The Cleveland Cavaliers (42-24) and the Houston Rockets (31-35) collide in a cross-conference battle on Saturday. The Cavaliers are currently in third place in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Rockets are in the 11th spot in the West, trailing the 10th seed by 3.5 games. Ty Jerome (ankle), Evan Mobley (ankle) and Max Strus (knee) are out for Cleveland, while Dean Wade (knee) is questionable. Steven Adams (knee), Tari Eason (tibia), Alperen Sengun (ankle) and Cam Whitmore (knee) are out for Houston.
LeBron James may be 21 years into arguably the greatest NBA career any player has ever had, but all good things come to an end eventually. Whether it's in one year or several, James will eventually play his final NBA game, and as he claimed at All-Star Weekend, he's not exactly sure how he wants that to play out.
A Central Division showdown has the Chicago Bulls (26-28) and the Cleveland Cavaliers (35-17) squaring off on Wednesday. The Cavaliers are currently the second seed in the Eastern Conference, while the Chicago is sitting in the ninth spot. Cleveland seems to have the Bulls number as of late as it's won six straight games over Chicago. On Jan. 15, the Cavaliers defeated the Bulls 109-91. Patrick Williams (foot) is out for Chicago, while Alex Caruso (toe) is questionable. Darius Garland (illness) is questionable for Cleveland.
Thirteen games will make up Wednesday's loaded NBA slate ahead of 2024 All-Star weekend. We have our eyes on one moneyline pick, a spread pick, and one plus-money prop ahead of the action. Are you looking to find an edge? Here are three options we feel are worth considering:
The Bulls are on the road but looking no worse for wear. Sitting on a score of 90-83, they have looked like the better team, but there's still one more quarter to play.
The NBA got a bit of history on Monday night when Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns became the fourth pair of players to each score 60 or more points on the same day. Embiid's 70-piece went about as expected. Though the opposing San Antonio Spurs kept it a bit closer than Embiid would have liked, his Philadelphia 76ers ultimately escaped with the win. At that point, like 63 of the first 83 scorers in NBA history to reach 60 points in a game, Embiid was a winner on his historic night.
The Chicago Bulls' inaugural Ring of Honor ceremony on Friday night was marred by fans booing late GM Jerry Krause, which brought his widow to tears. The crowd's reaction was widely criticized, with broadcasters, coaches and players all among those to call out the fans' behavior.
Kaseya Center will showcase a high-profile Eastern Conference matchup during the NBA Christmas Day schedule. The Philadelphia 76ers will visit the Miami Heat in the fourth game of a five-game slate for the league. Philadelphia is off to a tremendous start this season, posting a 20-8 record and an 8-4 mark on the road. Miami is 17-12 despite injury concerns as Jimmy Butler (calf) is questionable after he missed the past two games. The Sixers, meanwhile, have ruled out Joel Embiid (ankle).
The Phoenix Suns will look to continue their recent mastery of the Dallas Mavericks when they meet in a Christmas Day matchup in Phoenix. The Suns (14-14), who have won 11 of the last 13 matchups against Dallas, will look to snap their two-game overall losing streak. Phoenix went 0-2 in its road trip to Portland and Sacramento this past week. The Mavericks (17-12), who went 2-2 against the Suns last season after losing the previous 10 games in the series, snapped a three game losing streak with a 144-119 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday. Kyrie Irving (heel) is out for Dallas, while Bradley Beal (ankle) and Jusuf Nurkic (personal) are out for Phoenix.