With the Sixers needing to pay more attention to ping-pong balls the rest of the NBA slate is heating up as we inch closer to the end of the regular season.
The Philadelphia 76ers finally won a basketball, halting their season-ending and tank-starting nine-game losing streak. While that was happening, the association was stirring with storylines and incredible hoops.
‘Tis the season for such things. We’re just over a month away from the end of the regular season and the start of the postseason. Because you’ve been devoutly following the Sixers all year, you likely have catching up to do (and need a reminder that basketball is fun). So, as I’ve done every week, I’m here to highlight the best matchups of the association for the week ahead. Last week, I went seven for seven in picking banger games, so I should earn your trust here.
LeBron James made a statement that negativity is at the core of NBA media coverage these days, so I’ll do my best to keep positive, which was pretty easy. These matchups should be, nay, will be, beautiful.
LeBron:
“Why do you wanna be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day to day basis shit on everybody? Obviously, I didn’t ask for it. I feel Ant. I understand. This is weird energy when it comes to that” pic.twitter.com/TtlXp6w5KM
— Oh No He Didn’t (@ohnohedidnt24) February 28, 2025
Mar. 4: New York Knicks @ Golden State Warriors
Steph Curry is on a hot streak. He’s back. Joy anew. He dropped 56 points against the Orlando Magic, the second-best defense in the league, reminding all teams how terrifying he can be, but also all fans that a hot Steph Curry is the best show in basketball.
Whether he’s still the best point guard in basketball is up for debate. Enter Jalen Brunson. The New York Knick’s savior. Through his angle attacking, shifty ball-handling and relentless pick-and-roll attack, the Knicks have the fourth-best offense in the NBA. He’s one of three players in the top 10 of both points and assists per game. He’ll never take over the game and the stadium and the viewing public and the very nature of basketball the way Curry does, but he can bend a game to his will, forcing the defense to give him a lane and capitalizing on the smallest error.
Beyond the point guard battle, this matchup will be terrific. Jimmy Butler, the newest Warrior and arguably the harbinger of their newfound contender status, will take on New York’s fierce defensive wing duo of OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Knicks center Karl Anthony-Towns will stretch out the Warriors defense and face a barrage of smaller defenders, all whom he can easily shoot over.
But forget all that — Steph Curry is on a hot streak. You can’t miss it.
Mar. 5: Portland Trailblazers @ Boston Celtics
In 2025, the Portland Trailblazers have gone on a four-game win streak, a six-game win streak, and another four-game win streak. Thankfully for Philly fans, they’ve taken themselves way out of the lottery race. Thankfully for hoop fans, they’re a scrappy young team that fights like hell and can truly take on anyone.
They have a hodge-podge of intriguing young prospects. Toumani Camara is a future All-NBA defender with ridiculous instincts. Deni Avdija just dropped a 30-point triple-double against the best team in the NBA. Shaedon Sharpe is the best dunker in the league and everyone should hope he figures out the rest of his game. He’s one of those players that turn into cult favorites and electrify the most casual of fans.
Since Jan. 19, when their first win streak began, they’ve had the second-best defense in the league. It’s a stretch that has saved the jobs of the current Portland regime. Coach Chauncey Billups has finally figured it out with this squad.
The Blazers will 1000% be up for their matchup against the reigning champion Boston Celtics. Boston has shaken off the championship hangover, winning seven of their last nine (though the two losses were a blowout to Detroit and a loss to Cleveland after going up by 20 in the first three minutes). They are still the ultimate challenge in the league and will want to round into form as the playoffs approach.
Mar. 6: Indiana Pacers @ Atlanta Hawks
Neither of the Indiana Pacers nor the Atlanta Hawks are expected to cause much disruption in this year’s playoffs, but they’re still fun squads.
The Hawks employ Dyson Daniels, the best guard defender in the league. Since San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama is out for the season, Daniels has an argument for winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. He has the most steals in the league, nearly 60 more than the next best player. He has over 100 more deflections than the next best player. He smothers opposing guards. Embarrassing them with his ability to cut off drives and poke the ball away before they’ve even started their sizeup.
