NBA Monday Night: 5 Things To Look Out For In Tonight’s Games

Halloween night’s NBA slate features seven games around the league and plenty of interesting matchup’s to watch. One game you won’t want to miss is the Memphis Grizzlies vs the Utah Jazz at 9:00pm. It’s the only matchup tonight where both teams have a winning record. 

The 1-5 Brooklyn Nets will play the Pacers for the second game in a row and are desperate for a win. Many thought they would beat Indiana on Saturday night but they fell short. Philadelphia will be on the road tonight to face the Wizards at 7:00pm.

Detroit will play the 5-0 Milwaukee Bucks at 8:00pm and they’ll have to play as a team to beat the Bucks. If you’re up late and need something to watch, the Rockets and Clippers will tipoff at 10:30pm EST.

The updated standings through Week 2! pic.twitter.com/Yp7JoHWN1q

— NBA (@NBA) October 31, 2022

5 things to look out for in tonight’s games

1. Sacramento Kings vs Charlotte Hornets 

The Charlotte Hornets are still without all-star PG, LaMelo Ball. Dennis Smith Jr. has stepped up in his absence and has been playing well. He’s playing just under 30 minutes a game and provides a valubale (11.8) points and (6.2) assists per game. Terry Rozier (23.5) and Gordon Hayward (20.0) have been scoring a lot of the Hornets points.

Sacramento has had some tough losses to begin the season. The team is 1-4 and their first three games were all losses decided by five points or less. They were able to get their first win on Saturday against a struggling Miami Heat team, 119-113.

2. Indiana Pacers vs Brooklyn Nets 

Indiana are one game under .500 at 3-4 to begin the season. They’ll face the Brooklyn Nets for the second game in a row tonight after winning the initial matchup 125-116 on Saturday night. Most recently, Pacers center Myles Turner made a public statement that the Lakers should be seriously think about trading two first-round picks for him. It will be interesting to see how this effects his future with the team.

For the Nets, the season has started off horribly. The team can’t win the games they’re supposed to win and it’s just not there for Brooklyn. Kevin Durant and Kyire Irving are both elite players and are valuable highly in Brooklyn. There’s no team chemistry and it’s clear when the team plays. The Nets need to beat the Pacers tonight. Simple as that.

7 of 82.

📺 @YESNetwork pic.twitter.com/xNwMLnBqAw

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) October 31, 2022

3. Atlanta Hawks vs Toronto Raptors 

The Hawks are usually trying to keep up with the Miami Heat in the Southeast division. However, Miami is 2-5 and the Hawks are 4-2 and are in first place. Trae Young leads the team with (31.5) points per game. Atlanta has had an extremely favorable schedule and will have to face a gritty Raptors team on the road tonight.

Toronto is unselfish and always puts the team first. They have six players who average double-digit points in scoring. Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet both average (7.7) assists per game for the team. Head coach Nick Nurse always has his players prepared and you can never count the Raptors out. Tonight’s game vs Atlanta will be a good test for both.

4. Detroit Pistons vs Milwaukee Bucks

Detroit has a tough game vs the Bucks tonight. Milwaukee is the only unbeaten team left at 5-0 and are looking dominant to begin the year. Players like Saddiq Bey and Isiah Stewart are going to have to guard Giannis Antetokounmpo. They’ll have to do everything possible to not have him take over the game.

Milwaukee look like the best team in the NBA right now and they’re playing like it. They play a suffocating brand of defense which translates to easy buckets in transition. Bobby Portis is quietly averaging a double-double to start the season and he’s the teams sixth man. Brook Lopez is getting older and Bobby Portis makes up for rebounds that Lopez doesn’t get anymore. The Bucks look to improve to 6-0 tonight.

This is what happens when you leave Khris on read. 🤣 pic.twitter.com/aWUf04ttJB

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) October 31, 2022

5. Memphis Grizzlies vs Utah Jazz 

Memphis (4-2) vs Utah(5-) is the only game tonight where both teams have a winning record. Desmond Bane is having an all-star type season for Memphis so far. Bane’s averaging (24.2) points, (4.7) rebounds, and (5.0) assists per game. Additionally, the team is led by Ja Morant. He’ll be a headache for Utah defenders tonight.

The Jazz are 5-2 to begin the year after many predicted they’d fall off after trading away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in the offseason. Like the Raptors, Utah has six players that average double-digit points. It can never hurt to have too many scorers on a team. Lauri Markkanen is having a breakout year averaging (21.4) points and (9.0) rebounds per game. Jordan Clarkson is the next highest scorer with (17.3) per. Tonight’s game vs Memphis could be a playoff series down the line.

deja-boo 👻 it’s round 2

⏰ 7PM MT
📺 @attsportsnetrm
📻 @KSLSportsZone |@kslnewsradio
📍 @vivintarena
🎟 https://t.co/4N1s1XMFKy#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/UQHn4H0t26

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 31, 2022