Your Weekend NBA Guide: What to Watch During the NFL Commercials

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

Look, we recognize that this the arguably the best weekend of football of the year. But if Kerry Collins and Joe Flacco trading getting pounded into the turf, or watching Bryant Westbrook just irritates you, there some options.

SATURDAY HEADLINER:
Detroit at Utah, 8PM

Two teams that have been exemplary over the past three years that are struggling to maintain their championship aspirations, but who have been on a tear, putting the pieces back together. Detroit's starting to figure out their rotation after the Allen Iverson trade, and Rodney Stuckey has been lights out. Utah just laid a beatdown of epic proportions on Chris Paul and the Hornets, in defense of the Utah-held "8>3" movement. The Jazz were particularly boosted by the new-and-suddenly-premier Paul Millsap. So you've got Utah's home crowd and the Paul Millsap demolition movement against Detroit's efficiency. Something's gotta give.


SUNDAY HEADLINER:
Miami at LA Lakers, 9:30PM

You really need me to break this down? Dwyane Wade's not being talked about in MVP discussions, even though his team is more competitive than expected, he leads the league in scoring, and the rest of his game is nothing to sneeze at.Kobe Bryant, after a sluggish (by his standards, don't get your underwear in a trapezoid, Lakers fans) start, has been absolutely blistering. His line last night almost made me pass out. Now, clearly the Lakers have the better squad and should dominate, but it'll be fun to see the matchup. Of course, if there was ever a night Andrew Bynum should be able to show why people think he'll be the next great NBA center (any day now, seriously), it's Sunday night.

WEEKEND UNDERCARD:
Orlando at San Antonio, Sunday, 8:30PM

This is the first time in years where this looks like a fair fight. The Magic come in after laying out the Hawks much like this. San Antonio has gotten its magic together now that they're healthy, though they're no longer the ultra-deep, versatile unit they used to be and are relying on more and more last second game-winners. Of course, every time the Magic have wound up against a "contender" they never seem to put it away. It'll be interesting to see if Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Rashard Lewis can match up with Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Tim Duncan. The deciding factor may be Roger Mason versus Jameer Nelson. Should be a good one, maybe a better one than Wade v. Kobe.

New York at Houston, Saturday, 8:30PM:

Hey, say what you want about the tanking-for-2010, 13-21 New York Knicks, they're at least entertaining. The Rockets have been peeling themselves up off the floor. With a fast pace and no interior players, the Knicks provide an excellent counterpunch to the bleeding approach of the Rockets. Al Harrington has been playing pretty well, and should be able to get some shots off against Luis Scola with Scola's preference to stay close the lane. Of course, Yao Ming could also score 300 points. Furthermore, with Nate Robinson versus Rafer Alston, you have a pretty amazing matchup of inconsistent, unbalanced point guards .

Philadelphia at Atlanta:

Hawks, if you want to go ahead and pick up your dignity and try again, that would be optimal. Thanks.

Golden State at Portland, Saturday, 10:00PM
Thank goodness Portland doesn't have any off-the-court distractions going on.


Charlotte at Washington, Saturday, 6:00PM
Milwaukee at Minnesota, Saturday, 8:00PM
Oklahoma at Chicago, Saturday, 8:30PM
Golden State at Portland, Saturday, 8:30PM
Boston at Toronto, Sunday, 12:30PM
Phoenix at LA Clippers, Sunday, 3:30PM
Indiana at Golden State, Sunday, 9:00PM
Dallas at Sacramento, Sunday, 9:00PM