Because there are NBA teams that look like they actually enjoy playing basketball
The Philadelphia 76ers have lost six straight and are the most painful and dreadful NBA team to watch. Lucky for all of us, there are 29 other teams in the association, and a large majority of them are fun to watch.
Below, I’ve highlighted the best matchup on each gameday this week. They’ll be the purest and most competitive matchups to watch. Think of it as a cleanse for your basketball soul. It may be a bittersweet experience watching teams with far less talent than your Sixers play well, but you need to treat yourself. You’re a basketball fan, right? Rekindle that fandom while your Sixers fandom takes a rest.
Feb. 24: Minnesota Timberwolves @ Oklahoma City Thunder
If you want to watch the best basketball possible, the Oklahoma City Thunder are what you’re looking for. They have the highest assist-to-turnover ratio. They’ve have the NBA’s best defense. They have the NBA’s best net rating.
MVP-front runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads their stacked roster. He’s smooth, suave, and assured. None of his moves are wasted, nor do they seem choreographed. His game is an improvised dance, putting the defender in a trance. Perfectly suited for an Etta James song.
His co-stars Jalen ‘J-Dub’ Williams and Chet Holmgren are two menaces themselves. Surrounding those three are an array of the peskiest defenders and perfect role players. They all humbly and dutifully execute coach Mark Daigneault’s plan of ferocious, pestering and prodding defense that forces turnovers at a league best rate.
This Monday, tasked with taking on that defense is Anthony Edwards. Yes, he’s part of a team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he is their offense. Over the past 15 games, he’s taken the most shots per game. In that same stretch, he’s accounted for over a third of Minnesota’s points. They are 13-5 when he scores over 30 points, and 16-21 when he scores under 30 points.
Julius Randle was supposed to be helping him out but is injured at the moment and whether he was doing so healthy was up for debate. Players like Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels have taken on some offensive load, but Minnesota’s chances in any game lie on Anthony Edwards’ shoulders.
The two teams have played each other twice recently. Minnesota won just before the All-Star break, and OKC enacted revenge on Sunday night. Both were bangers, with the average margin of victory in their three total matchups this season being 10.
Feb. 25: Dallas Mavericks @ Los Angeles Lakers
Hit pieces. Assassinations of character. Censoring his existence. Beyond being traded out of nowhere, Luka Dončić has fuel aplenty for one of the more sickening and violent revenge games the NBA has seen. When his Lakers go up against his former Dallas Mavericks Luka might drop 101 points. He’d always seemed to have a bit of that MJ/Kobe insanity to him, and the trade, and everything the Mavericks have done to justify it, will likely have turned him into a full-fledged psychopath.
This matchup would’ve been even better if Anthony Davis, who the Mavericks traded Dončić for, was playing, but hey, everyone knows he’s prone to miss time. Everyone. Everyone knows that, right?
I don’t even have words for this…
They censored him like South Park censored a character
Just don’t use these clips if you want to erase him from Mavs history
When you want to focus on the basketball, the organization does some weird stuff like this https://t.co/EuzQAei0OA pic.twitter.com/8T915naMFh
— Mavs Film Room (@MavsFilmRoom) February 21, 2025
Feb. 26: Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons
Cade Cunnigham is sizzling. The first-time All-Star dropped 38 points and 12 assists in Detroit’s win over Atlanta on Sunday. He’s untouchable right now. Hell, the Detroit Pistons are too! They’ve won six straight! They’ve already reached the win total of their past two seasons combined! Over these victorious last six games, Detroit has the second-best offensive rating and the fifth-best defensive rating. Detroit! They’re the sixth seed! Detroit! Sizzling!
They’ll be going against old foe Boston. Detroit always tests them. Less we forget last season’s OT matchup where Detroit tied the NBA’s longest losing streak record. But times have changed, Detroit is not last year’s team, and Boston is recovering from their championship hangover. But recently, they’re looking ready to head to the fridge, grab a beer, and ruin the party for everyone else. They’ve won five straight and nine of their last 10. In those last 10, they’re top five in both offense and defense.
