The NBA trade deadline has come and gone and the playoffs are 54 days away, making March the dog days of the pro basketball season. But there will still be several compelling match-ups worth your attention.
If NCAA’s March Madness doesn’t full satisfy your hoops appetite, here are 10 must-watch NBA games this coming month.
Wednesday March 1, Cleveland @ Boston, 8 p.m., ESPN
The month starts out with the East’s top two teams going head to head. The Cavaliers may trot out their newest signings, Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut, to give this match-up even more sizzle.
The Cavs have won eight of 10 and recovered nicely from their loss on Saturday to Chicago without LeBron James. Boston trails Cleveland by four games for the East’s top spot, and time is running out for the Celtics to catch them.
https://youtu.be/j6OxmCbPr3E
Saturday March 11, Golden State @ San Antonio, 8:30 p.m., ABC
The teams with the league’s best records square off on Saturday night primetime, the eve of Selection Sunday, and Kevin Durant’s injury might make this game all the more intriguing. Durant’s sprained MCL in his left knee will keep him out at least a month, possibly opening up the Spurs to possibly catch the Dubs. Matt Barnes will be signed to help out, but this is a potential opportunity for the Spurs.
The Spurs are currently four games behind the Warriors in the battle for home court through the NBA Finals, and a win here is necessary for any realistic hope of catching Golden State. It’ll definitely be a fun game featuring contrasting styles — Golden State is second in possessions per 48 minutes while San Antonio is 26th — in a potential Western Conference Finals matchup.
https://youtu.be/ataGD6GWr2w
Sunday March 12, Boston @ Chicago, 3:30 p.m., ABC
The last time these two teams played, Jimmy Butler was fouled by Marcus Smart with 0.9 seconds left and hit two free throws to give the Bulls a 104-103 win just before the All-Star break. It was one of the most controversial calls of the regular season, and this will be the first matchup between these two teams since then.
Chicago has won four of five, and the match-up would currently be a preview of the 2 versus 7 first-round matchup in the Eastern Conference. It would also be the first time the teams have played since the rekindling of rumors last week surrounding Butler’s potential trade to the Celtics. Lots going on.
https://youtu.be/DyD9dx1DiCs
Sunday March 12, Cleveland @ Houston, 9 p.m., ESPN
Now that you’ve gone through the NCAA Tournament bracket a few times, take a break with some really exciting pro basketball.
The second- and third-highest scoring teams in the league head to the Toyota Center with LeBron James and James Harden one-upping each other on opposite ends of the floor. But most importantly, with NASA based in Houston, will they try to reach out to flat-earth truther Kyrie Irving about the roundness of the planet?
https://youtu.be/71_MZMVS3FQ
Thursday March 16, L.A. Clippers @ Denver, 9 p.m., NBA League Pass
Our monthly hipster League Pass game is doubly hipster since it comes on the first Thursday of the NCAA Tournament. But trust us on this one.
If you haven’t seen Nuggets center Nikola Jokic play, you need to do it immediately, if not sooner. Since the beginning of the new year, Jokic has averaged 20 points per game on 56.4 percent shooting (40.4 percent from three) to go with 11 rebounds, 5.6 assists and one block. After going for 19 and 10 in his last matchup with the Clippers, watch him go up against elite defender DeAndre Jordan and L.A. if your bracket is already busted.
https://youtu.be/HYyAWYh7nBE
Monday March 20, Golden State @ Oklahoma City, 8 p.m., TNT
Kevin Durant will almost certainly miss Golden State’s second trip to OKC this season, but would he go on the trip with the team?
If the TNT game will be anything like the emotionally charged matchup on Feb. 11, when Golden State won 130-114 and Durant was vociferously booed by the Thunder fans the whole night, then we’ll be in for a treat.
Russell Westbrook went off for 47 points in that losing effort, and you’d imagine that there will be a special incentive for Oklahoma City to win this matchup in front of the home crowd.
https://youtu.be/EA9F1eC0qG0
Wednesday March 22, Atlanta @ Washington, 8 p.m., ESPN
This is a really important game not only in the race for the Southeast Division title but, more importantly, for the potential third seed in the East.
With Toronto superstar Kyle Lowry out for several weeks following right wrist surgery, there’s a chance for one of these two teams to leapfrog the Raptors in the standings, which is exactly what the Wizards did after beating Golden State on Tuesday.
Right now, Washington is third and Atlanta is fifth in the conference. In the NBA’s bracketed, no-reseeding playoff system, the winner of the 4 versus 5 seeds plays the winner of the 1 versus 8 matchup, so getting to third is going to be huge for one of these teams.
In short: If one of these two teams can get to third in the conference, they potentially avoid facing LeBron and the Cavs until the conference finals. So this game is big. Really big.
https://youtu.be/M3_9QDW-Pg4
Sunday March 26, Oklahoma City @ Houston, 3:30 p.m., ABC
This will be the last head-to-head matchup of the season between Westbrook and Harden, the two leading candidates for the MVP award. How incredible of a season is Westbrook having? According to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, Westbrook has an 81 percent chance (as of Sunday) to average a triple-double over an entire season. He’d become the first player to accomplish that feat since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62.
Yet he may lose out on the award to Harden, who has an outside chance at leading the league in both points and assists per game for the 42-19 Rockets. As Golden State and Cleveland run away with top seeds in their respective conferences, expect this to be the biggest debate in the NBA for the duration of the regular season.
https://youtu.be/jPMMPfeP_0M
Monday March 27, New Orleans @ Utah, 10:30 p.m., TNT
Believe it or not, the new dynamic duo of Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins will only be on national TV twice in the month of March (the other being a March 3 ESPN game against San Antonio). This one against the criminally underrated Jazz deserves the must-watch spotlight.
The Jazz have won four of five to vault into the fourth spot in the West and home court in the first round of the playoffs. The Pelicans have lost all three of their games since the All-Star break and Cousins acquisition, and still seem out of sync. NOLA currently trails the eighth-seeded Nuggets by four games for the final playoff spot.
https://youtu.be/UbsPK8iQEhw
Friday March 31, Houston @ Golden State, 10:30 p.m., ESPN
While Golden State and San Antonio have the top two records in the conference, this would be the sexiest Western Conference Finals matchup. Curry against Harden, the top scoring offenses in the league and two of the three fastest teams in the NBA.
The second matchup between these two teams in a four-day span could give us a very early taste of what could be one of the very best potential playoff matchups in late May.
Since the article is about must watch games, you should at least be correct in one of the most important games. Spurs are 2.5 games back and of course have a win over GS already. They are looking to lock up home court in case of a tie.