1. The Kawhi & Paul Show, Episode 2: Another night, another test against a title-hopeful for the LA Clippers and their duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. When we last saw them, PG and Kawhi were deferring to each other (a bit too much) in a thrilling, 107-104 overtime win Wednesday against the Celtics. The last time Houston and L.A. met, however, James Harden lit up the Clippers for 47 points and Austin Rivers was busy trolling his dad at game’s end. Neither team has any mysterious injuries to concern themselves with tonight (10:30 pm ET, NBA League Pass), making this a fully stocked superstar showdown with storylines galore.
2. A tasty East-West clash: Denver and Boston are squaring off (9 pm ET, NBA League Pass) in a matchup of the No. 2 seeds in the West and East, respectively. The Nuggets already have home wins against the Heat and Sixers this season and a victory against the Celtics would come two days after a solid showing against the Rockets. Don’t expect a ton of passing miscues, though — Denver (1.95) and Boston (1.93) rank first and second, respectively, this season in assist-to-turnover ratio.
3. (Dubious) history beckons for Spurs: To say San Antonio is reeling is quite the understatement: it’s current seven-game skid is the franchise’s longest since 1997. The last time San Antonio lost eight in a row was also in 1996-97 (Nov. 15-30, 1996). Having a road date with the Sixers is hardly what the doctor ordered (8 pm ET, NBA League Pass), too. That all said, this one could be interesting late as the Spurs have a Top 10 offense (that dips in the fourth quarter) and the Sixers have a Top 10 defense (that gets better in the fourth quarter).
4. Lakers try to keep rolling: The concerns about Kyle Kuzma’s eye injury are a thing of the past as the Lakers head to Oklahoma City (8 pm ET, NBA League Pass) in search of a sixth straight win. Already this season, Los Angeles has amassed two win streaks of five or more games. For a little context, the last time that happened was in the 2012-13 season (when the Kobe Bryant-Pau Gasol-Steve Nash-Dwight Howard squad went 45-37 and lost in the first round).
5. Someone’s gotta win, right?: Blake Griffin says there’s a “sense of urgency” around the Pistons during their five-game skid. The Hawks are looking to improve their defense as they look to reverse a four-game slump. However you slice it, Atlanta and Detroit have been a bit of a letdown and face each other tonight (7 pm ET, NBA League Pass) in hopes of staying in the still-developing Eastern Conference chase.
