The Celtics and Sixers will play Saturday night as the league embarks on the post-All-Star sprint to the finish.
This post-All-Star edition comes to you Thursday, bringing you everything you need to know for an abbreviated week of NBA action.
Sprint to the finish line begins Thursday
All-Star weekend is often considered a mid-season celebration of the game and its biggest stars, but that phrase can be a bit misleading.
When it comes to games played, we are well past the midpoint of the regular season. Every team has already played between 57 (Kings, Sixers, Thunder, Grizzlies) and 61 (Cavaliers, Clippers, Timberwolves) games at the break.
There have been 884 games played this year, out of a total of 1,230 scheduled in the regular season. So, we’re in fact 71.9% of the way through the regular season when games resume on Thursday, with just 346 total games remaining.
However, the All-Star break does come at the midway point of the entire NBA calendar when we include the playoffs and Finals.
There are 122 days between Opening Night (Oct. 18) and the final day of games before the break (Feb. 16).
From the resumption of the season following the All-Star break on Thursday (Feb. 23) to the last possible date of the NBA Finals (Game 7 on June 18), there are 116 days.
So, either way you want to look at it, get ready for the rest of the regular season as teams use their 21 to 25 remaining games to secure spots in the postseason. The top six in each conference are guaranteed a playoff berth; the teams that finish 7-10 will compete in the Play-In Tournament. The bottom five teams in each conference will be the first to head to the lottery.
NBA.com’s John Schuhmann has a complete breakdown of the stretch run schedule. He’s considered which teams have the easiest and toughest remaining schedules – whether in terms of opponent’s winning percentage, home vs. road splits, number of back-to-backs remaining and much more.
With plenty of tight races to follow – the fourth and 13th seeds in the West are separated by just four games in the loss column; the top three in the East separated by just two losses – each game over the next six weeks takes on added importance when it comes to placement in the standings and potential tiebreakers.
Here come the buyout signings
Throughout the All-Star break, we got news of players reaching contract buyouts either with their longstanding team (see Kevin Love in Cleveland) or new teams following a trade deadline deal (see Russell Westbrook in Utah and Patrick Beverley in Orlando).
Love has officially taken his talents to South Beach and joined the Heat, giving Miami a stretch big that can knock down shots and has plenty of playoff and Finals experience.
While Love had fallen out of the rotation in Cleveland, could the decision to buy out his deal and allow him to sign with another Eastern Conference playoff team come back to bite the Cavs down the line? Might these teams potentially meet in the postseason?
No. 4-seeded Cleveland (38-23) and No. 7 Miami (32-27) are separated by just four losses. The teams split their first two meetings this season and have their final pair in a two-game set March 10-12 in Miami.
After one-and-a-half tumultuous seasons with the Lakers, former Kia MVP Russell Westbrook will stay in his hometown of Los Angeles. He signed with the Clippers after agreeing to a contract buyout with the Utah Jazz, who acquired Westbrook at the trade deadline as part of a three-team deal between the Lakers, Timberwolves and Jazz.
By signing with the Clippers, Westbrook will be reunited with former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate Paul George, who reportedly lobbied the Clippers’ front office to add Westbrook to the roster.
Following a pair of trade deadline deals that saw John Wall and Reggie Jackson leave LA for Houston and Charlotte, respectively, the Clippers have an opening at point guard. Is Westbrook the right fit to fill that role and help this team reach its championship expectations? That question will be answered in the next six weeks.
On the same day that Chicago announced that Lonzo Ball would be shut down for the season as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery, the Bulls added Chicago native Patrick Beverley. The guard was waived by Orlando following a trade deadline deal that sent him from the Lakers to the Magic.
At 26-33, the Bulls enter the stretch run in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, two games back of Toronto for the final spot in the Play-In field. Having lost six in a row heading into the All-Star break, the Bulls need a spark, and Beverley’s energy and attitude could definitely provide that.
All eyes on Giannis’ right wrist
While Giannis Antetokounmpo drafted the winning team at the All-Star Game in his third try as captain last weekend, he played only 20 seconds in Sunday’s game before exiting to protect his right wrist, which he injured last Thursday trying to block a shot against the Chicago Bulls.
While initial X-rays came back clean, Giannis was examined in New York on Monday and found to have suffered a sprained ligament in his right wrist, although he had no major damage. He is currently listed as day-to-day on the injury report as he undergoes treatment.
The Bucks were the hottest team entering in All-Star break. They begin the stretch run riding a 12-game win streak, sitting just a half-game back of the Celtics for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Can the Bucks keep their momentum going without their MVP? Milwaukee is in the national spotlight twice this week as they host the Heat on Friday (ESPN) and the Suns on Sunday (ABC).
