NBA TV Schedule in India: Jan 21-31
Here’s a look at the NBA matches available to us in India in the next 10 days. Quite a line-up here. The Clippers, Lakers, Heat, Celtics, Pacers and Bulls are only a few of the great teams featured. Here’s a look at the match timings with a short preview.
NBA.com/India
Tuesday, 01/22/2013
8:00 AM
Witness the dysfunction of the Los Angles Lakers and teach your kids that you cannot buy a championship by simply putting stars together on a team. For the life of me, I can’t figure out why the Lakers continue to put Pau Gasol on the perimeter. He’s one of the most versatile big men in the league and is being woefully underutilized. The Lakers have had multiple games where Kobe Bryant attempts more shots than Gasol, Howard and Nash combined. That doesn’t add up. Dwight Howard was ejected in the second quarter of the Lakers’ game yesterday vs the Raptors. Hopefully he will come out with more fire. On the other hand, the Chicago Bulls have been unexpectedly dominant in the absence of Derrick Rose. Coach Tom Thibodeau is an expert at wrangling the best possible defensive system out of his rotation and it’s a treat to watch how this Bulls team continues to hold down the fort while awaiting Rose’s return. The Bulls stand pretty at 22-16 and the Lakers are almost the opposite with 17-23. Expect the Bulls to win this one.
SIX
Friday, 01/25/2013
9:00 AM
Is there a team in the NBA which is more fun to watch than the LA Clippers? And there’s some extra masala here. There is something about the Phoenix Suns which gets Blake Griffin riled up. Though the Suns are at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 13-28 record, there will be no let up from Blake. The reason he goes extra hard against the Suns is because they cut his brother Taylor Griffin from their roster. Expect some thunderous dunks as the league best record holders with 32-9, go to make it 33-9.
SIX
Saturday, 01/26/2013
9:00 AM
The Utah Jazz have enjoyed quite a season thus far. They are at 7th place in the Western Conference at 22-19 and will be looking to extend it to 23-19 while dropping the Lakers another loss. The Jazz seemingly came out on the low end of the Deron Williams trade but watching them it sure doesn’t look like it. Rumours abound of the Jazz shopping their big men around, Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap will probably be gone by the trade deadline making way for Derrick Favours to shine.
SIX
Sunday, 01/27/2013
11:30 PM
Last year, we could have billed this one as a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. But this time there’s a chance that Boston may not oven make the playoffs. They need to find their mojo if they are to even make it. Danny Ainge has hinted that there may be some shakeups in the roster before the trade deadline passes. But there likely won’t be any before the Celtics face the Heat. They actually have a shot at defeating the Heat as Miami is in somewhat of a slump as they have gone 6-4 of their last ten games. It would still be a stretch for the Celtics to defeat the Heat though. Look out for the boos with which Ray Allen will be greeted at Boston.
NBA.com/India
Tuesday, 01/29/2013
7:30 AM
This is the ‘under the radar’ match of these 10 days. Both teams are incredibly good and no one wants to meet them in the post-season. The Nuggets stand at 25-18 and the Pacers are 25-16. Both teams rely on an all round effort from the entire roster to push ahead to a win. This one will be played in Denver so the climate can be something of an influence. Expect the Nuggets to eke out a close fought win.