The "Christmas hangover" day -- lots of games, but nobody really cares that much. Well, here goes nothing anyway.

Nationally Televised Games:
Rockets at Magic, NBA TV, 7:00pm: Who's ready for some Magic basketball??? (crickets) Meanwhile, the Rockets have a middling roster and Kevin McHale is their new head coach. The hell? What's Daryl Morey planning? You know he's up to something and is just playing the rope-a-dope strategy right now. Right?

Lakers at Kings, NBA TV, 10:00pm: Anyone else expecting the Kings to maybe, just maybe, not be horrible this year? Tyreke Evans, a slimmer and more experienced DeMarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton, Jimmer Fredette, and the always underrated Chuck Hayes has already been declared captain despite just recently joining the team after a health scare.

All The Other Games:
Craptors at Cavaliers, 7:00pm: I'm just going to quote the STATS LLC game preview here, because they say all that needs to be said:

Eight years after Cleveland picked LeBron James first overall in the draft and 17 months removed from James' infamous "Decision," there is hope Kyrie Irving may be the piece the Cavaliers can rebuild around.
...
The wild card could be Andrea Bargnani, who is being shifted from center to forward in hopes of improving his rebounding. The Italian 7-footer averaged a career-best 21.4 points last season, but only 5.2 rebounds.

Pistons at Pacers, 7:00pm: Remember the way the Pacers finished out last season being semi-competitive and even making the playoffs slightly interesting? They've added David West and George Hill to the mix. I'm betting they're going to be one of those teams that gets described as "frisky" on a regular basis. You know, just good enough to piss you off if you're a fan of whatever team is playing the Pacers each night.

On the other side of this game, it's still so cold in the D. Here's Detroit's starting lineup for tonight's game: Stuckey, Gordon, Prince, Monroe, Jerebko.

Nyets at Wizards Generals, 7:00pm: Is this still a thing? Is Washington still terrible enough to be considered a professional loser? Will the Nyets feel motivated by their owner's foray into Russian politics? Stay tuned!

Bucks at Bobcraps, 7:00pm: I would just like to take a moment to remind everyone that the Bobcraps are placing their hopes and dreams in the hands of Corey Maggette. Lemme know how that works out for you, Charlotte. Also, I'm just gonna leave this here... "Stephen Jackson admits he checked out after the Bobcats traded Gerald Wallace."

Thunder at Timberwolves, 8:00pm: Minnesota's added some pieces to help Kevin Love since last year: Ricky Rubio (finally), Derrick Williams, and J.J. Barea, plus new coach Rick Adelman. I'm not expecting miracles, but there's a chance they might not be dogshit for a change this year. Of course they'll still lose this game because the Thunder are really, really, really good. But still.

Nuggets at Mavericks, 8:30pm: And so continues the Nuggets' experiment with having a roster entirely composed of role players. When Nene is the closest thing to a superstar on your roster, you really, really need for some things to just go your way every night to compete. That being said, George Karl! There's always a chance.

Grizzlies at Spurs, 8:30pm: Hear that? That's the sound of the door continuing to shut on San Antonio's chance at one last title before they have to blow it up and rebuild. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker aren't getting any younger. Richard Jefferson continues to decline. Antonio McDyess retired. Damn, this is depressing. I feel old, you guys. I need a hug. :(

Hornets at Suns, 9:00pm: Pardon me, but I'm just going to say this one more time to get it out of my system: "basketball reasons." Okay, there, I feel better. So anyway, the Hornets are still owned by the league -- and damn does that just feel wrong -- and they've lost Chris Paul and David West. But they acquired Chris Kaman!!

...Yeah, I'm sorry, Hornets fans.

Meanwhile, the Suns will continue to waste the last years of Steve Nash's career. Happy happy joy joy.

76ers at Trailblazers, 10:00pm: Again, I'm just going to quote the STATS LLC guys because, really, what can I possibly say that's more fitting than this?

"In what has become a recurring theme in Portland, the Trail Blazers will open the season with a myriad of injuries."

Bulls at Warriors, 10:30pm: The Mark Jackson coaching experiment continues! He was brought in to change the defensive mentality to lower that 105.7 points per game number they allowed last season. Well, they only gave up 105 points last season! Success!! That;s almost a full point lower!!

Labels: Bawful After Dark