the top 5 games of the week

Thursday 25th December 2008: New Orleans (16-7) @ Orlando (21-6)

New Orleans
New Orleans has quietly gone about their business. While everybody is talking about the Lake Show, Cavs, Celts, LeBron and DWade, New Orleans has won 11 of their last 13 and 4 in a row. Chris Paul is playing MVP competitor ball again, and the team do not need to worry when their bench comes on. Antonio Daniels, Posey, Hilton Armstrong and Sean Marks are all doing a fantastic job and are playing very well from the bench. Everybody is contributing, and COY Byron Scott must be loving it.

"I like the fact that we've crept up and nobody is really talking about it. Everybody is talking about the Lakers and the Celtics and the Cavaliers." ~Byron Scott

Orlando
After wins against the Blazers, Jazz, Spurs and Lakers, in the past week or so, you would expect the entire NBA community to be buzzing over the Magic and their success. Again, they really don't seem to get the same coverage as the Lakers, Celtics or Cavaliers. At least this season the NBA knows they are right there though. As usual the big 3 are playing out of their skin and playing fantastic basketball. Not just that, but Jameer Nelson is playing some real quality basketball and has stepped his game up a notch since seasons past. The bench is starting to contribute quite well as well. Pietrus, Battie and even little known Gortat are playing better than usual off the bench. Battie gives that impact that they didn't have last season. A player that won't have Magic fans sweating nearly as profusely when Dwight takes a break.

"We feed off of that flying-under-the-radar stuff. It feeds our fire. Keep pouring gasoline on the fire. It's going to keep flaming up." ~Rashard Lewis

Prediction
These two teams are under-the-radar on a relative level compared with the buzz following Boston, Los Angeles and Cleveland. It should all come together for a Christmas day battle that will be great to watch. Orlando is coming off a streak of wins against top teams and has an 11-3 record at home. New Orleans is also red-hot winning 11 of their last 13. This game should be a cracker, in a close one I have to go with the home team -- Orlando. I wouldn't be surprised no matter which way this one goes, will be a great game either way.

Monday 22nd December 2008: Portland (17-10) @ Denver (17-10)
Tuesday 23rd December 2008: Denver (17-10) @ Portland (17-10)

Portland
Before the season started many predicted that Portland would build on their .500 record from last season and continue to improve. But Portland has emerged as a top team in the West. They have turned the Northwest Division from the weakest division, to one of the most competitive. They have 5 rookes - Batum, Rodriguez, Bayless, Oden and Fernandez - and they are all playing quite well. This team is very young, but they have the pure talent and ability to go along with it. The rise and rise of Portland is a great story for the NBA and has unveiled a future face of the league in Brandon Roy.

"These are huge games for us, even though they're early in the season. We'd love to sweep them, and we can't afford to get swept." ~Brandon Roy

Denver
Chauncey Billups has been like a God-send for Denver. But that hasn't stopped them from losing their last three games against top teams. They lost by 12 on the road to Houston, got thumped by Cleveland at home and lost on the road to Phoenix. Denver could have been 19-8, had they gone 2-1 on that tough strech. That would have them with the elite teams and in the West two wins could make the difference between 5th and 6th seed, or 2nd and 3rd seed. These two games, while very early in the season, could turn out to be very important. Right now if one team wins both they will take the lead in the division as well.

"We're beating ourselves a little bit," ~ George Karl (On his team having 20 turnovers.)

Prediction
Nothing like a divisional home and away back-to-back matchup. Both teams will look to make their home ground their fortress. In the first game Denver will be back at home and look to make amends for their past losses. Denver matches up quite well against Portland, with Billups against Blake and Anthony against Batum. Portland also has Roy up against Jones. I can really see the impact of the stars and the big men deciding the games. A big defensive game from Nene could turn it, or possibly a huge game from Aldridge could swing it Portland's way. For the first game, I am going Denvers way. Back at home, I think they can turn it around, even against a very hot Portland team. For the second game, I think Portland will have a healthy win against Denver. It is their home ground, the teams are close. I can see Denver potentially losing two in a row, but not Portland, not at this stage.



Thursday 25th December 2008: Boston (26-2) @ Los Angeles (21-5)

Boston
Yes, everyone has been talking about how good they are playing and how they can repeat etc etc. But I haven't really seen anyone talking about the fact that they have won 18 games in a row. It was only last season Houston set the 2nd longest win streak in NBA History, and Boston are at 18 now. But they face a road trip, after the Lakers game they play Sacramento, Golden State and Portland.

