Announced earlier today, ESPN has made updates to its upcoming NBA broadcasts for the month of January. On Friday, January 6, the Brooklyn Nets will face off against the Pelicans down in New Orleans at 7:30 PM ET. This matchup replaces the previously scheduled broadcast of the Chicago Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers game.
Additionally, the Phoenix Suns will take on the conference-leading Denver Nuggets on January 11th at 10 PM – a must-watch, Christmas Day rematch! This matchup replaces the previously scheduled Houston Rockets vs. Sacramento Kings game broadcast.
Check out our breakdown of each of these matchups below.
For the Brooklyn Nets, Jacque Vaughn has turned the season around shortly after his takeover as head coach. As the new coach, shortly after Steve Nash was let go, Vaughn had a message for his team. “We pledged to each other that it was going to be about basketball” and that the outside noise would not interfere with what the team was trying to accomplish this season.
“And our guys have done an unbelievable job of protecting each other and making this thing about basketball,” said Vaughn. It had been a rocky season thus far. In addition to Nash’s exit, Kyrie Irving was suspended, Ben Simmons was inured, Kevin Durant had requested a trade, and to top it off, the team kicked off the season with a 2-6 record.
Vaughn had a lot on his plate as he stepped into his new role. But he proudly took on the challenge and shows no signs of backing down after transforming a terrible team into a contending one. Somehow, Kyrie and Ben are meshing well together on the court, Durant looks to be happy, and more importantly, the Brooklyn Nets are earning tallies in the win column. Brooklyn is on a winning streak and has slid into the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference – just behind the reigning Eastern Conference Champs, the Boston Celtics.
So, where Brooklyn at? Well, it looks like they’re chillin’ at the top of the standings for a while if they can keep their current pace up.
For the Pelicans, the realization of their ability to win has them riding high heading into 2023. Currently sitting atop the Western Conference standings, the Pelicans have notched 22 wins, with 15 of those being on their home turf.
“Every game is important, especially at home,” said CJ McCollum. “You need to win 30-plus games at home if you want to get to 50 wins. That’s our mentality to win as many as you can at home.”
Not to mention Zion Williamson’s recent performance against the Timberwolves, where he set a new career high of 43 points, has the team fired up!
Nikola Jokić is no joke, and he, along with the rest of the Denver Nuggets are on a mission to win it all. But can they do it? With the year winding down, the Nuggets have made a surge and placed themselves in the Top 2 of the Western Conference. Climbing from the 7th seed, the Nuggets went on a winning streak as Jokić triple-doubled TWICE and went for 41 points, his season-best thus far.
Can the Phoenix Suns steal a win?
Despite Booker being sidelined due to an injury, the Suns continue to hold their ground with players like Chris Paul, and Jae Crowder, stepping up. They recently beat out Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, in a blowout game, despite Morant’s 34 points. The Suns aren’t going anywhere.
