NBA games of the week: Pay to watch
By Chazz Scogna
Friday, Dec. 22: New York at Detroit, 7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, Dec. 23: Philadelphia at Toronto, 5:00 p.m. ET
Access $4.99 / month
More of an Eastern Conference fan than the West? Have you enjoyed absolute certainty the last seven years as you watched LeBron James bowl over everyone in his way? Do you relish any opportunity to criticize his team’s lack of success at any point during the regular season with the hopes that this will be the year he falls off? Then purchase our Eastern Conference package and witness the disappointment!
So which of these four teams has surprised you most? Has it been the Raptors with their young bench unit or DeMar DeRozan already attempting 67 3-pointers this season, which is already half of his 2014-15 and 2016-17 attempts? (Making them is another story.) Or is it the Knicks, who are seventh in the East and have seen Kristaps Porzingis dominate everyone in front of him. Or what about the Sixers, who, after a nice stretch of games, have finally had their turnovers and lack of shooting catch up to them? Or is it the Pistons, who started the year 14-6 and lost seven straight?
It’s not a stretch to say these four teams are the most interesting in the East. Though we can probably guess the Conference Finals matchup, the teams below Boston and Cleveland are what gives the East its character. The Raptors are blitzing teams to the third best offensive rating in the league, behind the ridiculous Rockets and the even-more-ridiculous Warriors. The Sixers struggle late. Though triple-doubles are the go-to when it comes to production, the fact is Ben Simmons struggles mightily in late-game and late-possession situations. His inability to shoot, and worse, the understanding he can’t shoot, forces Simmons to dribble out the shot clock and toss a last-second pass to guys like J.J. Redick. He’s young and supremely talented so he’ll figure it out, but it’s an issue that needs correcting.
As for the Knicks, Porzingis is injured, so let’s just pray he gets healthy soon and continues to dominate. The Pistons have won two in a row since their losing streak, so we’ll see if they’ve stabilized.