On Monday night, there will be 15 games and one of them will be a face-off 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 are scheduled to start every 15 minutes, which likely means they’ll also conclude about 15 minutes apart. Therefore, you can expect to see continuous high-stakes play on League Pass from around 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. ET. If you’d rather not switch between feeds on League Pass, NBA CrunchTime on the NBA App is an excellent alternative. It offers a similar experience to NFL RedZone, providing live coverage of every game, especially during the critical final moments. This feature begins at 9 p.m. ET, ensuring you won’t miss any of the highlights.
Each team. Every match. Absolutely FREE.
Tonight, all 30 NBA teams will be playing in 15 games, all of which can be viewed for free on the new NBA App. The games will start 15 minutes apart from each other!
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)
To surpass Johnson this week, LeBron would need to average slightly over eight assists per game in the Lakers’ four games this week. This would exceed his current season average of 7.1 assists per game, which ranks him 13th in the league.
Other milestones to watch for this week
- Kyle Lowry requires eight more 3-pointers to join the league of the 12th player to achieve 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
Last week’s edition of The Five spotlighted two in-form players, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell, and an unbeaten team, the Bucks, as they faced the third week of the season. All three remain on fire as they enter Week 4: Luka continues to score no less than 30 points per game this season, Mitchell maintains his excellent form in Cleveland, and the Bucks remain undefeated — even with Giannis Antetokounmpo observing their ninth consecutive victory to start the season from the bench, popcorn in hand.
With a 9-0 record, the Bucks still hold the status of being the only undefeated team in the league. Photo by Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports.
Heat Check: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Memphis and Dallas
This week, we’re focusing on teams that have both a heat and cold check. The Bucks continue to hold the heat check, but the Cavaliers are hot on their heels at the pinnacle of the Eastern Conference standings. As they step into Week 4, Cleveland is enjoying an eight-game winning streak, their longest since they won 13 consecutive games from November 11 to December 6, 2017.
As we head into Week 4, two teams in the West, Memphis (7-3) and Dallas (5-3), are entering on a three-game winning streak. The Grizzlies are trailing Utah and Phoenix by just 1/2 game for the top spot in the West. Dallas, on the other hand, now stands two games above .500 and is 1 1/2 games behind the Jazz and Suns for the first position.
Cold Check: Golden State
The Warriors, defending champions with a 3-7 record, are going into week 4 with a five-game losing streak and currently sitting at 13th in the Western Conference. Should there be a sense of panic or patience in the Bay Area? It’s natural for some panic to set in when a team suffers five consecutive losses. However, considering the Warriors’ history of championship wins, this should help keep the anxiety at bay… especially since it’s still 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 will face the Clippers in two crucial intra-city clashes to conclude the day.
Wednesday: Knicks vs. Nets (7:30 ET, ESPN) & Lakers vs. Clippers (10 ET, ESPN)
The two NBA cities with a pair of teams – New York and Los Angeles – will see their intra-city rivals face off on the same night. The Nets will host the Knicks at the Barclays Center at 7:30 ET in New York, while in Los Angeles, the Clippers will host the Lakers at the Crypto.com Arena at 10 ET.
The two teams frequently regarded as the “little brother” in their respective intra-city rivalries – the New York City Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers – are both heading into Wednesday’s game on impressive winning streaks against their city rivals.
The Nets have emerged victorious in their last seven encounters with the Knicks, a winning spree that started on Jan. 13, 2021. From the start of the 2018-19 season, the Nets have secured 12 wins and suffered 3 losses against the Knicks.
The Clippers head into Wednesday’s game on an eight-game winning streak against the Lakers that started on Dec. 22, 2020. Over the past decade, the Clippers have largely dominated the city rivalry, boasting a record of 33 wins and 7 losses in their last 40 games against the Lakers, a record that dates 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 current Kia MVP, has surpassed Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time triple-double leaderboard, placing him in the 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.
