Kyrie Irving is reportedly scheduled to make his season debut Wednesday in Indianapolis as the Nets visit the Pacers.
Monday, January 3
Orlando at Chicago, 8:00 p.m. ET
The Bulls enter Week 12 riding the longest active win streak in the league with seven straight wins. It is their longest win streak since 2017 and if they can extend it to eight with a win over Orlando, it would be their longest since 2012. But there is a bigger question that must be addressed – will DeMar DeRozan hit a buzzer-beater for the third consecutive game?
Tuesday, January 4
Memphis at Cleveland, 7:00 p.m. ET
It’s a matchup of the No. 4 team in the West and the No. 5 team in the East. And it appears it will also be a meeting of two of the league’s top young guards in Memphis’ Ja Morant and Cleveland’s Darius Garland. Reports on Monday have Garland back at practice with the Cavaliers after clearing Health and Safety Protocols and he will be a game-time decision on Tuesday against the Grizzlies. It could also be the Cavs debut of Rajon Rondo, who was officially acquired from the Lakers on Monday as part of a three-team trade.
Wednesday, January 5
Brooklyn at Indiana, 7:30 p.m. ET
Will Wednesday be the season debut of Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Big 3? It is being reported that Wednesday’s game in Indiana is the target for Irving to make his return to the Nets. He may only be able to play in road games, but considering the Nets have been at or near the top of the East standings for much of the season without Irving (they enter Week 11 one game behind Chicago), adding the All-Star guard back into the mix should give Kevin Durant, James Harden and the rest of the Nets a boost in 2022.
Thursday, January 6
Golden State at New Orleans, 8:00 p.m. ET
What will happen when the greatest 3-point shooter in league history meets a team that allows the third-highest 3-point percentage this season? In their first meeting of the season on Nov. 5 in San Francisco, the Warriors shot 20-for-50 from beyond the arc, with five of those triples coming from Steph Curry and six from Jordan Poole, as Golden State posted its largest win of the season (+41 points). What will happen when the teams meet in NOLA?
Friday, January 7
Sacramento at Denver, 9:00 p.m. ET
The last time these two teams met – Feb. 6 in Sacramento – Nikola Jokic had a monster game with a career-best 50 points to go with 12 assists, eight rebounds, three blocks and a steal in 41 minutes. However, it was not enough as the Kings outlasted the Nuggets for a 119-114 win in a game that saw 15 lead changes and 13 ties. Even with his career-high 50 in February, Jokic has only averaged 15.9 ppg in 19 career games against the Kings – his second-lowest average against any team (GSW 15.5 in 21 games). What will the reigning Kia MVP have in store for the Kings this time around?
Saturday, January 8
Miami at Phoenix, 9:00 p.m. ET
It is a clash of the last two NBA Finals runners-up as the Suns (2021 Finals vs. Bucks) host the Heat (2020 Finals vs. Lakers) in their first matchup of the season. This will be the fifth game of a six-game road trip for the Heat as they enter Week 12 ranked fourth in the East. Meanwhile, the Suns are a half-game back of Golden State for the top record in the league and are 16-4 at home so far this season.
Sunday, January 9
Memphis at Los Angeles, 9:30 p.m. ET
This is the final meeting of the season for the Grizzlies and Lakers in what has proven to be an entering matchup. Memphis won the most recent game on Dec. 29 in a scoring duel between Ja Morant (41 points, 10 rebounds) and LeBron James (37 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists). Morant has two 40-point games so far this season – both have come against the Lakers – as he is averaging 40.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals while appearing in two of the three games so far this season.
Cleveland at Golden State, 8:30 p.m. ET
Just minutes after this article was originally posted, this Woj bomb dropped, which definitely required an update to this week’s games to watch on League Pass.
There’s optimism Golden Warriors guard Klay Thompson will make his return vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, sources tell ESPN. A final decision is expected once the Warriors return from a two-game trip on Friday.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 3, 2022
There has been speculation about Klay Thompson’s return date and now it looks like it may happen as early as Sunday when the Warriors host the Cavs. If Klay is able to return on Sunday, it will be his first NBA game in 941 days as he last appeared in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
