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For the third consecutive season, former teammates LeBron James and Kyrie Irving will square off on national television with at least one of them playing for a new team. First, it was Irving's trade demand that landed him in Boston. James followed him out the door in Cleveland in order to join the Los Angeles Lakers a year later, but before the two could truly renew the ancient rivalry between those franchises, Irving took a page out of James' playbook and signed with his hometown Brooklyn Nets this past summer. 

Fortunately for fans of stability, it is unlikely that either changes sides again anytime soon. Both signed long-term deals with their current teams and have expressed their desire to remain in one place for the long haul. With Kevin Durant less than a year from returning and James' Lakers atop the Western Conference, Thursday night's battle between the two former teammates could be the beginning of the league's next great bi-coastal rivalry. 

Here's how you can tune into the game along with everything you need to know about matchup. 

How To Watch

  • Date: Thursday, Jan. 23 | 8 p.m. ET
  • Location: Barclays Center -- Brooklyn, New York
  • TV: TNT | Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
  • Odds: LAL -220 | BKN +184 | O/U: 228

Storylines

Lakers: L.A. has been uncharacteristically sloppy on this swing through the Eastern Conference. Its blowout loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics Monday was the sort of inevitable defeat every team faces on the road at some point or another, but needing all four quarters to put away the lowly New York Knicks on Wednesday was certainly concerning. 

Reintegrating Anthony Davis into the lineup after playing smaller during his absence is a potential culprit, though Davis played quite well against the Knicks. He is questionable tonight, his first back-to-back since returning from a tailbone injury, but really, the Lakers just need better production out of their role players. Their non-Davis/LeBron James starters combined for only 13 points on Wednesday, and nobody could generate consistent offense against Boston. Getting the entire roster back on track against an underwhelming Nets squad will be critical with the 76ers and Clippers looming on the schedule. 

Nets: Speaking of reintegrating an injured star, the Nets haven't exactly had an easy time adjusting to the return of Kyrie Irving. They are winless since taking down the Hawks in his first game back from a shoulder injury, and the closest they came to changing that was in a Monday loss to the 76ers that Irving missed with a tight hamstring. Spencer Dinwiddie looked like an All-Star when Irving's absence granted him control of the offense, but so far with Kyrie back, Dinwiddie is taking 6.5 fewer shots per game and is hitting only 38.5 percent of his field goals. 

The Lakers will give the Nets a trial by fire. Neither Irving nor Dinwiddie will have an easy moment with Avery Bradley, Alex Caruso, Danny Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope taking turns defending them. If the Nets are going to have any hope of pulling out this victory, it starts with Irving and Dinwiddie finding some sort of common ground in this suddenly uneasy partnership. 

Game Prediction, Pick

Judging the Nets since Irving's return is almost unfair given the competition. After the Hawks game, they've played Utah, Milwaukee and Philadelphia twice. That slate would crush most teams, and the Lakers don't exactly make things easier. The sky isn't falling in Brooklyn quite yet, but at the same time, the concerns Irving presents are quite real. Dinwiddie goes from one of the highest-usage pick-and-roll ball-handlers in the NBA to a fairly redundant non-shooter when Irving enters the fold, and until that is settled, picking them against the best team in the West, Davis or not, just seems irresponsible: Pick: Lakers -5