Kevin Durant and Luka Donic will compete against each other in one out of the 15 games happening on Monday night.
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).
Games are set to commence every 15 minutes which implies that they will also likely conclude roughly 15 minutes apart. Therefore, from around 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET, League Pass viewers can expect non-stop crunch time action. If you’d prefer not to switch feeds on League Pass, consider NBA CrunchTime on the NBA App. Similar to NFL RedZone, it offers live peeks into each game, especially during the final moments, ensuring you don’t miss any highlights. This feature starts at 9 p.m. ET.
Every team. Every game. Absolutely FREE.
TONIGHT, all 30 NBA teams will be competing, with 15 games accessible for free on the new NBA App. The matchups will start 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. If LeBron wants to surpass Johnson in this timeframe, his average assists per game would need to slightly exceed eight. This would surpass his current seasonal average of 7.1 assists per game, which ranks 13th in the league.
Other milestones to watch for this week
- Kyle Lowry needs to shoot eight more 3-pointers to become the 12th player ever to reach 2,000.
- Devin Booker is just two 3-pointers away from achieving a career total of 1,000.
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, as well as one undefeated team, the Bucks, going into the third week of the season. As we enter Week 4, all three continue to be on fire: Luka hasn’t fallen below 30 points in any game this season, Mitchell is still thriving in Cleveland, and the Bucks remain undefeated. This is despite Giannis Antetokounmpo being on the bench, snacking on popcorn, during their ninth consecutive victory to kick off the season.
The Bucks maintain their status as the league’s only team without a defeat, boasting a 9-0 record. Photo by Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports.
Heat Check: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Memphis and Dallas
This week, we’re examining teams that have both a heat and cold check. The Bucks still hold the heat check, but the Cavaliers are hot on their heels at the pinnacle of the Eastern Conference standings. Coming into the fourth week, Cleveland is on an eight-game winning run – their longest since they achieved 13 consecutive wins from November 11 to December 6, 2017.
As Week 4 approaches, two Western teams, Memphis (7-3) and Dallas (5-3), are enjoying three-game win streaks. The Grizzlies are just half a game behind Utah and Phoenix for the top spot in the West, while Dallas has managed to get two games above .500 and is only 1.5 games behind the Jazz and Suns for the number one position.
Cold Check: Golden State
As the reigning champion Warriors (3-7) move into Week 4 on the back of a five-game losing streak, they find themselves in 13th place in the Western Conference. Should this induce panic or call for patience among Bay Area fans? A five-game losing streak inevitably sparks a degree of concern. However, the Warriors’ history of championships should temper such reactions, particularly 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
LeBron James and the Lakers face off against the Clippers on Wednesday night, concluding two major intra-city clashes.
Wednesday: Knicks vs. Nets (7:30 ET, ESPN) & Lakers vs. Clippers (10 ET, ESPN)
New York and Los Angeles, the two NBA cities that are home to two teams each, will see their intra-city rivals clash on the same night. The Nets will host the Knicks at the Barclays Center (7:30 ET) in New York, while over in Los Angeles, the Clippers will host the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena (10 ET).
Both the Nets in New York City and the Clippers in Los Angeles, often considered the “little brother” in their city rivalries, are heading into Wednesday’s game on significant winning streaks against their city rivals.
The Nets have triumphed over the Knicks in their last seven encounters, a winning streak that started on Jan. 13, 2021. From the start of the 2018-19 season, the Nets have a record of 12-3 against the Knicks.
The Clippers are heading into Wednesday’s game on an eight-game winning streak against the Lakers, a streak that started on Dec. 22, 2020. Over the last ten years, the city rivalry has seen the Clippers dominate with a record of 33-7 in their last 40 games against the Lakers, going back to the start of 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.
Nikola Jokic, the reigning Kia MVP, surpassed Wilt Chamberlain on the triple-double leaderboard, now ranking 6th of all time.
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.
