NBA weekend watch guide: 10 games with playoff implications as regular season ends

By Sunday night, each NBA team will have played 82 regular-season games. Finality, without round numbers. Who saw the Detroit Pistons at No. 1 in the East? Who saw the San Antonio Spurs topping 60 wins? Did anyone of sound mind foresee this Charlotte Hornets swarm?

There is still weight around the weekend’s closing slate. Postseason entrants look to get home-court advantage, or avoid the Play-In Tournament, or build a running start into the first round. Here are 10 games to check on Friday and Sunday. I skipped any matchup with a bottom-barrel opponent, because my recommendations will always be tank-free.

All times ET.

NBA weekend watch guide

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Game	Time	TV	Stream
Pistons at Hornets	7 p.m., Friday	League Pass (national) FDSN (local)	Fubo (In-Market, Watch Now)
Cavaliers at Hawks	7 p.m., Friday	Prime	Prime
Raptors at Knicks	7:30 p.m., Friday	League Pass (national) TSN, MSG (local)	Fubo (In-Market, Watch Now)
Thunder at Nuggets	9 p.m., Friday	League Pass (national) FDSN OK, Altitude (local)	Fubo (In-Market, Watch Now)
Timberwolves at Rockets	9:30 p.m., Friday	Prime	Prime
Suns at Lakers	10:30 p.m., Friday	League Pass (national) Arizona’s 3TV, Spectrum SN (local)	Fubo (In-Market, Watch Now)
Magic at Celtics	6 p.m., Sunday	ESPN	Fubo (Watch Now)
Hawks at Heat	6 p.m., Sunday	League Pass (national) FDSN (local)	Fubo (In-Market, Watch Now)
Hornets at Knicks	6 p.m., Sunday	League Pass (national) FDSN Southeast, MSG (local)	Fubo (In-Market, Watch Now)
Nuggets at Spurs	8:30 p.m., Sunday	ESPN	Fubo (Watch Now)

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All ESPN programs are also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription. Out-of-market games are available on NBA League Pass.

Friday

Detroit Pistons at Charlotte Hornets

The Pistons have already clinched the conference’s No. 1 seed, atop the East for the first time in 19 years. It’s “April in the D, April in the D.”

This weekend is still a good opportunity to recalibrate around Cade Cunningham. After he missed 11 games with a lung pneumothorax, Detroit’s nexus returned to the floor Wednesday night. He finished with 13 points and 10 assists in 26 minutes.

Since Jan. 1, Charlotte is 32-15 and shooting a league-best 39 percent from beyond the arc. The Hornets are first in plus-minus across that stretch, too. Kon Knueppel’s crew tries to buzz past the Play-In stage at No. 6, or at least get the seventh or eighth seed to force a double-elimination situation.

Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks

This is a home-and-home swing after the Cavs beat the Hawks on Wednesday. Donovan Mitchell is out Friday as he manages a right ankle injury. Same goes for Jarrett Allen and his right knee. The Cavs have an outside shot at the third seed, but they’re choosing to tap the brakes before Sunday’s home finale cakewalk with the Washington Wizards.

Atlanta has the league on notice at 19-5 post-All-Star break, best mark in the East. The ATLiens are throwing hands and saying “oh yeah-yer.” The Hawks need to avoid a trap game, because as of Thursday, the fifth through ninth seeds were separated by just two games.

Cleveland is short-handed here, but it still boasts James Harden and Evan Mobley. They combined for 43 points and 24 rebounds in Wednesday’s win. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the losing effort with 25 points, while Jonathan Kuminga added 24 from the bench.

Toronto Raptors at New York Knicks

The Raps are in the aforementioned jumble for Nos. 5-9 in the East. They’re a fun, balanced group — first in fast-break scoring, third in assists per game heading into Friday. Former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley come back to Madison Square Garden.

The hosts try to, at the very least, lock down the No. 3 seed and a five-game season sweep of Toronto. The “Friday Night Knicks” song is an eternal groove. This could well be a first-round series preview, too. New York leads the league in clutch-time 3-point shooting at around 41 percent. That bumps up to 44.4 for Jalen Brunson and 50 for OG Anunoby.

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Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets

Like Detroit, OKC has already clinched home court through the playoffs. This is the Thunder’s third straight campaign as the West’s No. 1. Since losing to the Pistons on Feb. 25, the reigning champions have gone a dominant 19-1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looks to put the finishing touches on his MVP bid in front of three-time MVP Nikola Jokić.

