New Year's Eve Off Game-Day Thread

A busy day in the NBA, featuring 16 teams not based in Miami.

Game 1 - The Hawks have lost six of their last seven games away from Atlanta. They'll visit the Celtics in Boston today in a 1PM matchup. Boston has taken three straight from the Hawks.

Game 2 - The Indiana Pacers will host the worse-than-expected Cleveland Cavaliers at 3PM. The Pacers are 14-1 at home, and the Cavs are 2-13 on the road. I'd say pick the Pacers and the spread in this one.

Game 3 - At 5PM, Miami's next opponent will meet the HEAT's most frequent opponent when the Warriors visit Orlando. Both teams are riding winning streaks, the Warriors have five straight, and the Magic are looking for their third in a row. Something's gotta give.

Games 4 & 5 - At 7PM, The Kings will tip-off in Houston, while the Spurs will host the embarrassingly bad Brooklyn Nets. Concerning Brooklyn, coach Jason Kidd recently was quoted on NBA.COM:

I need everyone to bet better, both offensively and defensively.

That may be the understatement of the year. Meanwhile, the Rockets are trying to rebound from a 31-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

Games 6 & 7 - The Chicago Bulls, losers of 14 out of their last 20 contests, will host the Southeast Division leading Toronto Raptors at 8PM. Also on tap, NBA TV's pick of the night, where the 25-5 Thunder will play not-so-gracious host to the 24-7 Portland Trail Blazers.

Game 8 - Closing out the action will be the NBA's worst team, the Milwaukee Bucks, on the road in Los Angeles to play the Lakers at 10:30PM. Pau Gasol, who has missed the Lakers' last two games, will rejoin the team and try to stave off a season-high (low) sixth consecutive loss.

Sound off below if you'd like to. I hope to see a few of you in here. If you'd like to check out some of the other blogs, I've listed their links below:

Atlanta Hawks - Peachtree Hoops

Boston Celtics - Celtics Blog

Indiana Pacers - Indy Cornrows

Cleveland Cavaliers - Fear the Sword

Golden State Warriors - Golden State Of Mind

Orlando Magic - Orlando Pinstriped Post

Sacramento Kings - Sactown Royalty

Houston Rockets - The Dream Shake

San Antonio Spurs - Pounding the Rock

Brooklyn Nets - Nets Daily

Chicago Bulls - Blogabull

Toronto Raptors - Raptors HQ

Oklahoma City Thunder - Welcome to Loud City

Portland Trail Blazers - Blazers Edge

Milwaukee Bucks - Brew Hoop

Los Angeles Lakers - Silver Screen and Roll

Miami will face off with the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.