On Monday night, one of the 15 games will feature a showdown between Kevin Durant and Luka Donic.
Every Monday we will tell you what you need to know heading into a new week of NBA action.
1. Manic Monday and Voting Tuesday
There is no need to check the schedule, your favorite NBA team is playing on Monday night as all 30 teams will be in action on a rare 15-game night around the league.
The decision to have every team play on Monday is a result of the NBA’s decision to hold no games on Tuesday, Nov. 8, which is Election Day in the United States. Rather than following the action on the court, NBA teams will share election information with fans and encourage them to participate in the election.
Not only will Monday be unique with all 30 teams in action, the schedule will roll out a bit differently as a new game will tip off every 15 minutes beginning at 7 p.m. ET with the Hornets hosting the Wizards and concluding with the Clippers hosting the Cavaliers (10:30 ET, NBA TV).
The games will start every 15 minutes, which implies that they will likely end 15 minutes apart as well. As such, there will be continuous crunch time action on League Pass from around 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET. If you prefer not to switch feeds on League Pass, NBA CrunchTime on the NBA App offers a similar experience to NFL RedZone with live looks into every game, specifically during the final minutes to ensure you catch all the key moments. This starts at 9 p.m. ET.
Each team. Each game. Completely FREE.
TONIGHT, all 30 NBA teams will hit the court with 15 games accessible for free on the new NBA App. The matchups will tip off 15 minutes apart!
Download the NBA App to watch: https://t.co/OVezzsML8x… pic.twitter.com/saryDqRuou
— NBA (@NBA) November 7, 2022
To learn more about Monday’s slate of games, click here to check out a breakdown of all the top storylines.
2. Milestone Watch: Can LeBron ‘pass’ Magic?
In addition to his pursuit of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record (1,107 points to go), LeBron James is chasing another Lakers legend in assists. Entering Week 4, LeBron needs 33 assists to pass Magic Johnson (10,141) for sixth place on the all-time assists leaderboard.
Just last week, LeBron passed Karl Malone for the most games with 20 or more points in league history with No. 1,135 of his career. After the accomplishment, LeBron shared a leaderboard graphic with the caption “Not bad for a pass first guy!” This upcoming assist milestone is more fitting to his basketball instincts, but the truth is there’s never been a better combination of scorer and playmaker than James.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by (@kingjames)
This week, the Lakers are scheduled for four games. To surpass Johnson this week, LeBron would need to average slightly above eight assists per game, exceeding his current season average of 7.1 per game, which ranks him 13th in the league.
Other milestones to watch for this week
- Kyle Lowry is eight 3-pointers away from becoming the 12th player to achieve 2,000.
- Devin Booker is just two 3-pointers away from achieving 1,000 in his career.
3. The Temp Check: Hottest & coldest teams entering the week
In the previous edition of The Five, we spotlighted two in-form players, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell, and one undefeated team, the Bucks, as they moved into Week 3 of the season. As we enter Week 4, all three are maintaining their blistering form. Doncic has consistently scored above 30 points in each game this season, Mitchell is proving to be an ideal fit for Cleveland, and the Bucks have managed to remain undefeated. Remarkably, this includes a ninth consecutive win, which they achieved even with star player Giannis Antetokounmpo observing from the bench, snacking on popcorn.
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports reports that the Bucks are still the only team in the league with an undefeated 9-0 record.
Heat Check: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Memphis and Dallas
This week, we’re focusing on teams that have both heat and cold checks. The Bucks are still leading in the heat check, but the Cavaliers are closely trailing at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. As they head into the fourth week, the Cavaliers are on an eight-game winning streak – their longest since their 13 consecutive wins from November 11 to December 6, 2017.
Heading into Week 4, two teams in the West, Memphis (7-3) and Dallas (5-3), are enjoying three-game winning streaks. The Grizzlies are only half a game away from taking the top spot in the West from Utah and Phoenix, while Dallas has improved to two games above .500 and is one and a half games behind the Jazz and Suns for the number one position.
Cold Check: Golden State
The Warriors, current champions with a record of 3-7, are heading into the fourth week after a series of five consecutive losses, putting them in 13th place in the Western Conference. Is this the moment for panic or patience among Bay Area fans? The five-game losing streak would naturally cause some anxiety, but considering the Warriors’ history of winning championships, this reaction should be somewhat tempered, especially this early in the season.
