On Monday night, Kevin Durant and Luka Donic will compete in one out of the 15 games.
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 will be starting every 15 minutes, thereby ending approximately 15 minutes apart. This will allow for consistent crunch time action on League Pass from about 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET. For a seamless viewing experience without the need to switch feeds on League Pass, try NBA CrunchTime on the NBA App. It offers a live look-in on every game, similar to NFL RedZone, with particular focus on the closing minutes to ensure top moments are not missed. This begins at 9 p.m. ET.
Each team. Each game. Absolutely FREE.
TONIGHT, all 30 NBA teams will be hitting the court 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 to play four games. For LeBron to surpass Johnson within this period, he would need to average slightly over eight assists per game. This achievement would exceed his current season average of 7.1 assists per game, currently placing him 13th in the league.
Other milestones to watch for this week
- Kyle Lowry is just eight 3-points away from becoming the 12th player to hit 2,000.
- Devin Booker is 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 rising stars, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell, as well as one unbeaten team, the Bucks, as they embarked on the third week of the season. Now entering the fourth week, all three entities continue their blistering performance. Luka maintains his streak of scoring a minimum of 30 points per game this season. Mitchell remains a seamless fit for Cleveland, while the Bucks maintain their winning streak – a feat achieved even with Giannis Antetokounmpo watching their ninth consecutive victory from the bench, popcorn in hand.
With a 9-0 record, the Bucks are still the only undefeated team in the league. Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports.
Heat Check: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Memphis and Dallas
This week, we’re examining teams that are experiencing both hot and cold streaks. The Bucks retain their hot streak, but the Cavaliers are in hot pursuit at the pinnacle of the Eastern Conference standings. As they move into the fourth week, Cleveland boasts an impressive eight-game winning streak – their longest since a 13-game triumph from November 11 to December 6, 2017.
In the Western region, two teams, Memphis (7-3) and Dallas (5-3), are currently on a three-game winning streak as they approach Week 4. The Grizzlies are trailing Utah and Phoenix by just half a game for the top spot in the West, while Dallas, having moved two games beyond .500, is 1 1/2 games behind the Jazz and Suns, aiming for the No. 1 position themselves.
Cold Check: Golden State
The Warriors, who are the defending champions, are currently 13th in the Western Conference with a record of 3-7 as they head into Week 4. They are also on a five-game losing streak. This raises the question – is it time for panic or patience in the Bay Area? It’s not unusual for a five-game losing streak to trigger some panic. However, considering the Warriors’ championship history, much of that reaction should be curbed, 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 PM 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 will face the Clippers in the culmination of two significant intra-city clashes on Wednesday night.
Wednesday: Knicks vs. Nets (7:30 ET, ESPN) & Lakers vs. Clippers (10 ET, ESPN)
New York and Los Angeles, each having two NBA teams, will face intra-city rivalries on the same night. The Nets will host the Knicks at 7:30 ET at Barclays Center in New York, while the Clippers will host the Lakers at 10 ET at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
The teams that are commonly viewed as the “underdogs” in these city rivalries – the Nets in New York City and the Clippers in Los Angeles – both come into Wednesday’s game on the back of impressive winning streaks against their city rivals.
The Nets have been victorious in their last seven encounters with the Knicks, maintaining a winning streak that began 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 head into Wednesday’s game holding an eight-game winning streak against the Lakers since Dec. 22, 2020. The city rivalry of the past ten years has seen the Clippers in control, with a record of 33-7 in their last 40 games against the Lakers, a trend that started at the outset 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.
Kia MVP Nikola Jokic, the current titleholder, surpassed Wilt Chamberlain on the triple-double leaderboard, securing him the 6th spot 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.
