Christmas is coming up, but we still have lots of great sports action to view this weekend. Let’s take a look at some of this weekend’s top events in the sports world.
Top Sports Events for This Weekend – December 18 – December 19
NFL
You know it’s getting late in the NFL season when you start seeing Saturday football. We’ll see a huge game in the AFC, as the New England Patriots will travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts.
Both teams are in the thick of the playoff race. The Colts desperately need a win here in order to stay in the playoffs at this point.
We’ll see if Bill Belichick can find a way to slow down Jonathan Taylor and the Indianapolis rushing attack, or can Taylor run free and put up some huge yardage on the Pats. This one should be a fun one to watch on Saturday.
The premier matchup on Sunday will feature the Green Bay Packers traveling to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. We’ll see if Lamar Jackson is ready to go after injuring his ankle last week.
Aaron Rodgers and the high-powered Green Bay offense will be ready to go. Baltimore’s secondary has been hit by the injury bug, so Rodgers and company could put up some big numbers.
Men’s College Basketball
With finals week coming to an end, we’ll get back to some good college basketball matchups. On Saturday, Gonzaga will travel to Texas Tech to take on the Red Raiders. Gonzaga has really bulked up its non-conference schedule, so they’re playing some good competition to prepare themselves for tournament time.
Another matchup we’ll see on Saturday will feature two storied programs, as UCLA will travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels have been down the last couple of years, while the Bruins are rising up the rankings coming off of last year’s Final Four appearance. We should see a lot of offense in this one.
NBA
In the NBA, we’ll have a weekend full of great basketball action. On Saturday, we’ll see this year’s surprise team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, take on the defending NBA champions, the Milwaukee Bucks. If the playoffs were to start tomorrow, the Cavaliers would be the #4 seed.
The Bucks are 19-11 and are currently the #2 seed. Milwaukee will more than likely be without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is in the league’s health and safety protocol.
On Sunday, LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will head to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls are hoping that after their two-game hiatus due to losing so many players to COVID, that they’ll be ready to play. The Bulls have played well this season and are near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
The same can’t be said for the Lakers, who have struggled to start the season. Los Angeles has struggled to play good defense, and they just can’t seem to find the right combination of players to be successful.
LeBron’s age is starting to slow him down, Anthony Davis hasn’t played well, and Russell Westbrook hasn’t fit in well. We’ll see if the Lakers can pull things together and make a playoff run this season.