4. League Pass games to watch: Monday’s free preview
If you’re not yet subscribed to League Pass, Monday night may be the best free trial you ever see as all 15 games on Election Day eve will be streamed for free on the new NBA App. Here’s the full list (all times Eastern):
- 7 p.m.: Wizards @ Hornets (League Pass)
- 7:15 p.m.: Rockets @ Magic (League Pass)
- 7:30 p.m.: Thunder @ Pistons (League Pass)
- 7:45 p.m.: Pelicans @ Pacers (League Pass)
- 8 p.m.: Suns @ 76ers (NBA TV)
- 8:15 p.m.: Bucks @ Hawks (League Pass)
- Trail Blazers vs Heat at 8:30 p.m. on League Pass.
- 8:45 p.m.: Raptors @ Bulls (League Pass)
- 9 p.m.: Celtics @ Grizzlies (League Pass)
- 9:15 p.m.: Knicks @ Timberwolves (League Pass)
- 9:30 p.m.: Nuggets @ Spurs (League Pass)
- 9:45 p.m.: Nets @ Mavericks (League Pass)
- 10 p.m.: Kings @ Warriors (League Pass)
- 10:15 p.m.: Lakers @ Jazz (League Pass)
- 10:30 p.m.: Cavaliers @ Clippers (NBA TV)
The slate begins with No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero and the Magic taking on 2021 No. 2 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr. and the Rockets. The Suns bring the best record in the Western Conference to Philadelphia to take on last year’s scoring champ, Joel Embiid. The Sixers will be without James Harden and Embiid’s status for the game remains questionable as he recovers from illness.
Later on, how about Ja Morant and the Grizzlies putting their three-game win streak to the test at home vs. the defending Eastern Conference-champion Celtics? And, what about the top scorer in the league (Luka Doncic, 36.0 ppg) taking on the third-ranked scorer in the league (Kevin Durant, 31.5 ppg) as the Mavericks host the Nets?
Cap off this epic night with a heat check squad (the Cavs) and the improving LA Clippers squaring off at Staples Center as Cleveland seeks its ninth straight win.
5. National TV spotlight: Must-see matchups
On Wednesday night, LeBron James and the Lakers face the Clippers in the final of two major intra-city clashes.
Wednesday: Knicks vs. Nets (7:30 ET, ESPN) & Lakers vs. Clippers (10 ET, ESPN)
The two NBA cities of New York and Los Angeles, each with a pair of teams, will see intra-city rivals go head-to-head in the same night. The Nets will host the Knicks at Barclays Center (7:30 ET) in New York, and in Los Angeles, the Clippers will host the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena (10 ET).
The teams often viewed as the “underdogs” in their respective intra-city rivalries – the New York City’s Nets and Los Angeles’s Clippers – are both entering Wednesday’s game on a roll, boasting impressive streaks of wins against their city rivals.
The Nets have triumphed over the Knicks in their last seven encounters, a victory run that started on Jan. 13, 2021. From the start of the 2018-19 season onwards, the Nets have a record of 12 wins and 3 losses against the Knicks.
The Clippers are heading into Wednesday’s game with an eight-game winning streak against the Lakers, a streak that started on Dec. 22, 2020. Moreover, the city rivalry over the last decade has seen the Clippers dominate, with a record of 33-7 in their last 40 games against the Lakers, a run that started in the 2012-13 season.
Friday: Denver at Boston, 7 ET (NBA TV)
The Celtics and Nuggets each enter Week 4 at 6-3, each having won their past two games to rank third and fifth in their respective conference. Denver is led by the reigning back-to-back Kia MVP in Nikola Jokic, who just passed Wilt Chamberlain for the most triple-doubles by a center (79) and is nearly averaging one through nine games (20.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 9.2 apg). Additionally, Denver’s Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. are continuing to round into form following extended absences due to injury. Boston has won five straight games against Denver and is one of only two teams (along with Brooklyn) to have two players — Jayson Tatum (30.3 ppg) and Jaylen Brown (25.3 ppg) — averaging at least 25 points per game so far this season.
The current Kia MVP, Nikola Jokic, has surpassed Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time triple-double leaderboard, placing him in 6th position.
Friday: Minnesota at Memphis, 9:30 ET (ESPN)
This matchup pits two of the NBA’s most exciting and explosive players against each other: Memphis’ Ja Morant and Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards. Much was made of Edwards’ lack of dunks through the first nine games of the season, but he stopped that streak on Saturday with a pair of throwdowns against the Rockets. Meanwhile, there’s been no shortage of highlight plays from Morant early in the season as he’s led the Grizzlies to a 7-3 start.
