Can't-Miss Cult Games on the NBA Schedule

There are important games, those that determine the fate of the future. And then there are hidden gems, cult classics, match-ups that most of the world only discovers the next day as eye-popping box scores (they barely crack the highlight packages). Out of marketing savvy or sheer perversion, these games—which almost invariably take place on weeknights—are my domain. Here are some underground bangerz I'm looking forward to on the 2009-10 schedule, with the caveat that some of these could prove to be utterly unwatchable.


Nov. 6, Bucks at Wolves: What makes this one golden is that it'll kick whether or not Ricky Rubio ever finds his way over to these shores. Perhaps you remember how Brandon Jennings was snubbed not once, but twice, by the Wolves. Okay, so maybe they had to take Rubio, if nothing else for (cough*demographic*cough) marketing reasons. There, is however, something of a rivalry brewing there. Then they had to go and take Jonny Flynn, which served no purpose but to slight Jennings, since it's not like Flynn can handle the two or is more talented than Jennings. Rubio vs. Jennings is important, but if Kahn were really daring, he would've put them on the same team.

No one yet knows how Milwaukee will shape up this season. It's hard to imagine things going totally smoothly between him and Skiles, but ownership seems intent on letting Jennings run the show. They've given him athletic finishers in Hakim Warrick and Amir Johnson, and a dynamic PG would, in the best sense possible, put Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut in their place. Meanwhile, you've got this extremely promising line-up—with Skiles making sure they'll play some defense—going straight at a murky, still coach-less, Wolves team, with Jennings potentially getting the chance to show up both those PGs picked ahead of him. Who says swagger doesn't sell?

Jan. 22, Lakers at Knicks: Even before Lamar Odom said it, I was pushing the theory that he and Artest made the Lakers the league's most New York team, especially as the Knicks remain only semi-relevant and don't really have any tangible connection to the NYC grassroots, or even the city game. However, I totally forgot that Phil Jackson was a member of the most Knick-y Knicks teams of them all, arguably the one that put that franchise on the map (sorry, Starks). Thanks to Dan and Ken for reminding me. We haven't seen a symbolic moment like this since Marbury came to the Knicks and said it was a dream come true, which made everyone wonder if that team and the most visible "New York" player in the league could seek rebirth together.

That didn't work out, and for better or worse, there's really no effective counter to the symbolic importance of Odom, Ron-Ron and Phil coming to the Garden. They will get booed, but some will shed tears. Plus, because there's this whole thing about New York as a basketball city, and Knicks fans as knowledgeable, there's going to be plenty of talk about the issue as if to prove that 1. NYK fans haven't lost touch with reality after all these years of weirdness and 2. "The Mecca" still means something, even if it involves paying tribute to today's enemies. Anyway, expect some highly emotive quotes from Odom, Artest doing something really weird when he's introduced and Phil taking photos for a new book while too banged-up to coach.

If nothing else, Spike will get it.

Jan. 26, Warriors at Kings: Both Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry were highly-regarded guards in this lottery. Neither is a true PG, but each will be expected by their current team to shoulder a lot of that load as a rookie. There's another crucial difference: Evans is a strong, aggressive, lanky anvil of a guard who frankly abused the summer league competition. Curry is a three-point specialist who handled the ball a lot for a middling school, and in Vegas looked like a gunner with PR. Now granted, Evans went fourth overall, above even teen idol Ricky Rubio, and Curry fell unexpectedly to the Warriors at seventh. But they were seen as neck-in-neck for some time, and watching Evans steamroll Curry could be an important lesson to scouts everywhere.

Or who knows, maybe I am totally wrong about Curry, and he'll emerge as a mini-Kevin Martin before our very eyes. That would make Golden State's lineup even more confusing than usual, but it might be the best case for him, since he's no playmaker and will have to thrive on high-percentage shooting and crafty scoring if he's going to be more than a role player. Also, if Curry matched up with Martin, then you'd get Monta Ellis—presumably healthy by now—and Evans going head-to-head, which would be some serious fireworks and a real test of both Ellis's defensive mettle and Evans's ability to keep up with one of the league's most explosive young scorers.

Some other notes:

1. "Warrior Kings" is always a good reason to do anything. 2. As Anthony Randolph turns into the next Garnett, games like these will be the real taste of things to come. I like Jason Thompson and grudgingly respect Spencer Hawes, but Randolph will Heisenberg them ragged, if that's even a basketball term. 3. I once saw these two teams put up an 86-80 half. R. Kelly's "Fiesta" was on the jukebox and I wondered if someone was playing an elaborate prank on me. 4. Francisco Garcia is my favorite player no one cares about, and when the tempo increases, he looks up and sees a different sky than the rest of us. Especially since Ziller just told me that he thinks this is Garcia's year.

Mar. 19, Bobcats at Hawks: A perennial favorite of mine, one that has changed shape over the years as the Hawks have grown into a playoff team and the Bobcats fell into the hands of MJ and Larry. It used to be a super-stupid shootout that lead to embarrassment for both coaches. Now it's basketball royalty trying to usurp a semi-regional semi-rival, trying to play catch-up and make it a real rivalry again. Or actually, since before it was totally bastard basketball of the highest order, attain the high standard the Hawks have since moved up to. I can't say I didn't prefer the wide-open groove-fest Hawks/Bobcats used to promise, but if there's ever a possession where Jamal Crawford drives on Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler, someone needs to take a picture and send it to me. That's like the Loch Ness monster of my basketball world.

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