Denver is sliding between the third, fourth and fifth seed. Jokić and company are on a 10-game win streak, which includes overtime thrillers against the Spurs and Portland Trail Blazers.

Jokić leads the NBA in rebounds and assists per game. That’s never been done before — Wilt Chamberlain led by assist total, not average, in 1967-68. On the other end, Gilgeous-Alexander broke the record for most consecutive 20-point games, a mark set by Chamberlain that stood for more than six decades.

These two are spectacular players with historic connotations. And remember, their teams faced off in a tight seven-game second-round playoff series last spring.

Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets

No Mitchell in the early window, and Anthony Edwards (knee) might be on ice or limited for the later one. Prime Video executives will have cartoon steam coming from their ears. Minnesota is locked in as the sixth seed either way.

But Houston can jump past the reeling Lakers to get the fourth seed, or even the third seed, either of which would mean first-round home court. The Rockets have won eight in a row; they close out the regular season with Friday and Sunday dates in Space City. Shenanigans aside, Kevin Durant has put together a ridiculous age-37 season — nearly 26 points per game on shooting splits around 52/41/88 percent.

Phoenix Suns at Los Angeles Lakers

The Suns are set as a seventh seed, which makes them the biggest fish in the small Play-In pond. They’ll use this L.A. look to build with Dillon Brooks, who returned March 31 after a hand fracture cost him 18 games. Brooks had 28 points and went 4-of-5 on treys during Wednesday’s win over the Dallas Mavericks. Devin Booker has scored 30 or more in five of his last six outings.

Vibes around the Lake Show are low right now. Luka Dončić, NBA scoring king at 33.5 points per game, is in Europe to treat his hamstring strain. Austin Reaves is ailing as well, expected to miss the next four to six weeks with an oblique injury.

Denver and Houston see a chance to secure a top-four seed. JJ Redick and LeBron James see a chance to prove their resilience.

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Sunday

Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics

Through Thursday, Orlando has won five of six, notching impressive home Ws versus Detroit and Minnesota. Jalen Suggs is diming, averaging 8.4 assists in April compared to 5.5 on the season. The Magic are in that Eastern Conference 5-to-9 crowd, and they get a chance to make noise now that they’re healthy. An upset here could be the difference between first-round readiness and back-half Play-In drama.

The Celtics are lined up for the No. 2 seed and can clinch it as early as Friday. Did the readership know that Neemias Queta leads Boston in Basketball Reference win shares? We know now. Of course, Jaylen Brown is the straw that’s been stirring this green drink, and Jayson Tatum is regaining his footing just in time for playoff basketball.

Atlanta Hawks at Miami Heat

The Hawks’ mid-year turnaround is remarkable, but the biggest story of the second half is still Bam Adebayo’s 83-point stunner. That really happened! Will Adebayo have another 80-piece on the final day of the regular season? Probably not, almost definitely not, but we now can’t say it with 100 percent certainty. Hey, David Robinson dropped 71 points in the 82nd game back in 1994.

Miami plays with the NBA’s fastest pace. Atlanta matches with top-six briskness of its own. The Heat are a likely 10 seed, but Adebayo and Erik Spoelstra have risen from fringe team to playoff threat in years past. The Hawks are hot, but they’d surely like to avoid surging Charlotte or physical Orlando in the Play-In.

Charlotte Hornets at New York Knicks

By Sunday, both sides might have room to improve their bracket standing. They could also be locked into their respective positions. One thing is for sure, and that’s buckets. Charlotte and New York have near-identical, top-five offensive ratings as they enter the weekend.

Brunson had 26 points and 13 assists in their last meeting, which the Hornets won on Knueppel’s efficient 26/11/8 line. There should be ample offense to send out the regular season.

Denver Nuggets at San Antonio Spurs

Depending on how things break, the Nugs might have a chance to snag third place in the West. Standing in their way would be the second-seeded Spurs. If Denver indeed gets the No. 3 seed, these two sides would be queued to converge in the second round.

Regardless of the Sunday playoff picture, this is appointment TV. It’s Jokić and, if he’s healthy, Victor Wembanyama — titanic clashes of space-bending super-centers. They gave us a game-of-the-year contender last weekend, a 136-134 overtime win for Denver. Let’s run it back and end on a high note. What say you, Coyote and Jackals?

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