NBA games to watch this week as title favorites duke it out and Sixers’ seeding rivals emerge

We have our second absolute, drop everything, MUST WATCH game of the season, and some teams Philly needs to lose.

If it’s anything like this week’s schedule of games, NBA 2025 will be glorious. We have the two former champions battling and two of the greatest regular season teams we’ve seen in a while playing each other the very next night.

Seedings are beginning to settle, which means fans can now actively engage in hate-watching. The Philadelphia 76ers need any of the four teams in the play-in seeds (10-7) to lose. The Sixers just cannot wiggle their way into that grouping, so will need a bit of help.

For this week’s games to watch column, I’m shone a light on the games Philly has a vetted interest in. But there are bangers. Bangers I just could not pass up. It would be blasphemy if I told you to not watch those games.

Jan. 7: Boston Celtics @ Denver Nuggets
Watching the Celtics, a perfectly-drilled team of switchable defenders and offensively talented servants to Mazulla ball go up against Nikola Jokić, the single greatest offensive weapon since King James himself, is always must-see hoops. Their two matchups last season were. Denver won both but only by two and five points. Although Boston is a better team this season, the reigning champions are in the head-in-the-toilet stage of their championship hangover, going 5-5 over their last 10 matchups.

Denver, on the other hand, is in a mini-resurgence. Jokić is having one of the greatest single statistical seasons ever, averaging 31.5 points, 13.0 rebounds and 9.7 assists. His new teammate Russell Westbrook is enjoying a season where his home fans finally enjoy his presence.

It’d be a long shot to call this an NBA Finals preview (that happens on Wednesday), but it is a matchup between the last two champions. If you have time, rewatch their games from last year. Pure, pure hoops cinema.

Jan. 8: Oklahoma City Thunder @ Cleveland Cavaliers
This is MUST must-watch hoops. The two best teams in each conference, by far, with enough hunger and want of something to prove. WE are the real title favorites, not you.

Cleveland is 31-4 and hasn’t yet lost to a Western team this season. Oklahoma is 30-5 and hasn’t yet lost to an Eastern team this season. Cleveland has the league’s best offense. Oklahoma has the league’s best defense. Cleveland has won 10 straight regular season games. Oklahoma has won 15 straight regular season games. This is the real NBA Finals preview, and we get it in January. 2025 is looking fantastic.

Jan. 9: Golden State Warriors @ Detroit Pistons
With the Detroit Pistons in play-in seeding and the 76ers in the 11th seed, Philly fans now have a genuine reason to cheer for Detroit’s, and by extension Tobias Harris’, downfall. But Detroit’s playing their best basketball of the 2020s. They’ve won six of their last seven, Cade Cunningham is a likely All-Star and is third in the league in assists, and, for the first time in 434 days, they have a .500 record. Detroit Basketball!

Golden State just lost by 30 points to a Sacramento team in absolute turmoil. Stephen Curry’s twilight years are looking like the ‘Twilight Zone’. That said, he’s still Steph Curry. As every game turns into one they desperately need to win, Steph is peak NBA.

Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images

Jan. 10: Oklahoma City Thunder @ New York Knicks
OKC defeated the Knicks last Friday night in a banger that was just the fourth game in the NBA’s 79-year history between teams on winning streaks of nine games or more (OKC vs. Cavs, mentioned above, should be the next one). That won’t be true for this, their next matchup, but both squads see themselves as genuine contenders.

OKC has a rightful claim, but the Knicks have botched their last three games. After losing to the Thunder, they couldn’t defeat Chicago or the Orlando Magic, who are so injured they didn’t have a single starter averaging double digits. Winning in the NBA is the equivalent to the Men In Black neuralyzer, especially if the win is against this Thunder team. Expect a big fight from the Knicks and an extremely rowdy MSG crowd.

Jan. 11: Houston Rockets @ Atlanta Hawks
Like Detroit, Philly fans need to keep tabs on Atlanta’s season. The Hawks are in the play-in picture and have a jolly young squad. Jolly! Trae Young is the NBA’s assist leader. Dyson Daniels is the NBA’s steal leader. Jalen Johnson is the (my) favorite for the NBA’s Most Improved Player. They’ve dropped their last three games but, with two wins over Cleveland on their season resume, they can beat anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Houston also has a young squad, but jolly they are not. Ime Udoka is the scariest-looking coach in the league and his team is slowly becoming a personification of his blood-curdling death stare. They suffocate teams. Wrangling them with their length and young athleticism. I mean, they have the ‘Terror Twins’ on their squad. Amen Thompson and Tari Eason (now injured) have been two big reasons the team has the NBA’s third-best defensive rating.

Thompson is probably the most athletic player in the NBA. LeBron James, the man who has played the most minutes in the NBA, said he’s one of the most athletic players he’s ever seen. I don’t want to assume, but enjoying bounce is a big reason we like ball. Thompson has bounce and then some, all while being a top-10 perimeter defender.

Jan. 12: Sacramento Kings @ Chicago Bulls
Add Chicago to the list of teams Philly needs to fail. The Bulls are the 10th seed, two games ahead of the Sixers. They’ve won four of their last five, including an incredible clutch victory over San Antonio on Monday night. Coby White’s game-winning poster dunk over Victor Wembanyama may make the third straight year of mediocrity palpable to fans. They play at the third-highest pace in the league and are hellbent on sharing the ball and jacking up threes. Those have been easier to do ever since they traded mid-range savant DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings.

Sacramento had the NBA’s most turbulent ending to 2024, firing their head coach Mike Brown while dealing with trade rumors surrounding their star player De’Aaron Fox. But, interim coach Doug Christie has led them to a five-game winning streak. Will it be enough to make Fox want to stay? Probably not. They are still 11th in the West and have no real path to contention. They are desperate though, and desperate teams are fun to watch.