Indian Wells Final, NBA Playoff Appetizers and the final round of six nations - Week 11, 2023

An early knockout for Tsitsipas means an upset win for Jordan Thompson securing a spot in the final 32 in the BNP Paribas Indian Wells ATP 1000. A seemigly unbreakable Pogacar in Paris-Nice which makes sure he has won more than half of the races he’s entered. Ireland has almost secured the Six Nations trophy and has the opportunity to go for a Grand Slam.

Monday - 13th of March

Basketball, Memphis Grizzlies - Dallas Mavericks, NBA
We’re starting the week off with a game in the NBA that will set the tone for the upcoming playoffs. The Mavs are hosting the a non-complete, yet competitive, Grizzlies. This match-up could become the matchup in the first round of the playoffs.

Basketball, Milwaukee Bucks - Sacremento Kings, NBA
The #1 seed in the eastern conference are visiting the Kings in Sacremento, who happen to be in the #2 seed in the western conference. This is a great opportunity to see if the Kings can keep it going and I will keep speculationg whether they’re contenders or pretenders. We can also see how the Bucks will play without Giannis Antentokounmpo.

Tuesday - 14th of March

Football, Manchester City - RB Leipzig, Champions League
A draw away from home is not good enough for thes City team, they have had ambitions to win the Champions League for quite a long time with only one final appaerance to show for it. RB Leipzig have shown to not go down without a fight. Can we expect an upset? Or will the club backed by external millions pull through?*

Basketball, Milwaukee Bucks - Phoenix Suns, NBA
Milwaukee has a back-to-back game and against another contender, although we might not see the Greek Freak, we’re also very likely unable tosee Kevin Durant lace up for this match.

Wednesday - 15th of March

Football, Napoli - Eintracht Frankfurt, Champions League
Watch this game if you want to see the most beautiful footbal in Europe right now. Napoli is a lot of fun with a very dynamic attack and a very forward thinking midfield. Do yourself a favour, watch this game.

Football, Real Madrid - Liverpool, Champions League
If you don’t want to do yourself a favor, this is a very good second option to have. Real madrid were very clinical in front of goal in Anfield, so clinical it was Real Madrid-esque. It’s gonna be hard, some would say impossible, for Liverpool to make up a three goal deficit. They have shown they can score lots in a single week just a couple of matches ago against Manchester United. Can they do that against Real Madrid? Just about half of the goals scored is enough to make up the deficit.

Basketball, Golden State Warriors - LA Clippers, NBA
Another potential playoff matchup, although less likely than the aforementioned game. The Warriors aren’t fully healthy, however their core is, whereas the Clippers do have a fit Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russel Westbrook. What will this game look like?

Thursday - 16th of March

Football, Freiburg - Juventus, Europa League
I have a feeling Freiburg could be up to something here. That’s it. Just a feeling, And if they don’t, it’s probably because World Cup winner Di Maria did something magical once again.

Football, Arsenal - Sporting, Europa League
After the 2-2 draw in Lisbon I was wondering how much Arsenal are willing to put in to this Europa League campaign. As the season keeps going they’re coming closer and closer to a league title. Are they going to be distracted or even fatigued starting this game and is Sporting going to be able to take advantage of that if that’s the case?

Football, AZ - Lazio, Europa Counference League
Probably the biggest upset of them all. As a Dutch Person I didn’t see this one coming, however I will say this. Lazio have their work cut out for them as the away game in Alkmaar is gonna be tough. AZ is a very hard team to beat at home as they’ve only lost once this when playing in Alkmaar.

Friday - 17th of March

Basketball, Dallas Mavericks - LA Lakers, NBA
This might or might not be a playoff matchup (very unlivkely). However, this could be a play-in matchup. Which I think is a little more exciting, because for both of these teams a win is a little more valuable than for the who’re almost guarenteed a playoff spot.

Saturday - 18th of march

Cycling, Milan - San Remo
It’s the first classic of the road cycling season. It’s a 294 kilometer(!) race in northern Italy, with the final half of the race along the coast. We have a couple of previous winners on the preliminary list of riders includung last year’s winner Mohoric. This is a race that could be won in a breakaway or in a sprint.

Basketball, Golden State Warriors - Memphis Grizzlies, NBA
This is a rivalry nobody really expected, but it’s here? Ja Morant could be back for this game after a two game suspension and a small injury. However, about a week ago they didn’t even need Ja or Adams to beat the Warriors. Will the Grizzlies be able to repeat this result or are the Warriors gonna start winning away from home? I don’t know, what I do know is to never count out the Warriors.

Sunday - 19th of march

Football, Ajax - Feyenoord, Eredivisie
De Klassieker, the most important game in Dutch football and for the first time in quite a while it’s also important for the title rivals. If Feyenoord win they’ve got a 6 point gap to Ajax, If Ajax win they’re on level points, but will assume the first place position in the league on account of goal difference. Two teams who couldn’t be more different in mindset, within the club or with the fans. They both play attacking football, but in different styles. This could be fireworks.

Football, Lazio - AS Roma, Serie A
Another very loaded game on the Sunday. A Roma derby between Lazio Roma and AS Roma which could be three big points for the distribution of the Champions League places, as there are 4 teams playing for the final three spots with three points between them. Both an away game in Europe on thursday so exhaustion might play a role which could result in quite a scrappy finale of the game. Another game in Serie A with less stakes but not less entertaining, Inter - Juventus.

Football, Sheffield United - Blackburn Rovers, FA Cup
Two Championship team battling it out for a semifinal spot in the FA Cup, if there’s something that I love it’s not high quality football with high quality stakes. I’m also rooting for Grimsby against Brighton.

Football, FC Barcelona - Real Madrid, La Liga
El Clásico, the most important game in Spanish football and this is a must win game for Real Madrid if they want to win the title. Barca could widen the gap with second place Real to 12 points. Which would almost guarantee a league win for the Catalans. I almost missed this one because of the action packed Football Sunday we already have.

Rugby, Final Round of the Six Nations
I’m really enjoying my firdt time watching the six nations and rugby in general. I’ve meant to start watching earlier and now I’m mad at myself that I didn’t start earlier. I can’t wait until I know more about the sport. Anyway, watch as Ireland are going for a grand slam.

Motorsports, Saudi Arabian GP, F1
Max Verstappen has had a very dominant start to the F1 season, however the rest of the field is pretty damn close to eachother and I’m genuinely very excite what 2 through 5 is going to look like in the team constructors. As Red Bull are looking like the dominant team. Aston Martin have closed the gap towards Ferrari and Mercedes, Alpine is also having a very quiet and succesful return to the F1 season with Gasly coming up the field from P20 to P9. I’m looking forward to the next race.

Tennis, Indian Wells finals, ATP 1000 & WTA 1000
Indian Wells has already been underway for a little bit and as of writing this seven days prior to the final I have no idea who’s gonna make it to the final, however I’ve been enjoying it to this point with the biggest upset being Tsitsipas being knocked out in the second round by Australian Jordan Thompson.

That’s the weekly. Is there anything I’ve missed to write down? What are you excited for? Let me know.

*See what I did there?