National TV Spotlight: Potential debuts highlight schedule
Friday: Miami at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
This will be our first chance to see Kevin Love in a Heat jersey as Miami opens up the stretch run against the red-hot Milwaukee Bucks. The Heat come out of All-Star just a half-game back of New York for the sixth and final guaranteed playoff berth in the East.
Can the addition of Love help them lock in a playoff berth? Can the Bucks build on their 12-game win streak entering the All-Star break without captain Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will miss time with a wrist injury?
Friday: Oklahoma City at Phoenix, 10 ET, ESPN
When will the Kevin Durant era in Phoenix begin? Last week, ESPN’s Marc Spears reported that Durant hopes to return soon after the All-Star break. Well, here is Phoenix’s first game following the break, and their final home game before hitting the road for a four-game road trip with stops in Milwaukee, Charlotte, Chicago and Dallas. Whenever KD makes his Suns debut, it will be a must-watch – as will be the Suns’ March 5 game against the Mavericks and former teammate Kyrie Irving (but we’ll get to that in next week’s The Five).
Saturday: Boston at Philadelphia, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC
It’s a matchup of No. 1 (Boston) vs. No. 3 (Philadelphia) in the Eastern Conference, with the two historic rivals separated by just two losses coming out of the All-Star break.
The Celtics won the first two games of the season series – a 126-117 win on the opening night of the season behind 35 points each from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown; and a 106-99 win just two weeks ago (Feb. 8), which came despite Brown’s early exit with a facial fracture, which he will play through while wearing a protective mask.
Sunday: Phoenix at Milwaukee, 1 p.m. ET, ABC
We’ve got a rematch of the 2021 NBA Finals, which was won by the Bucks in six games behind the brilliant play of Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who may miss this game as he continues to recover from a sprained right wrist.
Of course, that 2021 Suns team did not have Kevin Durant, who could potentially make his Suns debut this week after being acquired at the trade deadline.
Sunday: Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
It was no secret that LeBron James was hoping to reunite with Kyrie Irving when the dynamic point guard requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets prior to the trade deadline.
Of course, that did not happen – Irving was traded to the Dallas Mavericks to team with Luka Doncic and give Dallas one of the top backcourts in game today.
This will be the eighth head-to-head meeting between LeBron and Kyrie since their days as teammates in Cleveland ended.
LeBron holds a 4-3 edge with averages of 27 points, 10.3 rebounds and 9.4 assists, while Kyrie has averaged 20.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 6.1 assists against LeBron.
League Pass games to watch: Three to see
Friday: Sacramento at LA Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET, League Pass
This is a matchup of No. 3 (Kings) and No. 4 (Clippers) in the West, with Sacramento having a three-game advantage in the loss column, but one of the most difficult remaining schedules in the league.
This game could also mark the debut of Russell Westbrook with the Clippers; in 49 career games against the Kings, Westbrook has averaged 22.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists.
He may not be needed to put up those kinds of numbers with this Clippers squad, though, as he teams up to compliment Paul George and Kawhi Leonard.
Saturday: Denver at Memphis, 8 p.m. ET, League Pass
A day after we get No. 3 vs. No. 4 in the West, we get a clash between No. 1 (Denver) and No. 2 (Memphis) in the conference, as the Nuggets and Grizzlies meet for the second time this season.
The Nuggets won the first meeting back on Dec. 20 behind a triple-double from Nikola Jokic, which helped Denver withstand a 35-point, 10-assist effort from Ja Morant. The Nuggets held the Grizzlies to just 91 points, their lowest-scoring output of the season.
Sunday: Brooklyn at Atlanta, 3 p.m. ET, League Pass
This matchup spotlights two key coaching moves made since the All-Star break, as the Nets and Hawks chart their futures.
The Brooklyn Nets have given coach Jacque Vaughn a contract extension. He began the season as an assistant under Steve Nash, was promoted to interim coach following Nash’s firing, had the interim title removed, and now has a multi-year deal to lead this new-look squad following the trades of both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant at the trade deadline.
In Atlanta, Nate McMillan was fired on Tuesday, with Joe Prunty assuming head coaching duties as the Hawks look to improve on their 29-30 record and climb out of the play-in field and into the top six with a guaranteed playoff berth.
Brooklyn’s right there above them, ranking 5th at 34-24 coming out of All-Star. Can Vaughn keep the Nets in playoff position following the departure of their two star players?
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