Barely enough time to digest the last king’s cake of the year and the evening meal that the NBA program is already starting today. Ligue 1 programming all its matches on Saturday night at the moment, we must find something to do on this winter Sunday evening. And as the NBA always has the answer to everything, everyone’s digestion will be accompanied by games from 9 p.m. A lot of good news anyway!
After a night of eight games that began with a clash between the Nuggets and the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers’ G League team called in to make up the numbers, it’s time to end the week on a high note . Come on, big coffee or small tea at night, as you wish, and we take stock of the program!
21h00 : Pistons – Jazz : showing the latest NBA Sunday proposed by the League, the Pistons had been beaten on the wire by the Celtics of Jayson Tatum (122 to 120), too much clutch for them. The following Sunday, we find the team of our little French people Sekou Doumbouya and Killian Hayes opposed to Rudy Gobert’s Jazz. Unfortunately, not all of our tricolors will be on the floor tonight, as Hayes suffers from a very embarrassing and potentially dangerous hip injury. Nothing has been decided yet, but the season of the rookie drafted in 7e position seems well compromised. Nevertheless, we hope to be able to benefit again from the talent of Joe Ingles. Absent in front of the Bucks (131 to 118) to rest a painful Achilles tendon, the redneck NBA favorite has seen its back-to-back game streak come to an end and would love to restart a new one this Sunday.
22h00 : Clippers – Bulls : we hope that the two teams will have woken up early enough to offer us a good show for this match played at 3 p.m. in Los Angeles. The last time the Clippers played on a Sunday night, we remember the butcher shop… Their historic sinking against the Mavericks (73 to 124) surprised everyone as the gap between the two teams was enormous. Still too fickle for their taste, Kawhi Leonard and his pals would have to be full to receive the Bulls from a super-hot Zach LaVine. Chicago, already deprived of Lauri Makkanen, Tomas Satoransky, Chandler Hutchison and Ryan Arcidiacono, absent until minimum January 12 because of Covid-19, hopes to be able to align Otto Porter Jr., injured in the back and uncertain.
00h00 : Knicks – Nuggets : given the very good start to the season, we were starting to wonder what fly could have stung the Knicks during the offseason. Beating the Bucks, the Pacers or the Jazz sent a heavy load on the CV, maybe even a little too much. However, the loss to the Thunder (101 to 89) in a scenario so specific to the Knicks reassures us a little. Still without Frank Ntilikina, Obi Toppin and Alec Burks, and without their rookie Taj Gibson, New Yorkers welcome Nuggets moving without Michael Porter Jr., still in isolation. After facing a seven-player rotation last night against the Sixers almost forced to bring Allen Iverson out of retirement, the Nuggets will discover the eight-element rotation (nine in a bad day) used voluntarily by torturer Tom Thibodeau . The washing machine is on the move, and not in energy saving mode!
00h00 : Nets – Thunder : at the same time as the Knicks, the Nets will receive in Brooklyn the very recent winner of their enemies. If the vagueness still reigns concerning Kyrie Irving, announced as uncertain after his two games of absence for personal reasons, Kevin Durant should make his return after his week of isolation because of the Covid-19. Without their two stars, the Nets could count on a great Caris LeVert and alternated the very good (122 to 109 against the Sixers) and the less good (110 to 115 against the Grizzlies). The Thunder and its clever mix of young and old will be a formidable opponent. Let’s hope to see Theo Maledon speak and the unicorn Aleksej Pokusevski feast us like against the Knicks!
01h00 : Rockets – Lakers : The Lakers play with daily medical reports to offer us work and have us review different parts of the body in English. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have become regulars in the ” Questionable »Since the start of the season but should once again be there and in good shape to face James Harden and his clique. And if the bearded man defined a “clique” as his group of friends when Mouloud Achour asked him, he would be well inspired to create a link with his playing partners to make Houston take off quickly in the standings. This shock of the Western conference is a great opportunity for him to show that he has not lost any of his talent!
01h00 : Celtics – Heat : it’s a complete mess on the Boston side, expect to receive information on whether or not the meeting will be maintained by yet another tweet from Woj or Shams. Six players are already forfeited for tonight, including four because of Covid-19 (Jayson Tatum, Robert Williams, Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams) and three others could also be forced to isolate themselves for a week. Jaylen Brown is particularly in this case and tells us that Boston will line up a sacred five if his winger must also give up this meeting. If you have to find something positive, tell yourself that the giant Tacko Fall should continue after playing against the Wizards and that the crack Payton Pritchard will have sacred responsibilities. Opposite, the Heat advance almost completely, only deprived of Meyers Leonard and Moe Harkless and will want revenge for the short defeat (105 to 107) conceded against the C’s in midweek. By the way, where are we signing to offer our services in Boston tonight?
02h00 : Wolves – Spurs : Now that Karl-Anthony Towns is back on the court, it’s time to get back to winning quickly. After seven defeats in a row, we must have forgotten the taste for success in Minneapolis (have we already known?) And the arrival of Spurs in the far north is not especially good news. For their part on three wins in a row, the Texans have indeed just taught the Wolves a lesson in their own room by winning 125 to 122 after extra time last night. This bad memory will therefore still be fresh in the heads of KAT and his companions in misfortune. Saving honor would be the least of consolation.
02h30 : Warriors – Raptors : the evening will end with yet another nice poster. If the Raptors have a very bad start to the season, we can hope that the victory against the Kings (144 to 123) has finally launched their season. Pascal Siakam is playing more and more fair and will have to continue on this path if he wants the Canadiens to win tonight. Opposite, Stephen Curry has spent the second since early January 2021 and comes out of a new masterclass against the Clippers (38 points at 9/14 from the parking lot, 11 assists and the victory 115 to 105) with the ambition to continue his heavy work. Attention the defense of the Raptors, we will have warned you!
What could be better than what the NBA has to offer us this Sunday night? With this mix of matches at highly anticipated schedules in Europe and at more usual times thereafter, we have a hell of a schedule to roll out over the next few hours. So let’s enjoy it and hope that all the meetings can go off without a hitch!
Source article : Rotoworld et CBSSports
