Kevin Durant and Luka Donic are set to face each other in one of the 15 games scheduled for 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).
The games will start every 15 minutes, which means they’ll most likely end about 15 minutes apart as well. This ensures continuous crunch time action to enjoy on League Pass from about 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 offers a similar experience to NFL RedZone, with live look-ins at all games, especially during the final minutes. This ensures you won’t miss any key moments, starting at 9 p.m. ET.
All teams. All games. Completely FREE.
TONIGHT, all 30 NBA teams will hit the court with 15 games set to be broadcasted for free on the new NBA App. The games will kick-off every 15 minutes, ensuring non-stop action!
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 set to play four games. To surpass Johnson within this period, 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 just 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, our focus was on two rising stars, Luka Doncic and Donovan Mitchell, and an unbeatable team, the undefeated Bucks, as they launched into their third week of the season. As we enter Week 4, all three continue to sizzle: Doncic hasn’t scored less than 30 points in any game this season, Mitchell is proving to be a perfect match for Cleveland, and the Bucks haven’t lost a single game. This includes their ninth consecutive victory to start the season, which Giannis Antetokounmpo enjoyed from the bench, munching on popcorn.
The Bucks maintain their undefeated status in the league, boasting a 9-0 record. Photo by Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports.
Heat Check: Cleveland, Milwaukee, Memphis and Dallas
This week, we are examining teams that have both a heat and cold check. The Bucks currently hold the heat check, but the Cavaliers aren’t far behind, challenging them at the top of the Eastern Conference standings. As we enter Week 4, Cleveland is on an eight-game winning streak, their longest since they won 13 consecutive games from November 11 to December 6, 2017.
As we approach Week 4, two teams in the Western conference, Memphis (7-3) and Dallas (5-3), are currently enjoying three-game winning streaks. The Grizzlies are only half a game behind Utah and Phoenix in the race for the top spot in the West. Meanwhile, Dallas has managed to move two games above .500 and finds themselves trailing the Jazz and Suns by 1 1/2 games for the No. 1 position.
Cold Check: Golden State
The reigning champion Warriors, with a 3-7 record, are heading into Week 4 on the back of a five-game losing streak and are currently 13th in the Western Conference. Should there be a sense of urgency or patience in the Bay Area? Naturally, a five-game losing streak might instigate some level of concern. However, considering Warriors’ track record of championship wins, this reaction should be significantly mitigated, especially since it is 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 versus 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 compete against the Clippers in two crucial intra-city battles to conclude the evening.
Wednesday: Knicks vs. Nets (7:30 ET, ESPN) & Lakers vs. Clippers (10 ET, ESPN)
New York and Los Angeles, the only two NBA cities with two teams each, will see their intra-city rivals compete against each other on the same night. The Nets will host the Knicks at the Barclays Center (7:30 ET) in New York, while in Los Angeles, the Clippers will host the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena (10 ET).
The two teams often viewed as the “little brother” in their respective intra-city rivalries – the Nets in New York City and the Clippers in Los Angeles – both come into Wednesday’s game with impressive winning streaks against their city rivals.
The Knicks have lost to the Nets in their last seven encounters, a losing streak that started on Jan. 13, 2021. From the start of the 2018-19 season, the Knicks have only managed to win 3 out of 15 games against the Nets.
The Clippers are heading into Wednesday’s game with an eight-game winning streak against the Lakers, which started on Dec. 22, 2020. The city rivalry of the last ten years has been largely in the Clippers’ favor, with a record of 33-7 in their last 40 games against the Lakers, a period that started from 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 reigning Kia MVP, Nikola Jokic, surpassed Wilt Chamberlain on the triple-double leaderboard, moving him to 6th place 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.
