In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, NBA teams will play throughout the morning (for the west coast), afternoon, and night, including two games currently in action, Dallas-Cleveland and Detroit-Clippers. The full schedule (all times eastern):

The full schedule (all times eastern):

1:00: Dallas-Cleveland, Detroit-Clippers

2:00: Toronto-Charlotte, Philadelphia-Washington

2:30: Knicks-Nets

5:00: New Orleans-Memphis

5:30: Miami-Atlanta

8:00: Lakers-Bulls, Portland-Houston

10:30: Indiana-Golden State

For teachers and other professionals with both the day off and NBA league pass, today could quickly turn into tonight. Staggered start times means such an individual could choose to watch NBA basketball from 1:00 to past midnight, beyond even the holiday. Also, don't forget about highly anticipated college matchups like Villanova-Creighton (7:00 pm EST on ESPN) and Kansas-Baylor (9:00 pm EST ESPN).

University Herald's top three matchups:

3. Knicks-Nets: Relevant because (1) I'm a Knicks fan (2) The Nets are hot and (3) The Nets have the 8th seed at 16-22; the Knicks are two games back at 15-25. It'll be up to the struggling Knicks to keep this one close. Luckily, Brooklyn is small and represents a pretty good matchup for them, setting the stage for late game clutch shots from Knicks killer Paul Pierce.

2. Portland-Houston: I wanted to get cute and champion New Oreans-Memphis for selfish reasons because I haven't seen much of the Pelicans and their young centerpiece, Anthony Davis, but injuries to Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, and Ryan Anderson have switched them from an intriguing young team circa the 2012-13 Rockets to a struggling one similar to the current Cleveland Cavaliers. Portland has been playing so well this year that C LaMarcus Aldrige has completely changed his mind about wanting out, instead focusing his attentions on having the best season of his career on the best team of his career. More credit as of late (in the beginning of the season, his play was slightly overrated by the media) goes to Damian Lillard, who's improved his shooting percentages after a poor start (but still only at 42 percent on the year). Will we ever learn about what makes this highly regarded but little known entity tick?

1. Indiana-Golden State: To the frustration of their coach, Golden State frequently plays close games using late-game comebacks. They also have a roster that speaks managerial intelligence slightly more so than winning basketball. A core of Stephen Curry, Andrew Bogus, Andre Iguodola, David Lee, and Harrison Barnes should probably be an elite team, but instead they are merely good. Even with the addition of Iguodola, the Warriors could use a little more depth and defense. Regardless, they'll be fun to watch against a Pacers team that always brings their best (also keep a look out for the emerging play of Lance Stephenson).