The cheat code 7-foot-3 sharpshooter Kristaps Porzingis is back from injury, as is all-defensive guard Jrue Holiday. It may have faltered earlier this season, but Boston is still the machine of a team that the league runs through. If you can beat them, you can beat anyone.
Detroit has the worst record against teams above .500 of any of the top six seeds in either conference. That paints them as just a happy story at the moment. Good, but not a threat. A win over Boston would change that picture.
Feb. 27: Golden State Warriors @ Orlando Magic
Jimmy Butler’s sins against loyalty may be forgiven as he’s rejuvenated Steph Curry’s love of basketball. Since the Golden State Warriors traded for Butler on Feb. 6, Curry is averaging 29 points on 49% shooting and 40% from three. Thank God. Before the blockbuster deal, Curry looked defeated. He was slumping and his Warriors were 25-26 and not in the contender picture. But they’ve lost just once in six games with Butler. Draymond Green declared they’ll win the championship during the All-Star break. That is a stretch, but it’s closer to the truth now than it was one month ago.
Watching Curry dominate games with his offense must be jarring for the Orlando Magic. They have a shockingly ineffective offense, even with their two stars back. They are the worst three-point shooting team in the league. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner can take over any game, but none of their teammates worry opposing defenses.
They have the second-best defense in the league, which will challenge the new-look Warriors. But this is an offensive league. If Butler and Green are tasked with guarding Franz and Paolo, Orlando will need to make the game an absolutely deplorable slugfest if they want to win.
Steph Curry on Jimmy Butler’s impact on him: “Every possession doesn’t feel as hard.” pic.twitter.com/neo7Rcqr2n
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 11, 2025
Feb. 28: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics
Cleveland vs. Boston is the East’s deciding matchup. All three of their games this season have been peak hoops, and none were blowouts. They’re offensive masterpieces painted by two of the league’s best-starting fives. Cleveland acquired Atlanta’s DeAndre Hunter at the trade deadline to specifically deal with Boston’s big wing duo.
That’s all that’s changed since their last matchup. Both teams are still title contenders. If you need convincing to tune in, you’re not a basketball fan.
Mar. 1: Sacramento Kings @ Houston Rockets
Sacramento’s new coach’s winning wave has dissipated. After winning nine of their first 11 games after firing Mike Brown, the Kings have gone 5-8, with two of those wins coming against the West-worst New Orleans Pelicans (who they also lost to once).
They’ve had the league’s worst defensive rating of the past month (since Jan. 23). They acquired Zach LaVine just before the trade deadline. Their starting lineup with him, DeMar DeRozan, Malik Monk, Keegan Murray and Domantas Sabonis has a defensive rating of 124.1, which is the worst mark of any five-man lineup that has played over 100 minutes this season. Big yikes.
Interim-coach Doug Christie had the same reaction. As reported by Chris Haynes, Christie held a meeting with those starters and stated, among other things, that they are “compromising on defense.” They’ll get a lovely chance to rectify their wrongs when they go up against the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Houston has a phenomenal defense, but just the 20th-best offense in the league. Sophomore Amen Thompson is going through growing pains on that end, but it’s an absolute joy watching him figure things out. His game-winner against the Boston Celtics a few weeks back potentially foreshadowing his ceiling as a star player.
Both teams will want this one bad. For the Kings, it’ll be their first post-meeting matchup against a competitive team. For the Rockets, they’ll want to make back the progress they lost thanks to a six-game losing streak before the All-Star break.
Mar. 2: Boston Celtics @ Denver Nuggets
This is another matchup I shouldn’t have to convince you to watch. It’s the last two NBA champions battling it out. The Denver Nuggets are back to the two seed after sauntering below the fourth seed for most of the season. Jamal Murray is back, having recently dropped 50 points. Denver is scary again.
Boston knows all too well how scary the Nuggets are. Last season, Denver beat Boston in both their matchups. They were incredible games. Boston defeated Denver in their previous game this season, but Jokic didn’t play. So now, Boston gets its first chance at real revenge.