(the rest of) This Week in League Pass

If you're just hearing this news now, then you've already missed out on a few days of the NBA's Free Preview of League Pass. Fortunately, there are still a few days left (it goes through the 23rd) and the streets of New York (or wherever you live) are covered in slush, so hunker down on the couch, pour yourself a glass of your favorite rye whiskey, and let me guide you through the often bewildering world of League Pass. There are 40 NBA games between now and Sunday, and you won't be able to watch them all. We all know that you're a cowering, indecisive ball of mush, so let me tell you what to focus on:

Wednesday, 1/19
Yes, ESPN's 9:00 game between the Lakers and Mavericks is vaguely interesting to me, but I'd rather watch
Thunder @ Nuggets, 9pm
'Melo and Durant, two of the best scorers in the game, going after each other with probably neither one playing much defense. Also fun will be watching the muscular point guard battle, as Russell Westbrook will do his best to fly past Chauncey Billups and fly over Ty Lawson.
Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Lamar Odom's Titter Feed (Billups) vs. I'm Optimus Prime (Westbrook)
Browless Wonders (JR Smith) vs. Big Guy Big Guy (Al Harrington)
Ready for the World (Nene) vs. Mrs. Windhorst (Jeff Green)

Timberwolves @ Clippers, 10:30pm
Yes, this sounds like a match-up of teams that have been reliably shitty for the past... well, ever. But the Clips have been on a roll lately, having won 10 of their last 14. Plus, you know that Blake Griffin is going to do something that makes you shit yourself in fear at his awesome power, and he'll be squaring off against one of the league's other best young big men in Kevin Love (who I'm a big fan of, but absolutely does not make you shit yourself in fear). Both have double-double streaks of like twenty-something games going, so: fun.
Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Bronxville BitchSmackers (DeAndre Jordan) vs. Black Prezodents (Eric Gordon)
Browless Wonders (Love, Darko Milicic) vs. Big Guy Big Guy (Luke Ridnour)

Thursday, 1/20
You won't actually need League Pass on Thursday, since there are only three games and two of them are on TNT, with the other one being the hideous Sixers @ Bobcats match-up. But between the TNT games, I'd recommend...
Clippers @ Trail Blazers, 10:30pm
Again, the Griffin factor looms large, but I'd like to also make a case for watching my Blazers, who are once again hanging tough (two games over .500) despite injuries to Brandon Roy and Greg Oden. They have some fun young players trying to compensate for Roy's absence in Rudy Fernandez and Wesley Matthews, plus the league's only Aboriginal point guard, Patty Mills (not joking). LaMarcus Aldridge has been playing at an All-Star level since Roy went down, and Marcus Camby is, as always, Marcus Camby. Holy fuck, now Marcus Camby is injured, too. When is this shit going to stop? Have we thought about maybe hiring a new training staff, Portland? One that can maybe focus on strengthening the knees? Or what about Paul Allen putting some money into developing a substance that can replace meniscuses (menisci?)? Jesus.
On a brighter note:

Three Goggles!

Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Bronxville BitchSmackers (Jordan) vs. Black Prezodents (Aldridge, Andre Miller)
Lamar Odom's Titter Feed (Al-Farouq Aminu) vs. I'm Optimus Prime (Griffin) -- this pre-supposes that Haller sets his line-up between now and then, which is a risky proposition to be sure.

Friday, 1/21
I'll be on a bus, then the opening of Mandu Two in DC, but Danny's a big NBA fan so hopefully there'll be some TVs on over the bar.
Hornets @ Hawks, 7:30
Two solid teams with similar records, both overall and recently (each is 8-2 in their last ten). Chris Paul is always entertaining, and without my own League Pass (or a TV, for that matter) I haven't seen nearly enough of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith this year.
Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Old Man Whiteford (Johnson, Jamal Crawford) vs. Barbra Streisand (Smith)
Lamar Odom's Titter Feed (Al Horford) vs. I'm Optimus Prime (Mike Bibby, Trevor Ariza)

Jazz @ Celtics, 7:30
Normally I equate "professionalism" with "boringness" but in this particular instance I think the match-up between the league's oldest system (Sloan's pick-and-roll) and the league's oldest team (the positively paleolithic Celtics) should provide a good watch. Plus: Rondo vs. D-Will!
Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Browless Wonders (Al Jefferson) vs. Big Guy Big Guy (Paul Pierce)

Lakers @ Nuggets, 10:30
This one's on ESPN, so again no League Pass necessary. This'll likely be our last chance to see this match-up, a mainstay among Western contenders the last few seasons, before the Nuggets blow up their roster and render themselves irrelevant.
Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Old Man Whiteford (Ron Artest) vs. Barbra Streisand (Anthony, Andrew Bynum)

Saturday, 1/22
A full schedule with 13 games going, but somehow there's a dearth of interesting match-ups. In fact, the only one I'm really psyched about is...
Knicks @ Thunder, 8:00pm
It's hard not to like the Knicks this season. Count me among the folks who thought Amar'e would be exposed this year as a product of Nash, although I guess you could still make the argument that he's a product of D'Antoni. Either way: who cares? He's playing great basketball. And the Thunder are the Thunder: America's favorite young go-getters.
Cluj Face-Off Relevance:
Ready for the World (Danilo Gallinari) vs. Mrs. Windhorst (Amar'e, Jeff Green, Landry Fields)

Sunday, 1/23
Let's be honest, even if you're still alive following the NFL Conference Championships, you're not going to want to watch Pacers @ Nuggets, the only game on the NBA schedule.