What to Watch, You NBA Sicko: Apr. 6 - Apr. 12

The best viewing experiences the NBA has to offer...this week

This is the final What to Watch, You NBA Sicko of the 2025-26 season. While these were never the most viewed articles, I hope they were helpful for whoever did take the time to scroll through them. Once the playoffs get going, something that I have yet to concoct will replace them on Mondays. So, if you have any ideas, leave a comment, and enjoy the final week of a great NBA season.

Monday - April 6

Early Slot: New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (7:00 PM) Peacock/NBCSN

The Atlanta Hawks have a two-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers for the Eastern Conference five seed, and have a very remote chance at the four seed, but their final four games of the season are brutal. They play the Knicks on Monday, the Cavaliers twice, and finish the season on the road in Miami. How they do in this game will color the closing week of their season. The Knicks are all but locked into either the third or fourth seed, but with only a game lead over Cleveland in fourth, they can’t take their foot off the gas until the playoff picture is clear. Similar to the Hawks, their final four games are a bear. They travel to Atlanta, then play Boston and Toronto in a back-to-back, and finish the season against the Hornets. Playoff seeding is probably a bit overblown, but the Knicks fanbase really is mentally unprepared to limp into the playoffs, and a strong showing against the Hawks would go a long way to soothing their tortured souls.

Late Slot: Philadelphia 76ers at San Antonio Spurs (8:00 PM)

Even with the tiebreaker, the Spurs’ chances at the one seed are incredibly slim. They’re three games back with four to go, and the Thunder haven’t lost three straight since April 2-5 of 2024. However, the Sixers are the sixth seed in the East over the Raptors thanks to tiebreakers, which means they do really need this game. Their first two games of their final four are against the Spurs and Rockets on the road, with a closing kick against the Pacers and Bucks at home. The Sixers will rightly believe that if they can split their Texas Roadhouse trip, the sixth seed is theirs for the taking. Also, any chance you get to see Joel Embiid and Victor Wembanyama go at it is one worth taking.

Tuesday - April 7

Early Slot: Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics (8:00 PM) NBC/Peacock

The Hornets are eighth in the East, but only a half-game out of sixth. Meanwhile, the Celtics are about as locked into the two seed as you can be. Since December, the Hornets and Celtics have been two of the top five teams in the league by record and net rating, which makes this a true heavyweight fight. The Hornets lost by 15 to the Celtics on March 29, but since that drubbing, the Hornets are riding a four-game winning streak.

Late Slot: Oklahoma City Thunder at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 PM)

The Rockets and Suns play at 11:00 PM, but I’m more interested in this game for one reason. The Lakers are going to be without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and I want to see if they have any chance, even a slim one, of putting up a fight without their two best offensive players. While LeBron James settled in nicely as an elite role player, they’re going to need him to turn back the clock, just a few years, and see if he can’t drag them to the finish line. The Lakers are currently tied for the three seed with the Nuggets, but are only a game ahead of the Rockets in fifth. The Thunder are a winning machine, and I doubt they’ll show much sympathy to a wounded animal, which is why they’re the championship favorites.

Wednesday - April 8

Early Slot: Minnesota Timberwolves at Orlando Magic (7:00 PM)

The Timberwolves are probably locked into the sixth seed in the West, but the Magic still have a ton to play for. They’re a game out of sixth in the East, and a game out of tenth. Needless to say, how they close the season will loom heavily over the franchise. Securing the sixth seed, despite massive injury issues, would count as a solid showing, while ending up in tenth after going all-in for Desmond Bane will probably lead to some rolling heads. The Cavaliers and Hawks also play at 7:00 PM, but since they have another matchup this week, I opted for the rematch.

Late Slot: Portland Trail Blazers at San Antonio Spurs (9:30 PM) ESPN

The Trail Blazers and Clippers are tied in the standings at eight and nine. Due to the play-in format, the difference between finishing ninth and eighth is huge. A ninth-place finish requires two victories to land the eight seed, while finishing in eighth gives you two chances to make the dance. Depending on how things shake out, the Spurs might not have much to play for, but I doubt they’ll take their foot off the gas. With a week off between the end of the season and the start of the playoffs proper, there’s no sense sliding into cruise control just yet.

