What to Watch, You NBA Sicko: Mar. 16 - Mar 22
The best viewing experiences the NBA has to offer...this week
Monday - March 16
Early Slot: Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks (7:00 PM) Peacock/NBCSN
These are the two hottest teams in the East. The Hawks are on a nine-game winning streak, and the Magic have won seven in a row. They’re also separated by two and a half games in the standings, which is the difference between fifth in the East and tied for eighth. On top of that, this was supposed to be the Magic City Night. When you add it all up, this might be the most important game in the illustrious history of the Southeast Division.
Late Slot: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets (9:30 PM) Peacock/NBCSN
The Lakers, despite a pedestrian net rating of +1.2, are somehow third in the Western Conference, but they’re far from safe. The Rockets are a half-game back in fourth, and the Nuggets and Timberwolves are only a game and a half back in fifth and sixth. Whoever wins this game will get the honor of being in third in the West. For how long, I have no idea, since they play each other again on Wednesday. Even though the Lakers have been generally mediocre, recently they’ve started playing like an elite team, winning eight of their past nine with a net rating of +11.8. Meanwhile, the Rockets have seen their underlying numbers crumble, a +1.0 net rating since the All-Star Break, despite going 8-5. I’d bet my bottom dollar that this game has a playoff atmosphere.
Tuesday - March 17
Early Slot: Miami Heat at Charlotte Hornets (7:00 PM)
The Hornets’ incredible turnaround has been well documented, but the Heat’s recent surge has flown a bit under the radar. They’re 11-5 over their past 15 games with a net rating of +10.6, and are now virtually tied with the Raptors for sixth. While the Hornets still have a lot of ground to cover to get out of the play-in, the Heat are well-positioned to take advantage of any slide from Toronto or Orlando. There are playoff implications, but these are also two very entertaining teams who are playing some excellent ball.
Late Slot: Philadelphia 76ers at Denver Nuggets (10:00 PM) NBC/Peacock
Late Tuesday night has some slim pickins. It’s either this or San Antonio visiting Sacramento. Now, if Joel Embiid returns, this game will have narrative juice, but without Tyrese Maxey, the Sixers don’t offer a ton to get excited about. However, the Nuggets have struggled to put together complete games with any level of consistency for two months. I’m not saying this game will be close down the stretch, but the Nuggets seem incapable of blowing out the opposition right now.
Wednesday - March 18
Early Slot: Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics (7:00 PM) ESPN
The Warriors are in the midst of a pretty severe injury crisis. Already down Jimmy Butler, they were without Steph Curry, Draymond Green, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Moses Moody, and Seth Curry in their Sunday night clash against the Knicks. Thankfully, Green, Porzingis, and Moody should be back, but that won’t be enough to make this a competitive game on paper. The Celtics, with the reintroduction of Jayson Tatum, have continued to roll. Since January 30, the Celtics are 15-5, and their five losses have come to the Knicks, Nuggets, Hornets, Spurs, and Thunder. This is a team that takes care of business. The Warriors have enough veteran moxy to make this an interesting game, but the real hook is to continue to monitor how Tatum looks.
Late Slot: Los Angeles Lakers at Houston Rockets (9:30 PM) ESPN
Alright, we have ourselves a good old-fashioned rematch. I don’t know the statistics, but winning both games of an NBA doubleheader feels very difficult. If that’s the case, then we should be in for a fun contest. While this individual game, if it leads to a split, won’t matter a ton in the standings, there’s more at stake than just the wins. The Rockets and Lakers have already met once, with Houston taking game one. The Lakers need to win both of these to take the season series, while the Rockets can secure the tiebreaker with a split.
Thursday - March 19
Early Slot: Orlando Magic at Charlotte Hornets (7:00 PM) NBATV
The Magic have been blistering hot for a few weeks, but the Hornets have been scorching for months. Charlotte may be five games back of Orlando, but I wouldn’t put it past them to track them down and breathe down their necks over the final days of the season. Part of the Magic’s turnaround has been Paolo Banchero’s improved play. He should present a matchup problem for the Hornets, but we’ve been saying that for his whole career.
