10 home match-ups you can't miss

September 8, 11:20 PMWashington Wizards ExaminerGeorge Panagakos

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About a month ago, Dave McMenamin wrote an article for NBA.com regarding the top ten days to watch basketball this 2008-09 season, including a Washington @ Cleveland December 25th match-up, part of a five-game, nationally televised, Christmas day spectacular.  Now, with less than a month to go until the NBA preseason kicks off, I thought I'd offer a top ten exclusively for the Wizards.  First, let's narrow down those 41 home games.   Keep in mind, individual tickets won't sell until October 1st, so if you really want to catch these games, you might want to consider one of the season ticket plans or to try and catch the games on TV:


MIAMI HEAT
Tuesday, November 18th: Miami @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 4th: Miami @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Miami is busy crafting its own version of a "Big Three," as they suit up with a reborn Dwayne Wade, "The Matrix" Shawn Marion, and rookie sensation, Michael Beasley.  I think Washington will match-up well with Miami this year, but a healthy D. Wade will be a handful.

HOUSTON ROCKETS
Friday, November 21st: Houston @ 7:00 p.m. ET
If Ron Artest plays ball, and Yao Ming isn't found "lost in translation," Houston could beat out even the Boston Celtics this year for the most defensively sound squad.  Washington might be tested by Houston's heavy D, especially given Washington's poor performance the last time they were in Houston.  Hopefully the home court advantage will be in full effect.

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Wednesday, December 3rd: Portland @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Despite suffering a loss to their prospected star player, Greg Oden, the Trail Blazers played well in a tough Western Conference last year, and can only hope to improve.  We might also see a shoot out between Gilbert Arenas and Portland guard, Brandon Roy.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Friday, December 5th: Los Angeles Lakers @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Did someone say shoot out?  While Gilbert Arenas is Kobe Bryant's number one fan, there is no love loss when it comes to Arenas' desire to outplay Kobe in a scoring match-up.  With the addition of Pau Gasol late last season, and the maturation of center Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are now a bit more than a Kobe-clutched team.  For Washington to beat the Western Conference Champs, they will have to shoot well, and guard the fast break.

BOSTON CELTICS
Thursday, December 11th: Boston @ 8:00 p.m. ET
Probably the most exciting home match-up of the season next to Washington's two games against the Cavs, Boston represents a chance for Washington to validate their success against last season's NBA Champions.  Boston's team nucleus is mainly the same this season, minus a James Posey and plus a Darius Miles.  It will be interesting to see if Miles can become the sort of Tim Thomas, inside body and spot up three guy I thought he would become in the league, before he dipped out to pursue a short-lived acting career.  Washington should play with a lot of confidence against Boston, knowing they beat them 3-1 last season, and if they can control the glass and apply pressure to Paul Pierce and Ray Allen around the three point arc, the Wizards can look for another home victory.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
Saturday, December 27th: Oklahoma City @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Washington's first home match-up against the new-look Oklahoma City Thunder will most likely remind them of their 2-0 performance against the Seattle Supersonics last season, and given those performances, it is unlikely Washington will have much trouble with OKC.  Even so, new management and coaching strategies could give the team a fresh start, and Washington should be prepared to face the completely different team OKC has become.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
Sunday, January 4th: Cleveland @ 1:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, April 2nd: Cleveland @ 8:00 p.m. ET
For the last three years, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers have beaten the Wizards in the playoffs and have earned themselves the title of rival through and through.  No fan of sport could miss these two rival match-ups, and each game should go down to the wire.

TORONTO RAPTORS
Wednesday, January 7th: Toronto @ 7:00 p.m. ET
Monday, April 13th: Toronto @ 7:00 p.m. ET
I've been curious about the Raptors and their Chris Bosh, Jermaine O'Neal tandem, but with outside shooters like Jose Calderon and Jason Kapono, there really is a great mixture in Toronto I feel will shake up the East.  Given the black cloud that hangs over all players from that incident in Detroit, one has to wonder how O'Neal will respond as the season stretches out.  Like Artest in Houston, if he plays ball and does not find himself as a former self, I expect the Raptors to come out strong from the gate.  Washington should be able to counter, but their starters might have a difficult time guarding both Bosh and O'Neal, finding a necessity of bench presence to out play the Raptors' bench and secure a victory or two.

PHOENIX SUNS
Monday, January 26th: Phoenix @ 7:00 p.m. ET
The "Big Cactus," Shaquille O'Neal, was more outspoken last season than he was successful.  What might Shaq teach Amaré Stoudemire, and how might Shaq play as the thinning shadow of his former self?  But Shaq is a proven Champion that is still hard to defend.  The Wizards have the firepower to play the old style of Phoenix basketball, but with the new coaching style applied, it will be interesting to see how Phoenix plays this season.  With Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, Washington does have the flexibility to play strong, but I can't expect Shaq to play the minutes he once was able to play and wouldn't be surprised to see Phoenix's star point guard, Steve Nash, with more of a shooting guard role this season.

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
Wednesday, March 11th: New Orleans @ 7:00 p.m. ET
While the Lakers are favored in the West this season, the addition of James Posey gave the New Orleans Hornets a great deal of talent, perhaps enough to reach a NBA Finals.  Posey's excellent defense and sharpshooting from the three point arc are not to be underestimated, and the Wizards will be tested by the fast hands of Chris Paul and the stifling defense of Posey off the bench.