NBA schedule today, game time, players to watch (Wednesday, Jan. 24)

Breaking down the NBA schedule for Wednesday, Jan. 24, including all the biggest games and most important players to watch.

Tonight’s NBA schedule is absolutely loaded with great matchups. There are 10 games on the slate, two on national television and plenty that feature deep rivalries and pairings of elite players.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch and what to look for.

NBA schedule: NBA games, start times and players to watch today, Jan. 23

• Indiana Pacers at Orlando Magic – 7:00 p.m. ET
• Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers – 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Washington Wizards at Houston Rockets – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Denver Nuggets at Milwaukee Bucks – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Minnesota Timberwolves at New Orleans Pelicans – 8:00 p.m. ET
• Atlanta Hawks at Oklahoma City Thunder– 8:00 p.m. ET
• Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors – 10:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers – 10:00 p.m. ET
• Toronto Raptors at Sacramento Kings – 10:00 p.m. ET
• San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 p.m. ET

Brooklyn Nets at Philadelphia 76ers

The biggest game on the early part of the schedule is the matchup between the 76ers and Nets. They are second and fourth (respectively) in the Eastern Conference standings and have plenty of reasons to dislike each other. Ben Simmons made himself into one of the most hated players in 76ers history and James Harden did himself no favors with the Nets by working a trade to get himself to Philly less than a year after arriving in Brooklyn.

This will be their second meeting of the season — Philadelphia beat Brooklyn 115-106 in late November, without James Harden or Joel Embiid. They pulled out the win thanks to a combined 93 points from Tobias Harris, De’Anthony Melton, Paul Reed, Georges Niang and Shake Melton.

Denver Nuggets at Milwaukee Bucks

This 8:00 game features the stars who have won the last four NBA MVP Awards — Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic. The Bucks are third in the Eastern Conference, just a half-game behind the 76ers, and finally healthy with both Giannis and Khris Middleton back in the lineup.

The Nuggets have the best record in the Western Conference and Jokic could be cruising toward a third consecutive MVP, averaging 25.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game on unbelievable shooting splits. This will be their first meeting of the year but Jokic has won eight of his previous 12 career matchups against Giannis.

Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors

Grizzlies vs. Warriors is a budding rivalry thanks to their heated matchup in last year’s playoffs. The Warriors won that series 4-2 and went on to a title but it’s the Grizzlies who have the edge this season, second in the Western Conference standings.

Golden State beat Memphis on Christmas Day 123-109, thanks to a combined 56 points from Klay Thompson and Jordan Poole, and a strong bench performance. Ja Morant and company will be looking to avenge that loss and Morant, in particular, could be in for a big night. In 16 career games (playoff and postseason combined) against the Warriors, Morant has averaged 25.5 points, 7.2 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.

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