2020-21 NBA Schedule: Breaking Down Top 10 Games of the Season
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
So much of the past decade of the NBA was defined by LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors. While their roles may be somewhat different this time around, the 2020-21 campaign features many of the same primary characters.
The rest of the league is looking to make up the gap on the Los Angeles Lakers after LeBron and Anthony Davis led them to a crown. Golden State is in the unfamiliar territory of being part of the chasers instead of the chased following an injury-plagued 2019-20 campaign, but its return to prominence with a healthy Stephen Curry figures to be a major storyline as well.
The Los Angeles-Golden State dynamic is only one of a number of intriguing angles to the upcoming season.
The L.A. Clippers are trying to bounce back with a new coach following a stunning playoff collapse, the Miami Heat are looking to defend their Eastern Conference crown against a litany of challengers in the East, Giannis Antetokounmpo will attempt to turn his MVP success in the regular season into a first trip to the NBA Finals, and a loaded Western Conference likely won't have enough playoff spots for all of its talented teams.
That all lends itself to a long list of intriguing regular-season matchups after the schedule for the first half of the campaign was released Friday.
With that in mind, here is a look at the top 10 games to look forward to during the 2020-21 NBA season. Games were chosen based on storylines such as how they will impact the playoff race and which star players are involved.
Dec. 22: Los Angeles Clippers at Los Angeles Lakers
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With all due respect to the Denver Nuggets, this was not how it was supposed to be.
Last season's Western Conference Finals figured to be an all-Los Angeles showdown, especially after the Lakers added Davis and the Clippers brought in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. A clash with the NBA Finals hanging in the balance with the King and the Brow on one side and the Claw and PG-13 on the other had a chance to go down in NBA history.
Instead, the Nuggets battled back from a 3-1 deficit and stunned the Clippers in the second round, setting the stage for the Lakers to cruise to the Finals with a five-game win over Denver.
Despite the playoff collapse, the Clippers still figure to be the Lakers' biggest challengers out West. Leonard is one of the few players in league history who can actually defend LeBron and keep the four-time champion in relative check for stretches, and their supporting cast, which now includes Serge Ibaka, is deep enough to battle for a title.
That makes this Los Angeles matchup appointment viewing, and it could serve as a Western Conference Finals preview if both sides live up to their playoff potential this time around.
Dec. 22: Golden State Warriors at Brooklyn Nets
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No teams are better positioned to make a jump in 2020-21 than the Golden State Warriors and Brooklyn Nets.
Golden State drafted James Wiseman and gets back a healthy Curry to join Green, while Brooklyn gets back a healthy Kyrie Irving. Throw in a healthy Durant making his debut for the Nets and head coach Steve Nash taking over, and they are one of the most interesting teams in the league regardless of who they are playing.
There will be plenty of other storylines when they play the Warriors, though.
Durant went to three straight NBA Finals with Golden State and won two championships but chose to go elsewhere rather than remain and build an even better dynasty with Curry, Thompson and Green. This will be the Warriors' first opportunity to play against him since that decision after he sat out the 2019-20 campaign with an Achilles injury.
There is also Irving, who will always be connected to Golden State after he hit one of the most memorable shots in NBA Finals history to give the Cleveland Cavaliers a Game 7 victory in the 2016 NBA Finals.
This may not be an NBA Finals preview, but there are few games that will feature as many storylines during the regular season.
Dec. 29: Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat
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Perhaps the most shocking result of the entire 2019-20 season came in the second round of the playoffs.
That's when Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat eliminated the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in relatively easy fashion in just five games. The Heat cut off Giannis Antetokounmpo's driving lanes, controlled the course of the series on both sides of the floor and set the stage for their run to the NBA Finals.
That will serve as the backdrop for this season's matchup between the two Eastern Conference powerhouses.
The Bucks still have Giannis, who is coming off two straight MVP seasons, and a talented supporting cast that now features Jrue Holiday, but Miami is the reigning king of the East until proved otherwise in the postseason.
The regular-season matchups will give the Bucks the opportunity to earn some head-to-head wins as they battle for home-court advantage, which would give them a better chance to return the favor to Miami come playoff time.
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Jan. 4: Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors
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It isn't particularly difficult to envision an Eastern Conference Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics, although the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Brooklyn Nets may have something to say about that.
Boston and Toronto squared off in a memorable seven-game series in the second round of the playoffs in Orlando, with the Celtics emerging in the final contest.
Many of the same key pieces are back, especially for a Boston side looking to take the next step as a championship contender with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker.
Doing that may require defeating the Raptors again, as seeding could go a long way toward determining which team emerges from the East with five or potentially even six legitimate contenders depending on how the Philadelphia 76ers play under Doc Rivers.
The rematch of last season's playoff series and the fact that it could be a playoff preview for 2021 puts this matchup on the list.
Jan. 17: Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets
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The Los Angeles Lakers won the championship and the Miami Heat emerged from the Eastern Conference, but there were few more memorable moments in the Walt Disney World Resort bubble than the showdown between the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs—or, rather, the showdown between Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray.