Thursday - April 9

Early Slot: Boston Celtics at New York Knicks (7:30 PM) Prime

Due to the fact that the Celtics get to play the Pelicans, I doubt the Knicks will be able to overcome the three-game gap in the standings, but it’s still very likely the Knicks will be fighting to avoid the four seed. Also, let’s be real, the Celtics and Knicks is a real rivalry. Both fanbases hate each other, and the players always get up for it. This a marquee game no matter the time, and I know both teams will want to make a statement about their Finals chances.

Late Slot: Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors (10:00 PM) Prime

The one late game won’t have quite the stakes, but it’s probably a must-win for the Lakers. They play the Thunder, Warriors, Suns, and Jazz to close the season, and their chances of holding onto the three seed are incredibly remote if they go 1-3. The Warriors are pretty much locked into the tenth seed, but thankfully, Steph Curry is back. He almost single-handedly dragged the Warriors back against the Rockets and is still one of the most dangerous offensive players in the league. It sucks to say, but this could be one of the final games, if not the final game, between Curry and LeBron with any real stakes.

Friday - April 10

Early Slot: Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks (7:00 PM) Prime

Alright, while Cleveland won’t fall below the four seed, the Hawks have everything to play for, and the Cavaliers might be eyeing the three seed if the Knicks slip up. On top of that, this is currently the four-five first-round match-up in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Even though we’re a week away from the end of the season, there are still miles to go to solve Conference seeding.

Late Slot: Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets (9:00 PM)

Oklahoma City could very well have wrapped up the one seed by this point, but chances are the Nuggets will still be in the fight for the three seed. The Nuggets face the Trail Blazers and Grizzlies before closing the season against the Thunder and Spurs. While that sounds like a killer close, the Thunder and Spurs will probably have nothing to play for. That being said, I doubt either team throws out a G-League team. You only get so many rehearsals before the big playoff recital, and I think the Thunder will treat this game against the Nuggets as their final tune-up before their repeat push.

Late Slot: Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets (9:30 PM) Prime

If it wasn’t for Anthony Edwards’ knee injury, this game would have been massively consequential. Unfortunately, the Timberwolves have gone 5-5 over their past ten, while the suddenly spritely Rockets are 8-2, and on a six-game winning streak. However, if the Wolves want to have any chance of getting out of the sixth seed, they need to win this game. It’ll give them the season series and tie-breaker, and it will flip one of the three games that they trail by. In essence, whoever wins this game lands one-and-a-half games over the other. By the time tipoff comes around, this could be a glorified tune-up, but I’d imagine the Wolves will want to regain their mojo, while the Rockets will want to keep rolling into the playoffs.

Saturday - April 11

No Games

Sunday - April 12

All Eastern Conference games tip at 6:00 PM. All Western Conference games tip at 8:30 PM

Early Slot: Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat (6:00 PM)

The Heat and Hawks are fighting for their seeding. It may be all done and dusted by the time we get to Sunday, but if not, this has a chance of being a highly consequential game. As noted, the Hawks have a brutal close, and there is a chance that this game determines who will be ninth and who will be tenth. The Heat have been awful recently, 3-7 in their past ten, but with their playoff pedigree, they’ll like their chances if they can make it. Unfortunately, being the tenth seed makes getting there much more difficult. They do have two games against the Raptors in Toronto, so their destiny is still in their hands.

Late Slot: Denver Nuggets at San Antonio Spurs (8:30 PM)

All I know is that Victor Wembanyama, if healthy, will play 20 minutes in this game. He’s at 62 games played, but one of those came in under 20 minutes, which means, for awards purposes, he needs to hit 20 minutes in each of his final four games. Jokic is in an identical situation as well. Even if this game is meaningless, the NBA’s 65-game rule will make it so that at the bare minimum, we see Jokic and Wemby battle for 20 minutes. You have to hand it to them (no, you don’t), that rule is really working exactly as they intended.

For any inquiries about work, discussion, and the like, you can email me at nevin.l.brown@gmail.com.