At some point, both the NFL and NBA scheduling would have two of my favorite teams overlap each other. Tomorrow night is going to be big for this blog. The Oakland Raiders are entering a very critical divisional matchup vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in prime time in order to turn the season around. The Los Angeles Lakers usher in a new era as they take on the Clippers in the battle for L.A. Both these games are going to be in front of a national audience, respectively on NFL Network/CBS and on TNT!
Now, onto the age old question, how is this going to work out on the blog? Obviously, the start of the Lakers-Clippers game will overlap the late 2nd half of the Raiders-Chiefs matchup. I may have to load up a livestream of the Lakers-Clippers start so I can fire up the 1st half open thread while I'm doing the 2nd half open thread of the Raiders-Chiefs matchup on TV. Considering Raiders-Chiefs starts at 5:25 PM, priority will be given to that game. And then once the game ends, I will switch up the channel to the Lakers-Clippers from there on out. I guarantee you, I will find ways to comment on both threads during that time and provide my Q-by-Q reaction on both threads as quickly as possible. In terms of the full post game recap, I will merge both of them into one mega recap. I'll recap the Raiders first and then, the Lakers after and I'll combine the "conclusion" section on my overall thoughts on both games and the outlook ahead for both teams.
I'm excited to experiment with this and I'm looking forward to both games. On the Raiders end, you have the debut of NaVorro Bowman. I said it in my full recap after the Raiders-Chargers game last week, the Raiders had to consider calling NaVorro Bowman. And they did so without hesitation signing him to a 1-year deal. He's expected to play tomorrow and stabilize the Linebacker core for a short term. But, this game against the Chiefs, NaVorro Bowman is a secondary headline. Make no mistake, the Raiders are not playing up to par as of late. They're proving that last year's 12-4 season was a fluke game-by-game. And they're going up against a previously undefeated Chiefs team that just lost to Pittsburgh and you can bet, they'll take their frustration out on the Raiders. They want to turn this season around? This is it. This is the Super Bowl even though it really isn't. But, in a literal sense, it is because the Raiders' aspirations for a Super Bowl trip is looking bleak based on the last few games. This game is a script-changer for the season.
On the Lakers' side, you have the most anticipated regular season debut of Lonzo Ball. We can't forget about Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart, and Thomas Bryant. But most likely, Ball and Kuzma are going to log the heavy minutes among the Lakers' latest draft class. While the Lakers are going through their rebuilding phase, the Clippers are starting their rebuilding phase. They broke up 1/3 of Lob City by trading Chris Paul to the Rockets. The Clippers have had the Lakers' number and CP3 was a part of those Clipper victories. But just because they don't have CP3 doesn't mean that the Lakers can finally beat them. They still have Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. They added Lou Williams and Danilo Gallinari. I would say they got better defensively by adding Patrick Beverly and he's going to be a handful for Lonzo Ball because of his scrappy, hard-nosed defense. To make things worse, the Lakers will be short-handed for tomorrow's game. Julius Randle is out. Andrew Bogut is out. KCP will be serving a two-game suspension. Randle is arguably the best rebounder on the team. Bogut out and KCP out are huge losses for the team defensively. It'll be interesting to see how Luke Walton will set the starting lineup and rotations. But, the Lakers should remain competitive with Lonzo, Kuzma, Brook Lopez, and Brandon Ingram. Speaking of Ingram, we're anxious to see how much he improved from his rookie year. He's due for a successful 2nd year campaign in terms of growth and development. Clippers may be the heavy favorite in the opener, but I want to see some competitiveness from this young Laker squad to go along with growth development.
Granted, this won't be the last time this is gonna happen. Both my teams are going to intertwine again in December on Christmas Day when the Raiders take on the Eagles on Monday Night Football and the Lakers take on the Clippers to wrap up the NBA's Christmas galore. But, tomorrow night can not come any faster! Raiders-Chiefs on Thursday Night Football. Lakers-Clippers on the NBA on TNT. For one night, the colors of Silver and Black and Purple and Gold reign together. GO RAIDERS! GO LAKERS! I'll see you guys tomorrow.
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