The two guards traded blows for seven games in a thrilling series that Denver escaped from when Mike Conley's buzzer-beater rimmed out in the decisive meeting. Mitchell scored more than 40 points three times and more than 50 points twice, while Murray reached the 50-point mark twice and also topped 40 points three times.
There were stretches when it seemed as if whichever guard had the ball last was going to win the game, because they were both unstoppable for much of the series.
The rematch during the 2020-21 season will give both an opportunity to pick up where they left off in their individual battle and their teams the chance to pick up key ground in what figures to be a tight Western Conference playoff race.
Jan. 18: Golden State Warriors at Los Angeles Lakers
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There is going to be an element of intrigue whenever LeBron James faces the Golden State Warriors.
After all, he played them in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 through 2018 when he was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. While the Warriors won three of those, the one LeBron won was the most memorable since he led Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit against a team that went 73-9 during the regular season.
The roles are somewhat switched this time, with James in the position of favorite as the defending champion with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Golden State went 15-50 in 2019-20 with Klay Thompson sidelined with a torn ACL and Curry out with a broken hand for all but five games. The result was a trip to the NBA draft lottery, but the Warriors should be better in 2020-21.
Kevin Durant is no longer around, but Curry and Draymond Green won the 2015 title before he arrived. Unfortunately, the third player of the team's core, Thompson, looks set to miss another season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon, although the team added Kelly Oubre Jr. in a trade and the promising James Wiseman in the draft.
The Warriors will likely have to go through the Lakers if they are going to lift the Larry O'Brien Trophy once again.
Jan. 18: Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies
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Call this the matchup of near misses from the Walt Disney World Resort bubble.
The Phoenix Suns went 8-0 during the seeding games, catching the attention of NBA fans everywhere and hinting at a bright future with plenty of young talent. However, they fell just short of the play-in game because the Memphis Grizzlies held the tiebreaker.
Memphis then narrowly missed out on the playoffs after losing to the Portland Trail Blazers in the play-in game for the No. 8 seed.
Both the Suns and Grizzlies will have their eyes on battling for playoff spots again, but the West is loaded with other contenders in the Los Angeles Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans.
Any head-to-head win Phoenix or Memphis can get over the other will go a long way in that race.
Throw in the individual matchup between two of the most talented young guards in the league in Ja Morant and Devin Booker, and this was a must-watch matchup even before Phoenix traded for Chris Paul. Now it's appointment viewing.
Jan. 20: Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers
8 of 10
There are few better rivalries in the Eastern Conference than the one between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, and this season's matchup has a new storyline.
Philadelphia hired Doc Rivers to be its new head coach this offseason as it attempts to take the next step with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons on the court. He coached the Celtics from the 2004-05 season through the 2012-13 campaign, making the NBA Finals twice and winning the title in 2008.
The Celtics legend will be on the other side of the rivalry this time and is in charge of helping turn things around in this matchup.
Boston swept Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs last season and handled the 76ers in five games in the second round of the 2018 playoffs. In fact, Philadelphia hasn't made it past the second round of the playoffs since Allen Iverson led it to the 2001 NBA Finals.
It may well have to get past the Celtics if it plans on doing so in 2020-21.
Jan. 30: Houston Rockets at New Orleans Pelicans
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The New Orleans Pelicans are going to have to leapfrog some teams in the Western Conference if they plan on making the playoffs in Zion Williamson's second season.
That is much easier said than done with so many playoff teams from last season returning as seemingly locks, but the Houston Rockets may be vulnerable. There are plenty of question marks surrounding Houston after it traded Russell Westbrook and parted ways with head coach Mike D'Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey.
For one, will John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins bounce back from serious injuries the past couple years and return to All-Star form? Will James Harden even be there all seasons following offseason trade rumors? Will a shift away from D'Antoni lead to fewer regular-season wins?
That uncertainty could give fringe contenders such as the Pelicans an opportunity to make up some ground in head-to-head showdowns.
This game will also feature plenty of star power with Williamson, Harden, Wall and Cousins and pits a team attempting to defend its position as an annual playoff contender against one trying to establish itself as just that.
Feb. 14: Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
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If the Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers are once again the top contenders in the Western Conference, the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers are right in the next tier.
It's difficult to find more backcourt star power than this matchup, as Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum will lead Portland against Luka Doncic and Dallas. Points will surely come in bunches as well with those playmakers pushing the pace, finding teammates and hitting from the outside.
Lillard and Doncic were two of the players who defined the bubble experience at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, to end last season.
Lillard turned into a flamethrower from the outside and willed the Trail Blazers into the postseason with brilliant performance after brilliant performance, while Doncic went toe-to-toe with the Clippers in the first round with triple-doubles and a stunning buzzer-beater to cap off one of the Mavericks' wins.
The battle between those two All-Stars alone is worth tuning in for, and the fact that positioning in the deep Western Conference will be on the line makes it all the more intriguing.
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