On Thursday, he’ll be tasked with guarding Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton. After breaking out last season, the Pacers point guard has had a turbulent campaign. He’s had multiple games under 10 points, including two zero-pointers. But, it seems he’s finally found a rhythm. He just dropped 33 points and 11 assists against the Toronto Raptors, and has racked up at least 10 assists in his last four games. He’s brought stability and security in the top six East seeds to a Pacers team that looked bland and waning in the early parts of the season.
Mar. 7: San Antonio Spurs @ Sacramento Kings
After Jimmy Butler loud-quitting the Miami Heat, De’Aaron Fox’s departure from the Sacramento Kings is the most dramatic betrayal of the season. The point guard demanded a trade to the San Antonio Spurs after the Kings failed to build a true contender around him. They did look alright after a coaching change, but that changed nothing for Fox. He got what he wanted.
His departure never got extremely ugly, but there were some hints of weirdness. Fox unfollowed a lot of his former teammates (high-school level drama, I know, but drama nonetheless) and got defensive about it in Instagram comments. According to ESPN’s James Ham, Kings fans booed a photo of De’Aaron Fox promoting his return to Sacramento. That’s this game.
The return of stars to a franchise they departed is always good viewing. This one won’t reach the levels of vitriol LeBron James faced in his return to Cleveland or Kevin Durant in his return to Oklahoma. But that loud and proud Sacramento fanbase will have something to say. And De’Aaron Fox will have something to prove.
Kings fans just booed when De’Aaron Fox and the Spurs promotion flashed on the scoreboard.
— James Ham (@James_HamNBA) February 25, 2025
Mar. 8: Los Angeles Lakers @ Boston Celtics
Adam Silver and NBA traditionalists are sleeping well these days. The league’s two most-storied and famous franchises, and the opposing forces in the league’s defining rivalry, are championship contenders. Both are the second seed in their conference and have a genuine chance at making the Finals.
The Los Angeles Lakers have won six straight. After a rough start, the newly acquired Luka Doncic is looking like the superstar he is. That’s rejuvenated a 40-year-old LeBron James who is still dictating games on offense, and now looking ridiculously locked in on defense. For all 48 minutes of a game, coach JJ Redick can deploy one of Luka and LeBron, both otherworldly masters of the court.
But it’s their defense that has the Lakers faithful dreaming big. Since Jan. 1, 2025, they’ve had the third best defense in the league. Since the Feb. 6 trade deadline, it’s been the second best (that’s when they traded away All-NBA defender Anthony Davis!). Hate or love it, the Lakers are well and truly contenders.
It’s why this Saturday night primetime matchup against Boston may be the most watched game of the regular season. Boston are the reigning champs and will be title favorites until they lose a playoff series. They’ll want to shut up the God Damned Lakers and keep their claim as the NBA’s best franchise.
It’ll also be Doncic’s first game back in Boston after losing there in last year’s Finals. A series that proved league-altering after Marc Spears, on Cedric Maxwell’s podcast, reported that Doncic’s ‘struggles’ in that series are why he was traded off the Mavericks and to the Lakers.
This might be an NBA Finals preview. The NBA will want it to be and, if you believe that it’s the legacy and history that makes the NBA your favorite league, you should want it to be too.
Mar. 9: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Milwaukee Bucks
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the best team in the NBA. They’re on track for a billion wins, just came back from a 20-point deficit in Boston, and have four All-Star caliber players playing at their best. They’re yet to prove they can be formidable in the playoffs, so you give Boston the title of Eastern favorite, but Cleveland is having as good of a regular season as you can have.
Their offense hums. Passes to cutters. Cutters to shooters. Shooters to buckets. No one scores as easily as they do and they barely ever turn the ball over. Beating them requires defensive perfection and outlier shooting.
They’ve taken the title of ‘Celtics’ biggest threat’ from the Milwaukee Bucks. But the Bucks are beginning to look threatening. They’ve won seven of their last 10 and, since returning from injury, Giannis Antetokounmpo has had Herculean performances. Against the Denver Nuggets, he dropped 28 points and 19 rebounds. He deserves more MVP talk than he’s getting, especially since the Bucks are now the fourth seed and look like they’ll be a tough out in the playoffs.
If he can perform against the Cavs’ Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen then the Bucks have a real chance at not only winning the game, but wreaking havoc in the postseason and busting a bunch of bets and parlays.