What to watch this week in the NBA: Loaded national slate with Lakers-Knicks, Curry-Durant

We’re onto the back half of this NBA season and into the liminal space that is the trade deadline ramp-up. This week’s national TV schedule is appropriately loaded: double features every day except Saturday, which still has a cool Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks contest.

Most of 2024-25’s weirder developments have been sufficiently explicated by this point. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Houston Rockets are quite good. The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers are not actually those gnarly early-season visages, but the Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors are indeed in brackish waters.

There’s still a lot to sort out. Are the Sacramento Kings for real? Are the Detroit Pistons? What color is Jimmy Butler’s hair? It should be a fun, if somewhat overstimulating, week ahead in pro basketball.

This week’s gratuitous quote from league history: “Any other incisive, deep questions that make my mind go vertiginous? … None of you even know what that means. Don’t even try, it might explode your head.” — Gregg Popovich, 2016

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NBA national TV schedule

For games from Jan. 28 to Feb. 2. All times Eastern.

NBA national TV schedule

Game Tip-off National Broadcast

Lakers at 76ers

7:30 p.m. Tuesday

TNT

Bucks at Trail Blazers

10 p.m. Tuesday

TNT

Nuggets at Knicks

7:30 p.m. Wednesday

ESPN

Thunder at Warriors

10 p.m. Wednesday

ESPN

Hawks at Cavaliers

7 p.m. Thursday

TNT

Rockets at Grizzlies

9:30 p.m. Thursday

TNT

Nuggets at 76ers

7:30 p.m. Friday

ESPN

Suns at Warriors

10 p.m. Friday

ESPN

Lakers at Knicks

8:30 p.m. Saturday

ABC

Celtics at 76ers

6 p.m. Sunday

ESPN

Grizzlies at Bucks

8:30 p.m. Sunday

ESPN

Los Angeles Lakers at Philadelphia 76ers

7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday on TNT

The elevator pitch: LeBron James is balling out. At age 40! That certainly merits a tune-in on a Tuesday. Across his last 16 games, the 21-year vet is averaging more than 25 points, seven rebounds and eight assists while shooting 54.6 percent from the floor. As is often the case with James, this is not normal, but it is regular.

Wander elsewhere if: No Paul George (finger) and no Joel Embiid (knee) makes way for a cavernous blowout. In their last two national broadcasts, the Lakers have thoroughly beaten the Celtics and Warriors, who are better opponents than the Sixers in this shorthanded spot. Los Angeles has won four games in a row, three of them by double-digits.

Most combined win shares: Wilt Chamberlain

Milwaukee Bucks at Portland Trail Blazers

10 p.m. ET Tuesday on TNT

The elevator pitch: Damian Lillard returns to Portland. He was, of course, a supremely cool Blazer — multiple series-clinching buzzer-beaters in the playoffs, while riding for the city and investing in its communities during the offseason.

Wander elsewhere if Giannis Antetokounmpo and his friends overpower the 17-29 Blazers. To be fair, Portland had won four straight before falling to the mighty Thunder on Sunday. They’re still 27th in net rating. Milwaukee is 8-2 in its last 10.

Most combined win shares: Lillard

Denver Nuggets at New York Knicks

7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN

This game is an advanced, graduate-level course in modern offense. The Nuggets play fast, whir around the ball and make more 2-pointers than any other team. Nikola Jokić is an electromagnetic mountain that seemingly powers the entire state of Colorado. The Knicks are 27th in pace, but fifth in 3-point shooting and No. 2 in offensive rating. All five of their main guys can initiate action in vastly different ways. New York has two All-Star starters for the first time since 1975.

New York’s offense was floating on Monday, putting up 143 points against the usually-stout Grizzlies. Six Knicks scored at least 14. It was perhaps their most dominant wire-to-wire win of the season.

Denver’s Monday night looked considerably less copacetic. They fell to the lowly Bulls despite Jokić’s usual brilliance of 33 points, 12 rebounds and 14 assists. Wednesday night will mark the midpoint of the Nuggets’ five-game road trip.

Most combined win shares: Carmelo Anthony

Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors

10 p.m. ET Wednesday on ESPN

“Anyone who thinks I’m OK being on an average basketball team is insane,” Stephen Curry told reporters earlier this month. “Take whatever I said, I still stand on it.”

