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| Russell Westbrook and the Thunder have been off to a great start so far. |
Monday November 2, 2015 8:00pm NBATV
Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Anytime James Harden goes up against his former teammates in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, it makes for entertaining basketball. The Rockets haven't gotten off to a horrible start, a start they did not desire, losing in blowout fashion in their first three games. One could argue that two of those games were against teams they should have beaten, so that isn't necessarily an encouraging sign. For the Thunder, they have gotten all they want from Durant and Westbrook so far, resulting in a good start. That makes new head coach Billy Donovan successful right away, but the bigger picture as Durant enters free agency next summer is if Donovan can get the Thunder over the hump, unlike Scott Brooks.
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| Mike Conley played last year's playoff series with this mask. This time, Conley won't be sporting a mask. |
Monday November 2, 2015 10:30pm NBATV
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
These two teams met in the Western Conference Semifinals last season, with the Warriors coming away as the victors in six games. There have been a few that have stated the Warriors got lucky in playing the Grizzlies at that time because Mike Conley missed the first game and was dealing with facial fractures suffered in the first round of the playoffs. The Warriors obviously do not agree, and the Warriors were able to win three straight with Conley in the lineup after trailing the series 2-1. That noise of luck didn't come from the Grizzlies, so there's no rivalry here. Still, Conley against the reigning MVP Stephen Curry is must-watch television, even if it's a real late game on the east coast.
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| Stephen Curry embarrassed Chris Paul last season on a couple of plays. Paul has something to prove now against Curry. |
Wednesday November 4, 2015 10:30pm ESPN
Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA
Doc Rivers has gotten under the skin of the Warriors with his talk a couple of weeks ago that the Warriors were lucky to win the championship. The Clippers do have a coach and players who chirp a lot, and the Warriors clearly dislike them. This should be an entertaining battle, especially with Paul Pierce joining the rivalry. The Clippers are as deep as they've ever been since acquiring Chris Paul before the 2011-2012 lockout shortened season. The Clippers will look to make a run at a championship, and the Warriors stand in the way in the division and the conference.
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| Derrick Rose is sporting a mask for the moment due to his orbital fracture in the preseason. |
Thursday November 5, 2015 8:00pm TNT
United Center, Chicago, IL
Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose are known as two of the most athletic point guards, and before Rose began to suffer from an assortment of injuries, Rose would attack very aggressively much like Westbrook. Westbrook suffered through a couple of injuries himself, and it appeared his career path would be very similar to Rose. However, Westbrook seems to be healthy and has kept the aggressive style of play that makes him one of the best point guards in the league. Both teams also have brand new head coaches that have come from the college ranks.
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| The last time the Rockets played in the Staples Center, they rallied from a double digit deficit in Game 6 to stun the Clippers. |
Saturday November 7, 2015 10:30pm
Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
The Clippers have a lot of motivation here, even though a regular season game in early November isn't retribution for what happened in last season's postseason collapse. Josh Smith, a member of that Rockets team that defeated the Clippers, is now on the Clippers. It's not certain how much he's talked about that with his new teammates, but I would imagine he wouldn't even bring it up at all. It sucks this game isn't on national television, but if you have NBA League Pass and are able to catch this game, it shall be worth the watch.
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