5 games to watch while NBA League Pass is FREE this weekend

15 Dec 2017 20:25

Christmas came early in the form of free basketball. These are the games you should watch.

Every season, the NBA offers a free trial of League Pass for a limited time. That time is now.

Casual basketball fans will have this weekend — Friday, Dec. 15 through Sunday, Dec. 17 — to watch as much NBA action as they want. It’s like Christmas came early. Literally.

There are certain limitations that come with NBA League Pass. Here is a quick breakdown:

Nationally televised games are blacked out. That means League Pass won’t have games that are airing on ESPN, TNT, ABC or NBA TV.
Local games are also blacked out. For example, if you live in New York and the Knicks are playing, you won’t be able to watch that game on League Pass. Instead, you’ll have to watch it on either a local broadcast app or local television channel.

You can watch this weekend’s games, for free, on NBA.com/games.

Here are five games you should absolutely watch:

Pistons @ Pacers — Friday, 7 p.m. ET

DET: Andre Drummond, Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley
IND: Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner, Lance Stephenson

This is really a showdown between two teams that are playing much better than anyone anticipated. You can’t find one Pacers fan who thought their team would be above .500 after trading Paul George for what most considered pennies on the dollar. And the Pistons are back in the playoff mix thanks to some great bench play, and some good basketball out of both Tobias Harris and Avery Bradley.

The Pistons won two of their last three matchups against the Pacers. Indiana will want to win this one to tie the score.

Pelicans @ Nuggets — Friday, 9 p.m. ET

Players to watch

NOP: DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, Jrue Holiday
DEN: Nikola Jokic, Paul Millsap, Jamal Murray

In two games this season, the Pelicans and Nuggets have combined for 114+146+123+114=A WHOLE LOT OF POINTS, MAN (497 to be exact).

Denver won the first matchup by hanging 146 whole points on New Orleans, but Boogie got his revenge in Game 2 when he dropped 40 points and 22 rebounds on the Nuggets. If Game 3 between these two teams is anywhere near as good as the previous two, you’re in for a fun one.

That and there are some early season playoff implications, too. Only two games currently separate the fifth seed from the 10th in the West. That might not mean much right now, but it’ll make for a competitive race to the bottom four playoff spots.

Denver and New Orleans are 1-1 against each other this year, and this is the tiebreaker. If the Pelicans and Nuggets have the same record at the end of the season, their head-to-head record is the deciding factor. Game 3 just got a little more interesting.

Bucks @ Rockets — Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

MIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Eric Bledsoe, Thon Maker
HOU: James Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon

The Rockets will be playing in the second of a back-to-back — after playing the Spurs for that matter — but they’ll still have to defend home court with The Greek Freak and his Bucks coming to town.

Milwaukee surprisingly beat Houston by 13 in their last meeting, but that was before Chris Paul returned from injury to spark an 11-game winning streak. If the Rockets’ streak is still intact after throwing down with the Spurs, they’ll have their hands full trying to contain Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Suns @ Timberwolves — Saturday, 8 p.m. ET

PHX: Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, Marquese Chriss
MIN: Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Wiggins

This probably won’t be a competitive game. The Suns are 9-21 and in the hunt for another top-five draft pick. The Wolves, on the other hand, are trying to maintain their standing as the fourth seed in the West playoff picture.

But even though this game will probably be a blowout (unless Minnesota just comes out flat), there’s some great talent on the floor.

Devin Booker went off for 70 points last season and 46 against the 76ers this year. Karl-Anthony Towns, Jimmy Butler, and Andrew Wiggins are as good of a Big 3 in the NBA as you’ll find. Phoenix’s Josh Jackson is another promising rookie. Tom Thibodeau will probably turn red.

There’s a bunch of reasons to watch Suns vs. Timberwolves on Saturday. Find yours.

Cavaliers @ Wizards — Sunday, 6 p.m. ET

CLE: LeBron James, Kevin Love, Dwyane Wade
WAS: John Wall, Bradley Beal, Otto Porter

Whenever you put John Wall and Bradley Beal on one end of the floor with LeBron James on the other, you’re in for a good one. The last time the Cavs and Wizards met, LeBron went off for 57 points in a 130-122 win.

James probably won’t go for damn near 60 points again, but you should definitely watch just in case he does.

Here is this weekend’s entire schedule: