There isn't a great selection of games to choose from, but Kyrie Irving, Marc Gasol, John Wall, Michael Carter-Williams, Kevin Love and DeMarcus Cousins are all playing, which means there's at least something to watch.
NBA schedule 2014: Cavaliers, Grizzlies headline NBA games on Saturday
Also: the Wizards travel to Philadelphia and the Timberwolves take on the Kings.
Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
Main Course
League Pass; 9 p.m. ET
You may be thinking to yourself that this is a weak game to consider as the main course. I urge you, however, to actually look at the other available games. The NBA hasn’t exactly set us up with the greatest slate of competitive basketball for this particular Saturday and as such the Cavaliers and Grizzlies will have to do. Luckily, there are some fun things here.
Kyrie Irving recorded his first triple-double on Friday and has been tearing through the league ever since winning All-Star MVP a couple of weeks ago. He's also incredibly fun to watch: when the ball is in his hands, you'll want to take notice. His handle is ridiculous and he's nearly ambidextrous and it's a fantastic combination. Also: the Grizzlies, strapped with highlight-reel golden boy, James Johnson, have played very well over the past month and are returning to the team we came to know over the past few postseasons.
Appetizer
NBA TV; 7:30 p.m.
If the main course wasn’t appetizing, then what did you expect out of the appetizer? Well, congrats, you get the glorified D-League team masquerading as an Eastern Conference opponent aka the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers play a pretty horrifying brand of basketball: they run up-and-down the floor and shoot a bunch of threes, but they have one actual ball handler and no prominent three-point shooters. The result? A bunch of bad possessions.
But we're not paying attention here for the Sixers. We're keeping an eye on the Wizards, who recently won a crazy-fun triple overtime game against the Raptors. John Wall is a highlight maniac who thrives on both ends of the floor and Bradley Beal is his smooth shooting compadre. We're working with what we got here.
Dessert
League Pass; 10 p.m.
With our final game on Saturday’s plate, you get the grossly underachieving Timberwolves and the feisty-but-not-quite-there-yet Kings. The “where is Kevin Love going?” talk that clouds whatever conversations surround Minnesota have really blurred our ability to, ya know, sit back and actually enjoy how good Love is playing. He’s a knock-down shooter, a bullying post guy and he’s impossible to keep off the glass. Enjoy him, now and going forward.
The Kings are fun, but haven’t quite turned that into sustainable success. The trio of Rudy Gay-DeMarcus Cousins-Isaiah Thomas is one of the very best on the offensive end in the NBA. But that hasn’t turned into wins, yet. It does, however, mean that they can stay competitive and win any game they play. That’s better than nothing.
Other games (all times ET)
Orlando Magic vs. Miami Heat: League Pass; 7:30 p.m.
Detroit Pistons vs. Houston Rockets: League Pass; 8 p.m.
Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics: League Pass; 8 p.m.
Brooklyn Nets vs. Milwaukee Bucks: League Pass; 8:30 p.m.
Denver Nuggets vs. Portland Trail Blazers: NBA TV; 10 p.m.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Clippers: League Pass; 10:30 p.m.
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