While adamant about not mortgaging the franchise’s future, it’s obvious that Curry, Draymond Green and this waning championship core need something to reroute a sub-.500 season. This front office has repeatedly taken risks and found gems in tight squeezes. We’re about to find out if they’re up for it once more. An upset over the West’s leaders should indeed galvanize the team.

But at 37-8, Oklahoma City often looks wholly insurmountable. The Thunder already won at the Chase Center in November when Golden State was playing its best ball. The Thunder top the NBA in deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn and 3-pointers contested. Their opponents have the worst shooting percentage and the most turnovers in the league. When factoring in the elite defense, near-automatic free-throw making and the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of it all, OKC emerges as a truly exhausting matchup for the reeling Warriors.

The hosts will be playing on a back-to-back after welcoming the Jazz on Tuesday night. The point total has gone under in five of the seven games with the Warriors cast as home underdogs. The Thunder are 11-7 against the spread as a road favorite.

Most combined win shares: Kevin Durant

Atlanta Hawks at Cleveland Cavaliers

7 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT

The elevator pitch: Atlanta plays at the second-briskest pace in the NBA, while Cleveland has led in offensive rating just about all year. This should make for some really good bucket-getting.

Wander elsewhere if the Hawks look like the team they’ve slumped down to throughout most of January.

Most combined win shares: Lenny Wilkens

Houston Rockets at Memphis Grizzlies

9:30 p.m. ET Thursday on TNT

The elevator pitch: The Rockets and Grizzlies start this week tied for second place in the West. Both teams play aggressive, heartened defense. Good vibes abound for each young homegrown squad. And what do you know, it’s time for the next Dillon Brooks Revenge Bowl!

Wander elsewhere if you’re allergic to good basketball … or, well, if you have personal obligations on a Thursday night. For real, if you’re around, consider watching this matchup. It should make for a banger. Houston won its two January meetings with Memphis by a combined 6 points.

Most combined win shares: Shane Battier

Denver Nuggets at Philadelphia 76ers

7:30 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN

Philly has lost seven of nine. They’re without Joel Embiid and Paul George, awkwardly skulking into a corner while the rest of the East’s big spenders load up on talent at the deadline. The Sixers were hoping to contend for a title; they’ll be frantically chasing the final play-in spot instead. Just about every reason to watch this game arrives on the Nuggets’ team plane.

In spite of back-to-back road losses, the Nuggets are looking good: 10-5 in January with the second-best clutch plus-minus of the month. Jokić is yawning out 30-point triple-doubles. His line last Thursday against the Kings particularly scrambles the eyes — 35 points, 22 boards, 17 dimes on 63/67/90 shooting splits. What?!

Oh, and Russell Westbrook is fun to watch again! He’s on pace for the most efficient season of his 17-year pro run, with more makes than misses in six consecutive outings. Buying into Westbrook’s many late-career resets has been largely tiring. But he’s looking truly delightful in Denver.

Jokić is one of the most efficient players in history while appearing metaphysically disinterested in stats or awards. Westbrook is … neither of those things. Thus far, the successful pairing is as awesome as it is shocking. Elsewhere, Jamal Murray is rounding into form and Michael Porter Jr. is enjoying his best effort behind the arc in four years. Christian Braun is one of the more entertaining in-game dunkers. He’s shooting better than 60 percent in 15 January games, coming off 11-of-15 shooting in Chicago on Monday.

Most combined win shares: Allen Iverson

Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors

10 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN

Both sides have been deeply underwhelming, but seldom few circumstances can spoil a primetime duel between Kevin Durant and Curry. So let’s lock in on that.

These are two epochal talents that have revolutionized NBA offense as we now know it. Durant is 19-12 against Curry in the regular season, while Curry holds a 4-3 playoff edge. The collective accolades are dizzying. In 17 pro campaigns, KD has 11 All-NBA nods, two scoring titles, one MVP and two Finals MVP awards. Steph has 10 All-NBA honors in 16 years, with two scoring titles, two MVPs and one Finals MVP.

Two equally-matched all-time greats, with drastically different career paths and cosmic basketball implications. Curry has the most active seasons with the same team, while Durant altered the league’s title scope with each successive relocation. Curry’s physical frame was initially seen as a liability, while Durant has been the archetypal “unicorn” long before we bandied around that designation.

