Our nightly look ahead to the schedule with a couple of notes and story lines so you can plan out your NBA viewing. All Times Eastern.
Fire up the League Pass
7:30 New Jersey Nets @ New York Knicks
Pardon me for getting caught up in the hype, but these Knicks games are just fun to watch. If any of you are Lin haters, then I can’t help you. You’re probably pissed at the hype machine surrounding it, which I can understand. But the fact is that Lin is producing, and tonight we will see if he can produce against Deron Williams. Lin’s breakout game came against the Nets, but now D-Will is waiting. Now we will see a true test.
Couple of notes:
- Only John Stockton (82) has had more assists than Jeremy Lin (76) through his first eight NBA starts
- Deron Williams is the only player in the NBA averaging 20+ points and 8+ assists.
10:30 LA Clippers @ Golden State Warriors 
The way these two teams play, I am just excited at the possibility of a high-scoring, dunk-filled, 3-point barrage of an offensive explosion. This game is like ice cream. Sometimes you just want something that tastes good and makes you happy. Sometimes you just want a basketball game that is an up-and-down cavalcade of offensive prowess.
That is not to say there is not defense being played in these games. But that defense leads to fast, explosive offense. I don’t want to see an 89-85. I want a 109-105.
Couple of notes:
- The Clippers (19-10) are off to their best start since moving to Los Angeles, and their best as a franchise since they were the Buffalo Braves in 1974-75
- The Warriors are 5-2 this season when holding an opponent under 42.0 percen
Other story lines for tonight
4:00 Atlanta-Chicago (ESPN): The Bulls look to avoid consecutive losses for the first time this season. Derrick Rose (back) still a game-time decision.
8:00 Boston-Dallas (TNT): The Celtics, likely playing without Kevin Garnett (personal matter), try to avoid dropping below .500 again.
8:00 Memphis-Houston: The Grizzlies have lost 10 straight games in Houston, but have won four straight games overall. Which streak ends tonight?
8:00 Orlando-Milwaukee: Milwaukee tries to avoid its first six-game home losing streak in 12 years.
8:00 New Orleans-Oklahoma City: Will there be a let down from the Thunder after last night’s historic performance and overtime win?
9:00 Minnesota-Denver: A T’Wolves win would give them a four-game winning streak, bring them back to .500 and bring them into a tie with Denver in the division.
9:00 Washington-Phoenix: It’s Wall vs. Nash as the Wizards try to avoid their 10th straight loss to the Suns in Phoenix.
9:00 San Antonio-Utah: Manu Ginobili is hurt again. Can Tony Parker maintain his MVP pace to extend the Spurs’ 10 game winning streak?
10:30 Portland-LA Lakers (TNT): Can Kobe Bryant rebound from playing 40 minutes in a loss last night, and lead the Lakers to a win over the under-manned Blazers?
