Only one week left before the official resumption of the NBA and the teams are slowly gaining momentum in this pre-season. There will be sixteen of them on deck tonight to work on physical condition and automation. A brief overview of the matches on the program.
#Program of the day
1h : Pacers – Knicks
1h : Cavaliers – Hawks
1h : Sixers – Hornets
1h30 : Bucks – Nets
1h30 : Heat – Pelicans
4h : Lakers – Wolves
4h : Suns – Kings
4h30 : Clippers – Nuggets
As always, you will have to have eyes everywhere from the start of the evening. Watching Tyrese Haliburton’s passes against Jalen Brunson’s Knicks (Evan Fournier will be resting) or Joel Embiid against Charlotte’s monstrous racquet (lol) could be very fun but we are more tempted by a Cavaliers – Hawks that smells good novelty and ambition in the East. Two franchises but also two different situations with Atlanta which filled up against Milwaukee on the side of Abu Dhabi (2/2) while Cleveland is still looking for its first victory in this pre-season. Regarding the players in uniform, the presence of Dejounte Murray is uncertain because of back spasms.
Another room but we remain in a Playoffs atmosphere with the Bucks hosting the Nets. Rested like the other starters yesterday against Chicago, we hope to see Giannis Antetokounmpo take to the field tonight for what is Milwaukee’s last pre-season game. On the Nets side, no injuries to report for the Big 3 and Kyrie Irving could return after missing the last game due to new paternity. Even over twenty minutes, a little Giannis / KD duel would be nice to make our mouths water before the start of the season. We will also keep an eye on the Miami – New Orleans, which has everything to be spectacular, even if several boys could remain on the sidelines (Ingram and McCollum are uncertain in particular).
We end our night as always on the West Coast. No Rudy Gobert against the Lakers, the pivot is left to rest and the debut of the GOB-KAT duo will therefore have to wait. Chris Finch opened the door to a premiere this Friday for the new local racket. On the LA side, we haven’t seen much of the Big 3 in action, but Darvin Ham told Dave McMenamin that the last two preseason games would be considered regular season games. In everyday language, that means LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook in uniform, but who can predict the plans of the coaching staff.
What if the Kings continue their crazy pre-season? 2 games, two wins, twice +30 against two rivals in the race for the Western Playoffs. What put a little smile on the side of Sacramento even if it is only about preparation matches. For this meeting at the Suns, Mike Brown could be deprived of his nugget Keegan Murray, sick. Finally, the Clippers end their dress rehearsal with a matchup against the possibly diminished Nuggets (Jokic and Murray are listed as uncertain). The opportunity to know, perhaps, who will start in the lead between John Wall and Reggie Jackson. The two guards each started a meeting. It’s time to decide between them for Tyronn Lue.