Watchability Rankings: Best NBA games for week ending in March 27
SI.com's Watchability Rankings will give you the lowdown on the must-see games for the week ahead. Here are the top five games to watch for the week ending March 27. All stats are records through March 17.
The focus of the basketball world has turned to the NCAA tournament for the month of March, but NBA fans will have to wait until next season to see Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram play in the professional ranks. In the meantime, they'll have to settle for some guy named Stephen Curry, as his Warriors are on the precipice of history with a 61–6 record entering the weekend. Golden State is one of eight teams featured in this week's watchability rankings.
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Wednesday, March 23: Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors
TheCeltics have lost three straight games, causing them to fall into a three-way tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference with Miami and Charlotte. Boston will host second-place Toronto on Wednesday before going on a five-game West Coast road trip that includes consecutive games against the Clippers, Trail Blazers and Warriors.
Wednesday, March 23: Golden State Warriors vs. L.A. Clippers
In a preview of a possible second-round playoff matchup, Golden State will host L.A. as the Warriors look to sweep the season series against the Clippers. Golden State won the first three in high-scoring, competitive games: 112–108, 124–117, and 115–112.
Thursday, March 24: L.A. Clippers vs. Portland Trail Blazers
L.A. and Portland are within striking distance of third and fifth place in the Western Conference, respectively, as the regular season heads down the home stretch. The Clippers are 2.5 games behind the Thunder and the Trail Blazers are four games behind the Grizzlies. They're seventh and eighth in the league in scoring, setting up an exciting Thursday night matchup at the Staples Center.
Friday, March 25: San Antonio Spurs vs. Memphis Grizzlies
SanAntonioandMemphisareheadingindifferentdirections. Entering the weekend, the Spurs have won five straight while the Grizzlies have lost four in a row. The two teams will meet twice in four days as San Antonio looks to finish the season 4–0 against Memphis after defeating the Grizzlies with relative ease in the first two matchups, 92–82 and 103–83.
Saturday, March 26: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. San Antonio Spurs
The NBA schedule-makers may have saved the best for last. Oklahoma City will play host to San Antonio in a primetime matchup on Saturday night between the Western Conference's second- and third-place teams. The Thunder and Spurs split their first two meetings with San Antonio taking the last game 93–85 on March 12 behind 26 points from Kawhi Leonard. This game could be a taste of a potential Western Conference semifinals matchup.
