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
7:00 LA Lakers at Philadelphia 76’ers
The Lakers road test continues, as does the 76ers’ quest to be respected. Philadelphia squandered a golden opportunity to cement itself as something more than a lockout-shortened quirk when Miami blew Philadelphia out. Now the 76ers get another shot against a shaky Lakers team.
Los Angeles comes in off a loss to Utah, dropping the team to 3-8 on the road. A win over a good Philly team will be huge for the Lake Show. Losing this one will ratchet up the pressure in L.A. to do something to fix this.
Couple of notes:
- Kobe Bryant needs 24 points to pass Shaquille O’Neal for 5th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
- The Sixers have yet to lose consecutive games this season
9:00 Houston Rockets at Denver Nuggets 
These have been two of the highest scoring teams in the league so far, and it’s always fun to watch offenses do battle. Plus, I have a kind of soft spot for the Nuggets and Rockets. Denver’s improvement after the Carmelo Anthony trade has been fun to watch, and anything that might give megastars pause before they go forcing trades is all right in my book. And it has come via good team basketball.
Same for Houston, coached by my boy Kevin McHale. After his, umm, less than stellar run putting a team together in Minnesota, it’s nice to see him get some quick success on the bench.
Couple of notes:
- Houston has won 21 straight games in which the team has held an opponent under 90 points
- Danilo Gallinari has scored 20+ in six of his last nine games
10:00 Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trailblazers (NBA TV)
The more Oklahoma City games you watch, the better your life will be. This one will pit the Thunder, owners of an NBA-best road record at 9-4, against the 11-1-at-home Blazers. The Gerald Wallace/Kevin Durant matchup will be fun, but Serge Ibaka will be the key to this one. If he can keep LaMarcus Aldridge in check, then the Thunder have a great chance. But Aldridge, unlike OKC’s bigs, is a face-up threat, opening lanes for Wallace… who stands to have a big game if he can take advantage.
Couple of Notes:
- Portland has alternated wins and losses over it’s last seven games.
- OKC (who lost their last game against San Antonio) has only lost back-to-back games once this season.
Other story lines for tonight
7:00 – LA Clippers-Orlando: The Clippers have lost nine straight to the Magic. The Magic, meanwhile are posting extra security around the visiting entrance to prevent Dwight Howard from sneaking onto the Clippers team bus.
7:00 – Toronto-Washington: I’m pretty sure even Randy Wittman and Dwane Casey will be watching other games on League Pass mobile
7:30 – Phoenix-Atlanta: The Hawks try to avoid a season-high third straight loss
7:30 – Chicago-New Jersey: Luol Deng looks to shake off more rust in his second game back from a wrist injury
7:30 – Utah-New York: The Jazz try to take advantage of a short-handed Knicks team who will be without Amar’e Stoudemire
8:00 – Sacramento-New Orleans: The Kings look to win three straight for the first time this season.
8:00 – San Antonio-Memphis: The Spurs and their 3-8 road record begin their nine-game rodeo road trip
John’s Picks:
Philadelphia, Denver, Portland, LA Clippers, Washington, Atlanta, Chicago, Utah, Sacramento, San Antonio
Friday night: 6-4
Season: 29-14
