Bakers Dozen 13 Games On Friday’s NBA Schedule

Friday the NBA morphs from a light slate to a heavy schedule as 13 games will be played. And as always some very interesting match-ups, and intriguing teams to keep an eye on. Wednesday night the Atlanta Hawks surprised the Phoenix Suns with a 105-96 beating, Friday they will try to upset another team. The undefeated Boston Celtics come into town after they just slammed the Denver Nuggets Wednesday night. Boston comes into the game 3-0, and right now they are firing on all cylinders. Garnett, Allen, and Pierce have done some amazing things, but the young man who has been the pleasant surprise for the Celtics has been point guard Rajon Rondo. Most observers thought that if Boston had a weakness it would be at the quarterback position, but so far Rondo has far exceeded even the most optimistic predictions. If Rondo can keep distributing and penetrating the way he has in the first three games then Boston is legit.

Phoenix might be going to the perfect NBA city to recover from their loss Wednesday, Miami. So far the Heat who are still without their key player Dwyane Wade are also without a win coming out of the gate 0-4. Shaq, so far has not been the dominant figure of even last season, and Jason Williams is never going to replace D-Wade. Ricky Davis will always get you some offense, but he is at best an average defensive player. Phoenix is expecting to have Amare Stoudemire back in the lineup after missing the last couple of games due to swelling in his right knee. Stoudemire had an arthroscopic procedure done on the knee, and doctors believe he tried to do too much too soon. The way Nash, Marion and the guys are playing if Stoudemire is back it may be a long night for the Heat.

One of the most intriguing match-ups on the docket Friday night involve two teams from the red hot Southwest Division. The San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets take each other on both with identical 4-1 records. They also happen to have two of the best point guards in the NBA. The entire world knows about the Spurs Tony Parker, but many NBA fans are finally discovering a previously hidden gem Chris Paul. Paul had the makings of a elite NBA point guard when he was playing at Wake Forest, and so far this season Paul has been a difference maker for the Grizzlies.

The Washington Wizards are still without a win after losing a heartbreaker to the New Jersey Nets Thursday night 87-85. Washington who were expected to be serious contenders in the East have started the season 0-4. Gilbert Arenas who was not expected to play Thursday toughed it out and almost tied the game at the end of regulation. Arenas has had problems with his knee, and had it drained earlier this week. Whether he can make it in back to back games remains to be seen, if not Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison will have to do a lot of heavy lifting as they face the Denver Nuggets. Denver is coming off back to back losses Tuesday and Wednesday. You know A.I. will come out smoking, which will be a handful for Washington with or without Arenas.

And of course how could we complete our preview without talking about the most over hyped match-up since Predator vs. Alien. Yao versus Yi as I wrote about earlier this week;

http://www.slamdunkcentral.com/2007/11/06/rivalries-cant-be-manufactured-they-just-happen/

is probably going to be a huge event in the People’s Republic Of China. And they have every right to be enthused and proud. But as I said in my previous article, these two players will not be going against each other, and the two teams and the two players are at two totally different stages of development. Houston looks like they are a legitimate threat in the Western Conference. Milwaukee although vastly improved from last season is not any where near Houston’s level, yet. That’s not to say that Milwaukee can’t defeat Houston, just ask the Atlanta Hawks.