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The saying used to be that "Basketball Never Stops." But until recently, basketball had never been confronted by a worldwide pandemic.
Coronavirus has left the NBA season hanging in purgatory, forcing desperate sports fans to get their hoops fix through video game tournaments and virtual horse competitions.
But at least the Trail Blazers know what fans actually want in lieu of new games: reliving past glories.
After a successful run of nightly classic content in March and April, NBC Sports Northwest has announced a second slate of retro Blazers games to keep Rip City occupied for at least another month.
This time around, each week has a theme. For instance, '90s Week consists of three playoff games, including a pair of series clinchers from the 1990 Western Conference run that led to a Finals matchup against the Detroit Pistons. (No spoilers on how that one turned out.) Record Setting Week features Jusuf Nurkic's five-by-five game against the Kings, while Game Winners Week leads off with Brandon Roy draining a 30-footer against the Rockets in 2008, which made highlight reels for years until Damian Lillard burned the same franchise with a similar shot on a much bigger stage.
And then, of course, there's Beat L.A. Week, which allows viewers to relive the time Portland beat up a shitty Lakers team in Kobe Bryant's last game at Moda Center, then defeated an emotionally ravaged Lakers team in their first game after Bryant died in January. Y'know, memorable wins like that. (No, I'm not bitter, why do you ask?)
Some of this stuff might stretch the definition of "classic"—who could forget Carmelo Anthony's big game against the Raptors from, uh, three months ago?—but everyone jumping on Twitter to rewatch games together in real time has been one of the more therapeutic rituals of this first wave of quarantine. In any case, it certainly beats watching Chauncey Billups shooting trick shots in his backyard.
Go here for the complete schedule.
Related: Damian Lillard Is Threatening to Expand His Shooting Range All the Way to Half-Court.
