Hawks at Lakers, Sunday Nov. 11, 9:30 p.m. EST
The Los Angeles Lakers snatched many of the headlines this offseason when they first signed The King, LeBron James to a 4-year contract, then when they surrounded him by one of the most amusing supporting casts in recent memory (affectionately referred to as The Meme Team).
Not only does LeBron seem to always crush the Atlanta Hawks’ spirit every time he plays against them, but Lance Stephenson also tends to save some of his most entertaining performances for the Hawks as well (much to commentator and Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins’s elation).
Viewers can expect a healthy does of the young core, as well as some possible Trae Young compliments from LeBron if Ice Trae can play well in this one.
Hawks vs. Raptors, Wednesday Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m. EST
Beyond LeBron’s decision to join the Lake Show, perhaps the biggest offseason news was the trade of Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors from the San Antonio Spurs.
Now that Coach Mike Budenholzer is no longer a Hawk, the Spurs/Hawks match-up has lost a bit of its luster, so seeing Kawhi in a Raptors uniform will be the major reason to tune into this one.
No one really knows just how healthy Leonard, or if he will return to the MVP level he was playing at prior to missing almost all of last season because of “injury.”
Beyond that, the Raptors have a new coach and DeMar Derozan is no longer a Raptor, so his scoring outbursts for the Raptors vs. the Hawks are thankfully a thing of the past.