The weekly trio -- Feb. 19, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
A look at the top 3 non-Jazz games this week in the NBA:
Tuesday, Feb. 19 -- Nuggets at Spurs: A rematch of a playoff series from two years ago, the Nuggets should have Allen Iverson ready to go in this one. The Spurs have struggled of late (lost four of their last seven games) despite having won their last two games. Denver fancies itself as a title contender, but a likely packed house at the SBC Center as well as the Spurs' composed style of play should provide a good test of Denver's playoff readiness.
Wednesday, Feb. 20 -- Cleveland at Toronto: The Cavs were a sexy preseason pick to make the NBA Finals, but the team has looked sketchy this season. Too much of their offense is guys standing around watching LeBron James and the younger players (Drew Gooden, Anderson Varejo) and older guys (Donyell Marshall, Damon Jones, Zydrunas Ilgauskas) have not played as well with James this year. The Raptors have two guys who are legit NBA All-Rookie first teamers (Jorge Garbajosa, Andrea Bargnani) and might find themselves in the East Finals come May. Should be a good one ...
Friday, Feb. 22 -- Detroit at Orlando: Ahhh, memories ... was it really just four years ago that the Magic choked away a 3-1 playoff series lead to the Pistons? If the playoffs started this week, the Magic would have a good chance of repeating their history (at least in terms of a first round playoff series). Orlando is a young team on the rise, Detroit boasts the veterans and the Magic lost the last meeting (87-83). This game kicks off a rough stretch for the Magic and could be a telling sign of the team's playoff hopes.
