Starting lineups: Feb. 23

Monday's eight-game slate in the NBA is highlighted by a battle between two of the Western Conference's elite teams.

The Memphis Grizzlies visit the Los Angeles Clippers for the second night of a back-to-back after overcoming a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit to drop the Northwest Division-leading Portland Trail Blazers.

Both teams are jockeying for position in the loaded West, with Memphis eyeing down the Golden State Warriors for the top spot in the conference. The Grizzlies enter Monday trailing Golden State by 3.5 games after becoming the third team to reach the 40-win mark in their victory over Portland.

In other action, the Chicago Bulls host the Milwaukee Bucks in what could be a first-round playoff preview in the East. Chicago has beaten the Bucks twice this season with two more games remaining.

Isaiah Thomas, meanwhile, will make his return to Phoenix days after the Suns shipped him to the Boston Celtics. Thomas scored 21 points in 25 minutes in his Celtics debut Sunday before getting ejected in the fourth quarter.

Here are tonight's projected starting lineups:

Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat, 7:30 p.m. ET

76ers

PG: Isaiah Canaan
SG: JaKarr Sampson
SF: Robert Covington
PF: Nerlens Noel
C: Henry Sims

Heat

PG: Goran Dragic
SG: Dwyane Wade
SF: Luol Deng
PF: Udonis Haslem
C: Hassan Whiteside

76ers F Jerami Grant (back) is questionable
76ers SG Jason Richardson (knee) will not play

Milwaukee Bucks at Chicago Bulls, 8:00 p.m. ET

Bucks

PG: Jerryd Bayless
SG: Khris Middleton
SF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
PF: Ersan Ilyasova
C: John Henson

Bulls

PG: Derrick Rose
SG: Jimmy Butler
SF: Mike Dunleavy
PF: Pau Gasol
C: Joakim Noah

Bulls PF Taj Gibson (illness) will not play
Bulls PG Kirk Hinrich (illness) will not play
Bucks PG Michael Carter-Williams (toe) will not play

Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets, 8:00 p.m. ET

Timberwolves

PG: Ricky Rubio
SG: Kevin Martin
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Adreian Payne
C: Nikola Pekovic

Rockets

PG: Jason Terry
SG: James Harden
SF: Trevor Ariza
PF: Donatas Motiejunas
C: Terrence Jones

Timberwolves PF Anthony Bennett (ankle) will not play
Timberwolves PF Kevin Garnett will not play
Timberwolves SF Shabazz Muhammad (finger) is out for the season
Rockets C Dwight Howard (knee) remains out
Rockets PG Patrick Beverley (illness) will not play
Rockets SF Kostas Papanikolaou (ankle) will not play

Toronto Raptors at New Orleans Pelicans, 8:00 p.m. ET

Raptors

PG: Kyle Lowry
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: James Johnson
PF: Amir Johnson
C: Jonas Valanciunas

Pelicans

PG: Tyreke Evans
SG: Eric Gordon
SF: Quincy Pondexter
PF: Alexis Ajinca
C: Omer Asik

Pelicans PF Anthony Davis (shoulder) expected out 1-2 weeks
Pelicans F Ryan Anderson (knee) expected out 2-4 weeks
Pelicans PG Jrue Holiday (leg) remains out
Raptors SG Lou Williams (ankle) will play
Raptors PF Patrick Patterson (knee) will not play

Brooklyn Nets at Denver Nuggets, 9:00 p.m. ET

Nets

PG: Deron Williams
SG: Markel Brown
SF: Alan Anderson
PF: Joe Johnson
C: Mason Plumlee

Nuggets

PG: Ty Lawson
SG: Gary Harris
SF: Danilo Gallinari
PF: Darrell Arthur
C: Jusuf Nurkic

Nets PG Jarrett Jack (hamstring) will not play
Nets SG Bojan Bogdanovic (ankle) will not play
Nuggets SF Wilson Chandler (leg) will not play

Boston Celtics at Phoenix Suns, 9:00 p.m. ET

Celtics

PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Evan Turner
PF: Brandon Bass
C: Tyler Zeller

Suns

PG: Eric Bledsoe
SG: Brandon Knight
SF: P.J. Tucker
PF: Markieff Morris
C: Alex Len

San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, 9:00 p.m. ET

Spurs

PG: Tony Parker
SG: Danny Green
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Tim Duncan
C: Aron Baynes

Jazz

PG: Dante Exum
SG: Joe Ingles
SF: Gordon Hayward
PF: Derrick Favors
C: Rudy Gobert

Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET

Grizzlies

PG: Mike Conley
SG: Courtney Lee
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Zach Randolph
C: Marc Gasol

Clippers

PG: Chris Paul
SG: J.J. Redick
SF: Matt Barnes
PF: Spencer Hawes
C: DeAndre Jordan

Clippers PF Blake Griffin (elbow) remains out
Grizzlies SG Vince Carter (foot) remains out