On the floor together, they chartered one of the most dominant teams ever seen. As opponents, they’ve authored a few canonical moments. KD set what was then his career high of 54 points against the 2014 Warriors. Curry has more than returned the favor, be it his “double bang” stunner in 2016 or last year’s laugh-out-loud insane game-winner.

Most combined win shares: Kevin Durant

Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks

8:30 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC

Saturday’s marquee matchup puts James on center court of “The World’s Most Famous Arena.” He’s been overwhelmingly successful on that floor: a 23-9 record, with two of his 14 career 50-point games. In his tribute to the audacious Angeleno Kendrick Lamar, James made an outsider’s claim as King of New York following 2017’s raucous Gardening session. He hits the weekend action having won three straight in New York.

The Lakers tip off the week at No. 5 in the West. They have a real shot at home-court advantage in their first playoff series. With Austin Reaves assuming increased responsibilities, the offense has more room to breathe, and Anthony Davis is grooving at a higher frequency. The return of Jarred Vanderbilt should help this funky defense.

Davis vs. Karl-Anthony Towns is a worthwhile paint battle, the kind of ultra-skilled clash of giants that’s usually reserved for Jack Kirby comics. AD had 40 points and 20 rebounds in Monday’s win over the Bulls. KAT had 24 and 11 when cruising past the Grizzlies.

Though this biannual meeting is almost exclusively on national TV, it’s been a long while since the two sides had sustained and concurrent excellence. Los Angeles leads the all-time regular season series, 173-126, but the Knicks’ two championships came at the expense of the early ’70s Lakers. Saturday marks the 300th official meeting between these two.

Most combined win shares: Dick Barnett

Boston Celtics at Philadelphia 76ers

6 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN

Basketball’s reigning champions are still one of the top teams in the league. But they’re 8-6 since the New Year, taking a discomfiting last-second home loss Monday to the Rockets on Amen Thompson’s winning floater. Sunday’s face-off with Philly will be the second game of a three-leg road run.

Boston is still third in net rating, one fraction of a point behind the East-leading Cavaliers. They’re 10th in that metric even in their up-and-down month of January. The Celtics should be eager to avenge their Christmas Day loss to the 76ers — critically, Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey were all available, one of just 10 games with the full trio this season.

Embiid could be back in time for these weekend games. He hasn’t played since Jan. 4. The former MVP tallied 27 points and was 4-for-5 on treys in that Christmas win at Boston but finished at a minus-18 in a 4-point win.

No team contests fewer shots than the Sixers. No team shoots more 3-pointers than the Celts. It’s a tough draw in a season full of tough draws. At least there’s a meaningful home-court advantage. Philadelphia crowds always get up for Boston.

Most combined win shares: Al Horford

Memphis Grizzlies at Milwaukee Bucks

8:30 p.m. ET Sunday on ESPN

Taylor Jenkins coaches a tough and spirited group, but this very solid team is just 8-11 in clutch games through the initial three months. Memphis prefers to let loose, leading all teams in possessions and points per game. But its offense falls off a bit when things decelerate down the stretch.

The Grizzlies will visit Antetokounmpo, Lillard and the Bucks to close out the weekend. In a rare week with multiple primetime outings, the Grizzlies are afforded another opportunity to make a statement Sunday.

Memphis has been winning at the foul line (first in free throws tried, 29th in attempts granted). The Grizzlies also lead the NBA in put-backs after misses. Luke Kennard suddenly has the best 3-point shooting mark in the sport and Jaylen Wells, the 39th pick in last spring’s draft, has fashioned himself into a real starting wing. Wells is currently fourth in Rookie of the Year odds, at +350 on BetMGM.

The young Grizz will have to hang with Milwaukee’s veteran core. The top four Bucks in minutes played are all at least 30 years old, and Khris Middleton is 33. Marcus Smart, who has been out for a month, is the only player on Memphis’ roster over 30.

Antetokounmpo has played 38 games this season. He has been held below 50 percent from the field in exactly one of them.

Most combined win shares for both franchises: Pau Gasol … although he had 0.0 win shares in his three games as a Buck.

(Photo of Jalen Brunson and Nikola Jokić: Aaron Ontiveroz / The Denver Post via Getty Images)



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