"We won the championship, so we've got a big target on our back." ~Paul Pierce

Los Angeles
This team has so many options, you know that when Kobe Bryant isn't having the same impact he
had on the stat sheet from last seasons. He still has a huge impact though, and one of the reasons the Lakers are a top team is because of Kobe. Jordan Farmar is injured, which will force Derek Fisher to play a heap more minutes -- which isn't the worst thing, because he has been playing very well. You know what I'd like to see if one team is winning by a lot, is for Sun Yue to get some minutes -- just for the sheer hell of it. Against the Magic Andrew Bynum was in a key matchup against Dwight Howard, but once again he fouled a bit too much in the early stages of the game and failed to have a huge impact.

"They're not the same at all. Dwight's a big guy in size, but he's not Shaq. Shaq is a mountain. I'm not saying that Howard's a molehill, but he's not a mountain." ~Phil Jackson (Comparing Dwight to Shaq.)

Prediction
Boston has won 18 in a row. They are the defending champions and they are playing better right now. Los Angeles have had tough losses to Orlando and Miami and play New Orleans before this game, but if anybody can rally them back it is the Zen Master. But I can't go past Boston in this one. No question that this finals rematch should make for a brilliant game.


Friday 26th December 2008: Houston (18-9) @ New Orleans (16-7)

New Orleans
New Orleans holds a slim lead in the division, and face a very tough week of Lakers, Magic and Rockets. Past this week though, they have Indiana, Washington then a tough road trip against Portland, Denver, Lakers and Utah. So in their next 9 games, they will play 7 of the leagues best. In the tough western conference this could make a huge difference. I really feel for this Hornets team, this is an incredibly tough schedule. I think a huge factor as to how they will get through these games is how quickly Antonio Daniels can completely develop his feel for the Hornets offense. If the second unit can play better than ever, and the starters continue to play well, I think this Hornets team could go .500 through this strech, and that would be absolutely fine.


"The West is what it is, you have nine teams that are very good, and just like last year, somebody's going to win 50 games and not make (the playoffs). We're going to continue to knock each other off all season." ~Byron Scott

Houston
The Rockets always seem to have somebody injured -- I would imagine that that would get rather annoying if I were a fan. Nonetheless, the team still plays very competitive basketball. They are still a top team in the West and I think they will stay a top team even if one of their big 3 suffers a major injury. Tracy McGrady is playing well, Yao Ming and Ron Artest are great in support. The bench and role players are playing very well. They have great depth and a good squad. If they play to their potential they are capable of anything, even winning the Championship.

"I felt like, 'OK, my heart is back in my chest instead of up here (in the throat).'" ~Yao Ming (On his game-winning shot.)

Prediction
Houston has had a strech of games close together, but now they are rested. While New Orleans play at Orlando the night before. Chris Paul and New Orleans are a tough side, and they are at home. While Houston seems to lose focus in some games, and are on the road still. So I will go with New Orleans. Their are plenty of reasons both sides could lose and this is a tough game to decide. It could go either way.

Sunday 28th December 2008: Miami (14-12) @ Cleveland (23-4)

Miami
Dwyane Wade is leading his team to a respectable record, and they could potentially earn a playoff spot. Though it is early days yet, DWade is a frontrunner for MVP but will have to get past LeBron for the title. Wade has a good supporting player in Marion, but he doesn't really fit their system, and Haslem and Chalmers aren't exactly the best options in the world. So having a record just above .500 is very respectable.

"The lesson we learned was our defense really closed the game for us." ~Erik Spoelstra

Cleveland
Cleveland are undefeated at home. Their home record stands at 13-0. LeBron James continues to dominate opposition and is the leader for MVP at the moment. Cleveland are among the leagues elite, yet I question whether they can really beat the Lakers or the Celtics in a seven game series. The fact that they are a top side well remain to give their fans the very small hope that LeBron may choose to stay with them beyond 2010. Though unless they actually win a championship, LeBron most likely still plans to leave.

"He's leading his team the right way." ~Mike Brown (On LeBron.)

Prediction
I'm not sure if this game will be overly competitive. But the Heat did win against the Lakers. I can't see Cleveland losing at the moment though. This game is here because it features Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. I can't wait to see those two matched up against eachother.