This is the time of the year I pare down my NBA viewing to about three or four games a week as we see the trade deadline on the horizon. This week I read quite a bit and just finished Liz Cheney’s book on January 6th, while at the same time I binge watched True Detective Seasons I & 2. Plus, of course, I’ve attended every OU home game this season. So, yeah, it’s been a busy week for me.
But last night I did take the time to watch this Denver vs. Boston game as if it were in fact a preview of the NBA Finals. And the game led up to its hype.
This was a great game in which Denver made the winning plays down the last four minutes on the road and nudged the Celtics by two points in a regular season thriller.
These are the two teams I circled back just before the season began, and I’m still there at the midway point of the 82 game NBA reagualr season marathon.
Denver to me has the best starting five, the best coach, and the best one-two combo in the league in Jokic and Jamal. Nothing has changed since October which has changed my mind a bit on any of those thoughts.
The Nuggets are tied with the OKC Thunder for second place in the suddenly rugged Northwest Divsion with both teams behind the Minnesota Timberwolves by two games.
For me as a hoops fan this is awesome. OU plays in the Big 12 which is the best hoops league in the country and the Thunder and Nuggets play in what has evolved into the best division in the NBA. This is awesome…my NBA cup runneth over.
But I don’t waste my time watching shitty matchups this far into the NBA season. When the Thunder play a bad team…I quite frankly don’t even watch those games as they to me hold no value whatsoever in judging the young Thunder moving forward.
Coach Michael Malone is the perfect coach for the defending champ Nuggets from my perspective. He’s hungry. He’s still coaching with an edge and something to prove…while quite honestly– it appears both Steve Kerr and Pop should have retired this summer and recharged on a beach somewhere.
As I view the Nuggets…what I’m looking for is their bench. Can Reggie Jackson, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, and perhaps even Deandre Jordan give Michael Malone and his starters a bench like the one they had last season with Bruce Brown.
Biggest NFL week-end of the season is about to begin with the Divisional Round. 28.3 million viewers watched Baker Mayfield and the Bucs eliminate the Eagles on Monday Night Football. My Packers play later today after we get the Ravens and the Texans in Game 1.
I think maybe I’ll grill a small steak, have some veggies, and down this very healthy meal with a Taiwanese beer my son has me drinking in moderation. Nothing like a Taiwanese beer or a Lone Star in a bottle when you’re watching NFL Divisional Round football.
Enjoy the games.
Life is good.
MJ