Fansided

NBA games of the week: Pay to watch

By Chazz Scogna

CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 7: LeBron James
CLEVELAND, OH - NOVEMBER 7: LeBron James /
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DALLAS, TX – DECEMBER 12: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball against the Dallas Mavericks on December 12, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – DECEMBER 12: Kawhi Leonard #2 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball against the Dallas Mavericks on December 12, 2017 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Wednesday, Dec. 20: San Antonio at Portland, 8:00 p.m. ET

Wednesday, Dec. 20: Minnesota at Denver, 9:00 p.m. ET

Access $4.99 / month

Love the Warriors? Love 3-point barrages and layups and nothing else? Considering purchasing the Western Conference package, where you can see which teams will still lose to the Warriors in the playoffs!

Kawhi Leonard is back. Kawhi Leonard is back. Kawhi Leonard is back. Kawhi Leonard is back. Leonard will be part of the greatest stretch of a what-if perhaps in recent NBA history. Had Zaza Pachulia not stepped under Leonard after he went up for a jumper, then the Spurs could’ve beaten the Warriors. The last part is true. The stretch is thinking one 23-point lead in Game 1 predicts the future. Have we all forgotten the Josh Smith game?

Still, it warms my heart to see Leonard back on an NBA floor, shaking off the rust offensively and terrorizing opposing players on defense. The Spurs invented the rest system, so they’ll ease him along until he’s back to his old top-five-player-in-the-world self.

But, like the East, the second tier of top seeds in the West, so not Houston, San Antonio or Golden State, are separated by a mere 2.5 games. The Timberwolves, Blazers and Nuggets are virtually tied for the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds. A bad stretch for any of those teams, and they can drop all the way to eighth or even out of the playoff picture.

Tom Thibodeau continues his mission to ensure his starters are nice and exhausted by April and the Nuggets continue to give back everything they get in the win-loss column, minus a three-game win streak in early November. (Seriously, here’s the Nuggets schedule results so far through 29 games: loss, win, loss, loss, win, win, loss, win, win, loss, win, win, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, win, loss, loss, win, loss, win, loss, win.)

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