Late Slot: Milwaukee Bucks at Utah Jazz (9:00 PM)
The late slot this week is pretty weak, and Bucks-Jazz is a perfect example. Giannis is still playing, the Bucks will certainly be trying to win, and Utah will do just enough for two quarters to make you forget that they’re tanking. But let’s not kid ourselves. These are two sadsack teams, having sadsack seasons. The good news is it starts at 9:00, unlike Sixers at Kings, which tips at 10:00.
Friday - March 20
Early Slot: Atlanta Hawks at Houston Rockets (8:00 PM)
Due to the congestion in the middle of the playoff picture, every game is a must-win for the Rockets and Hawks. While neither is in any danger of falling out of the play-in, being one of the 20 best teams in a 30-team league isn’t really something you put on a vision board, unless you’re the Kings or Bulls. Depending on how this week plays out, both sides could enter the game with a real sense of desperation. Neither the Hawks nor the Rockets play the most beautiful brand of basketball, but they do bring physicality in their own unique way. The Rockets are a blunt instrument, while the Hawks try to run their opponents into the ground. These are very much paleolithic offenses, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun to watch.
Late Slot: Toronto Raptors at Denver Nuggets (9:00 PM)
I’m very curious to see how Scottie Barnes attempts to make Nikola Jokic’s day a bit less fun. Barnes is the Raptors’ defensive anchor, but similar to Bam Adebayo for the Heat, that doesn’t mean he’s plopped by the rim. Instead, he just does everything and anything to stop that ball from going in the hoop. On the other end of the spectrum, Jokic is still the best player in the world at getting roundball into roundcylinder. While it’s easy to focus on offensive superstars, they’re seldom ever tasked with stopping each other. However, this is the rare example where two teams’ best players will be in direct conflict. May the best man (team) win.
Saturday - March 21
Early Slot: Los Angeles Lakers at Charlotte Hornets (7:00 PM) NBATV
The Lakers’ good times might be over by the time this contest rumbles around. As noted, they’ve been on quite the roll, but depending on how their two-game series with the Rockets goes, the mood could be far from jolly. And the antidote to bad vibes is 100% not the Charlotte Hornets. Even though the Hornets play at one of the slowest paces (97.1, 25th) in the league, their offensive speed is one of the fastest (4.66 MPH, 8th). Meanwhile, the Lakers are dead last in defensive team speed (3.81 MPH). There’s potential for this to be an epic clash of styles, but if Luka Doncic and company don’t have it on offense, they could be run off the court in short order.
Late Slot: Milwaukee Bucks at Phoenix Suns (10:00 PM) NBATV
Hey, it’s a rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals. Outside of Giannis and Devin Booker, I don’t know if anyone else remains from that series, but did I mention it’s a rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals? The nicest thing I can say about this game is that both teams will try to win. The Suns always play hard and are pretty good, and the Bucks sometimes play hard and have fleeting moments of competence broken up by the most perplexed Doc Rivers faces you can conjure.
Sunday - March 22
Early Slot: Brooklyn Nets at Sacramento Kings (6:00 PM)
Sacramento and Brooklyn both have 17 wins. Brooklyn, by virtue of having one more loss, currently has the third-best lottery odds. The bottom three teams all have a 14% chance at the first overall pick, while the fourth team slips to 12.5%. I don’t think I need to go into too much detail to explain the stakes here. 1.5% might sound small, but it means you have 15 more winning combinations. The Nets are very likely to take this game seriously and trot out an abysmal lineup. The Kings, well, you never know if the Kings really understand the who, what, where, when, and why of the league.
Late Slot: Minnesota Timberwolves at Boston Celtics (8:00 PM) NBC/Peacock
The Timberwolves have hit a bit of a rough patch that may or may not have been rectified, or will be spiraling completely out of control. They’re 1-4 over their past five, with their only win against an incredibly shorthanded Warriors team, and their four losses were by 27, 14, 25, and 13 points. They have four games this week, starting with the Suns on Tuesday, the Jazz on Wednesday, and the Trail Blazers on Friday. If they aren’t 2-1 on the week heading into their showdown with the Celtics, it will be DEFCON one in Minnesota. So, that could be quite fun. On the other end, the Celtics have quietly moved into second in the league in net rating, and should continue to see improvement from Jayson Tatum.
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