two best NBA franchises get together it is must watch TV.
2.Celtics at Knicks (Mar. 4th) – Yes, the Knicks are back and the rivalry with the Celtics should heat up. The Celtics defeated the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs last year. Anytime it’s New York against Boston it is must watch TV.
3. Heat at Bulls (Mar. 14th) – This will be a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals, in which the Heat dominated. The problem for the Bulls is they only have 1 superstar compared to the three from the Heat. We will find out if the Bulls have gotten better.
4. Mavericks at Heat (Mar. 29th) – This will be a rematch of last year’s NBA finals in which Dallas won. Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki outplayed Miami’s Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. James came up really small especially in the 4th quarter. Wade and James mocked Nowitzki illness, but still Nowitzki got the last laugh as he was named finals MVP.
5. Lakers at Bulls (Mar. 8th) –This game will be all about Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose. Which superstar will steal the show? This will also be the first time in a while that head coach Phil Jackson isn’t coaching one of these teams.
6.Mavericks at Thunder (Mar. 5th) – Last year the Mavericks defeated the Thunder in the Western Conference finals and went on to win the NBA championship. A year later will the Thunder be able to use their fresh legs to beat the older Mavericks? Kevin Durant wants what Dirk Nowitzki has a ring.
7.Thunder at Lakers (Mar. 29th) – This game is all about the old and the new. The Lakers have been the team to beat in the west for a while now, but they are getting old; Kobe Bryant’s knees are wearing down. The Thunder look to be the team in the future; with superstar Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
8.Spurs at Mavericks (Mar. 17th) - For years the Mavericks couldn’t get past the Spurs in order to reach the NBA finals. Now that the Mavs won the championship last year, they look like the team to make another run at the title. The Mavs may be old, but the Spurs are older.
9. Knicks at Mavericks (Mar. 6th) – The Knicks want to be relevant again; they are getting back to being relevant but it will take time. The Knicks need to look no further than the Mavericks who finally won a NBA title.
10.Celtics at Spurs (Mar. 25th )- Which team will still have it? Both teams have very talented players but they are all getting old. The Spurs have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili. While the Celtics have Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett. Which team will have enough energy to make a playoff run, only time will tell.
Tags: NBA Schedule
