Boston Celtics (20-7) at Toronto Raptors (21-9), 12:00 pm ET, NBA League Pass
- Boston won the first meeting with Toronto, 112-106, on Oct. 25 behind 25 points apiece by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics are 8-0 when Tatum and Brown both reach 20 points in the same game, including 3-0 when they both reach 25.
- The Raptors rank second in the league in points off turnovers (19.7 per game) as they force the third-highest opponent turnover rate (16.0%).
- Fred VanVleet ranks second in the league in deflections (3.9 per game) and fifth in the league in steals (1.9 per game).
- Toronto’s Pascal Siakam leads the NBA in contested 3-point shots at 5.8 per game. Opponents are shooting just 29.1% from three against Siakam, which is the 11th lowest rate among the 129 players that have defended at least 100 3-pointers.
- Boston has posted a 116.6 offensive rating in Kemba Walker’s 838 minutes on the court, but that rating drops to 100.3 in his 463 minutes off the court.
Milwaukee Bucks (27-4) at Philadelphia 76ers (22-10), 2:30 pm ET, NBA League Pass
- The Lopez twins lead the NBA in rim protection. Of the 67 players that have contested at least 100 shots at the basket, Robin (44.5%) and Brook (44.9%) rank first and second in lowest field goal percentage allowed.
- Milwaukee’s lineup of Brook Lopez, Wesley Matthews, Eric Bledsoe, Khris Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo has an 89.6 defensive rating in 158 minutes together. That is the best defensive rating by a wide margin (Philly is second at 94.9) among the 25 lineups that have played at least 150 minutes together.
- This is the first meeting of the season between the Bucks and Sixers. In three meetings last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo averaged 43.0 points, 15.7 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 3.0 blocks and 1.3 steals. It was his highest scoring average against any opponent he faced during his MVP season.
- Ben Simmons leads the NBA in steals (2.1 per game); he ranks fifth in the league in deflections (3.7) and second in loose balls recovered (1.9).
- The Bucks are the only team in the league to rank in the top 10 in scoring from both their starters (78.7 points per game) and their bench (41.9 points per game). Milwaukee ranks eighth in both, as their bench averages the third-most minutes (21.1) of any reserve unit in the league.
Houston Rockets (21-9) at Golden State Warriors (7-24), 5:00 pm ET, NBA League Pass
- Clint Capela has seven 20-rebound games this season, second in the league to Detroit’s Andre Drummond’s eight. Capela (14.5) ranks second to Drummond (16.1) for the league lead in rebounds.
- Houston ranks second in the league in free throw rate (0.300) as they average a league-high 27.3 free throws per game. Nearly half of those attempts belong to James Harden as his 12.8 free throw attempts per game leads the NBA by 2.3 attempts over any other player.
- D’Angelo Russell has scored at least 25 points in each of his past three games, with the Warriors going 2-1 in that stretch. Earlier this season, he had a four-game stretch with at least 30 points each game, including his career-high 52-point effort against Minnesota. However, the Warriors went 0-4 in that stretch.
- PJ Tucker leads the NBA in 3-pointers made from both corners. He is 25-48 (52.1%) from the left corner and 22-52 (42.3%) from the right corner.
- Russell Westbrook (19.4) and James Harden (19.3) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in points created by assists per game. They are the only set of teammates to both rank in the top 10. Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Fred VanVleet rank 12th and 14th, respectively.
LA Clippers (22-10) at Los Angeles Lakers (24-6), 8:00 pm ET, NBA League Pass
- The Clippers won the first meeting of the season on opening night 112-102 behind a 30-point night from Kawhi Leonard in his Clippers debut. Kawhi also held his matchups to 5-14 (35.7%) shooting from the field and 1-8 (12.5%) from three.
- The season opening loss to the Clippers was the first of 20 games with at least 10 assists for LeBron James this season. The Lakers are 17-3 when he dished out double-digit assists and 6-3 when he’s held to single-digit assists.
- The Clippers lead the NBA in bench scoring with their reserves accounting for 51.3 points per game; their starters rank 28th at 64.4 points per game. The Clippers have the top two bench scorers in the NBA in Montrezl Harrell (18.5 PPG) and three-time Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams (18.3 PPG).
- Among the 198 players that have defended at least 200 shots this season, Anthony Davis ranks 9th in defensive field goal percentage as his opponents shoot just 38.7%. That is the top mark of any player listed at the center position; Davis is a forward/center.
- Montrezl Harrell leads the NBA in box outs at 6.2 per game. The Clippers collect the rebound on 90.8% of Harrell’s box outs, even though he only completes the rebound on 29.2% of those box outs.
New Orleans Pelicans (8-23) at Denver Nuggets (21-8), 10:30 pm ET, NBA League Pass
- The Nuggets (71) and Pelicans (70) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in minutes played in clutch situations(score within five points in final five minutes). The Nuggets are 11-6 in those games, having outscored their opponents by a total of 19 points. The Pelicans are just 4-14 in those games, having been outscored by 69 points.
- JJ Redick ranks fifth in the NBA in points per game on catch-and-shoot attempts. He is shooting 74-151 (49.0%) overall and 63-130 (48.5) from beyond the arc for an effective field goal percentage of 69.9%. That is the third-highest eFG% of the 80 players with at least 100 catch-and-shoot attempts.
- Nikola Jokic leads the NBA in passes made (73.4 per game) with 81.5% of those passes going to Jamal Murray (46.7%), Will Barton (17.8%) or Gary Harris (17.0%). Barton is shooting 29-46 (63.0%) on 2-point attempts and 17-41 (41.5%) on 3-point attempts on passes from Jokic.
- Brandon Ingram ranks second in the NBA with 6.0 points per game scored on spot up plays. Ingram has an effective field goal percentage of 58.6% on catch-and-shoots this season, which is up from 44.7% last season in Los Angeles.
- The Nuggets allow the second-fewest 3-point field goals made (10.1%) as their opponents shoot a league-low 30.7% from beyond the arc. On the flip side, the Pelicans rank fourth in 3-pointers made (13.9 per game) and shoot the long ball at 36.3%, which ranks eighth in the league.
