One of the best singular moments of the season last year for Russ was his thunderous dunk over Rudy Gobert. There’s also always intrigue in watching the old guard (Russ) against the new guard (LaMelo Ball) as well that will only add to the excitement around this one. Down Anthony Davis and LeBron James, Russ carried the team with a season-high 35 points - all but five of those coming in the second half - for a near miracle comeback. On the note of impressive Westbrook games last year, none was better than the one he had in Charlotte.
When it comes to Westbrook, the Knicks were one of his better performances last year in Madison Square Garden. On top of all that, former Laker Julius Randle has established himself as a core member of the franchise that has paid its role players to stick around and keep winning. Brunson joins a loaded core that is only a year removed from returning to the playoffs. 31 at New York KnicksĪfter landing Jalen Brunson this offseason, it’s time to wonder if the Knicks are officially back. Obviously, there are questions about Durant’s future but a player like Irving is talented enough to carry the load and will be an intriguing match-up between the two star-studded franchises. Kyrie Irving and LeBron James, also former teammates, similarly create headlines whenever they’re together. Russ and Kevin Durant, former teammates, squaring off with one another is always a marquee matchup. With that in mind, here’s a look at five games Lakers fans should be excited to see Russ play in this upcoming season. That excitement, paired and Ham’s vision of how Westbrook should be used on the court is plenty reason for fans to get excited about the second year of the LA native donning purple and gold. Westbrook has expressed excitement about Ham’s hiring as well. Included in that is his commitment to getting the best out of Russell Westbrook, the much-maligned point guard who struggled - to say the least - last season. They have a new coach in Darvin Ham who has come in and said all the right things about taking over a team that missed the play-in game last season. And why shouldn’t Lakers fans be hyped up? The schedule release is one of the first times the new season feels within reach and offers reason to be excited for the tip-off of a brand new campaign. While it brings the end to the highly-desired tweets reporting on individual games, it does offer a chance to look forward to the upcoming Lakers season.
December 27 can’t come soon enough.After days and days of silly leaks and an unnecessarily elongated process, the NBA released full schedules for every team on Wednesday. They’ll make him reconsider his decision to be in the visitor's locker room after a Luka Special.Īlso, Jalen will probably have a little cooking for his former team and fans. But the Mavs are full of competitors, and they’ll definitely want to destroy the Knicks when JB makes his return on December 27. They’re all friends and that’s what they want for one another. From Luka Doncic to Dorian Finney-Smith to Jason Kidd. I’m guessing every member of the team is happy for JB. Not only does he deserve credit for what he did on the court, but he deserves credit for his presence off the court. He became a near-All-Star level player and was the second-best player on a team that came dang close to making a run at an NBA championship. We can debate the criteria for tribute videos in a different article (they’re handed out like candy now), but it would be shocking if Brunson didn’t get a good one, met with a standing ovation from the crowd.Īnd he deserves all of that! JB was drafted in the second round of the 2018 draft and out-performed every expectation. With that being said, Brunson will likely get a lengthy tribute video upon his return to the Mavs. The blame should fall on the Mavs organization, not Brunson. Judging the pulse of the MFFL’s, it feels like most understand Brunson probably wasn’t going to get as much money by staying in Dallas. Nearly everyone respects Jalen and is thankful for all he brought to the Mavericks and their run to the Western Conference Finals, but some fans are a little bitter he left for the Big Apple. When Brunson signed with the Knicks, he left Dallas with mixed reviews. Then, just 48 hours later, Jalen Brunson will make his much-anticipated return to Dallas when the New York Knicks come to town on December 27. First, we have a Luka Doncic-LeBron James matchup on Christmas day.
The Christmas season is going to be awesome for Dallas Mavericks fans.