Starting Lineups: Feb. 27
It would be difficult to draft a better and deeper slate of basketball than the one the NBA has gifted fans on Friday night. Twenty-eight teams are in action across 14 games – sorry, Phoenix and Dallas – and while the league is down a few stars at present, there's hardly a shortage.
Things kick off with LeBron James's surging Cleveland Cavaliers visiting the Indiana Pacers and MVP-candidate Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors facing his father's former team in the Toronto Raptors.
Later, the Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls take on a reinvigorated Minnesota Timberwolves squad, the Houston Rockets may experience life without James Harden for the first time all season and the Los Angeles Clippers-Memphis Grizzlies rivalry renews, albeit without Blake Griffin.
The night rounds out with the San Antonio Spurs looking to get back on track against George Karl's new charges in the River City and the unbelievable February of Russell Westbrook continuing against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Buckle in.
Here are Friday's projected starting lineups:
Cleveland Cavaliers at Indiana Pacers, 7 p.m. ET
Cavaliers
- PG: Matthew Dellavedova
- SG: J.R. Smith
- SF: James Jones
- PF: Kevin Love
- C: Timofey Mozgov
Pacers
- PG: George Hill
- SG: C.J. Miles
- SF: Solomon Hill
- PF: David West
- C: Roy Hibbert
Cavaliers SF LeBron James (back) will not play
Cavaliers PG Kyrie Irving (shoulder) will not play
Cavaliers SF Shawn Marion (hip), C Anderson Varejao (Achilles) remain out
Pacers SG C.J. Miles (foot) will play
Pacers SF Paul George (leg) remains out
Washington Wizards at Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m. ET
Wizards
- PG: John Wall
- SG: Garrett Temple
- SF: Otto Porter
- PF: Nene
- C: Marcin Gortat
76ers
- PG: Isaiah Canaan
- SG: Jason Richardson
- SF: Robert Covington
- PF: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
- C: Nerlens Noel
Wizards SG Bradley Beal (leg) will not play
Wizards PF Kris Humphries (hamstring) will not play
Wizards SF Paul Pierce (knee) will not play
76ers PG Tony Wroten (knee), C Joel Embiid (foot) remain out
Orlando Magic at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m. ET
Magic
- PG: Elfrid Payton
- SG: Victor Oladipo
- SF: Tobias Harris
- PF: Channing Frye
- C: Nikola Vucevic
Hawks
- PG: Jeff Teague
- SG: Kyle Korver
- SF: DeMarre Carroll
- PF: Paul Millsap
- C: Al Horford
Magic PF Aaron Gordon (ankle) will not play
Magic SG Evan Fournier (hip) will not play
Hawks SF Thabo Sefolosha (calf) remains out
Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics, 7:30 p.m. ET
Hornets
- PG: Mo Williams
- SG: Gerald Henderson
- SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
- PF: Cody Zeller
- C: Al Jefferson
Celtics
- PG: Marcus Smart
- SG: Avery Bradley
- SF: Evan Turner
- PF: Brandon Bass
- C: Tyler Zeller
Hornets C Bismack Biyombo (knee) will not play
Hornets PG Kemba Walker (knee) remains out
Celtics C Kelly Olynyk (ankle) will not play
Celtics PF Jared Sullinger (foot) remains out
New York Knicks at Detroit Pistons, 7:30 p.m. ET
Knicks
- PG: Langston Galloway
- SG: Tim Hardaway Jr.
- SF: Cleanthony Early
- PF: Andrea Bargnani
- C: Lou Amundson
Pistons
- PG: Reggie Jackson
- SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- SF: Tayshaun Prince
- PF: Greg Monroe
- C: Andre Drummond
Knicks PG Jose Calderon (Achilles) will not play
Knicks PG Shane Larkin (illness) will play
Knicks SF Lance Thomas (groin) will play
Kicks SF Carmelo Anthony (knee) remains out
Pistons PG Brandon Jennings (Achilles) remains out
Golden State Warriors at Toronto Raptors, 7:30 p.m. ET
Warriors
- PG: Steph Curry
- SG: Klay Thompson
- SF: Harrison Barnes
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Andrew Bogut
Raptors
- PG: Kyle Lowry
- SG: DeMar DeRozan
- SF: James Johnson
- PF: Patrick Patterson
- C: Jonas Valanciunas
Minnesota Timberwolves at Chicago Bulls, 8 p.m. ET
Timberwolves
- PG: Ricky Rubio
- SG: Kevin Martin
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Adreian Payne
- C: Nikola Pekovic
Bulls
- PG: Aaron Brooks
- SG: Jimmy Butler
- SF: Mike Dunleavy
- PF: Taj Gibson
- C: Joakim Noah
Timberwolves SG Gary Neal (ankle) will play
Timberwolves PF Kevin Garnett (rest) will not play
Timberwolves PF Anthony Bennett (leg), PF Shabazz Muhammad (finger), SF Robbie Hummel (hand) remain out
Bulls PF Pau Gasol (illness) will not play
Bulls PG Derrick Rose (knee) remains out
Brooklyn Nets at Houston Rockets, 8 p.m. ET
Nets
- PG: Deron Williams
- SG: Markel Brown
- SF: Alan Anderson
- PF: Joe Johnson
- C: Mason Plumlee
Rockets
- PG: Patrick Beverley
- SG: James Harden
- SF: Trevor Ariza
PF: Terrence Jones - C: Donatas Motiejunas
Nets SG Bojan Bogdanvoic (ankle) will not play
Nets PF Mirza Teletovic (medical) remains out
Rockets SG James Harden (ankle) will play
Rockets PG Patrick Beverley (illness) will play
Rockets C Dwight Howard (knee), PF Kostas Papanikolaou (ankle) remain out
Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies, 8 p.m. ET
Clippers
- PG: Chris Paul
- SG: J.J. Redick
- SF: Matt Barnes
- PF: Spencer Hawes
- C: DeAndre Jordan
Grizzlies
- PG: Mike Conley
- SG: Courtney Lee
- SF: Jeff Green
- PF: Zach Randolph
- C: Marc Gasol
Clippers PF Blake Griffin (elbow) remains out
Grizzlies SF Vince Carter (foot) remains out
Miami Heat at New Orleans Pelicans, 8 p.m. ET
Heat
- PG: Goran Dragic
- SG: Dwyane Wade
- SF: Luol Deng
- PF: Udonis Haslem
- C: Hassan Whiteside
Pelicans
- PG: Tyreke Evans
- SG: Eric Gordon
- SF: Quincy Pondexter
- PF: Dante Cunningham
- C: Omer Asik
Heat PF Chris Bosh (medical), PF Josh McRoberts (knee) remain out
Pelicans PF Anrthony Davis (shoulder), PF Ryan Anderson (knee), PG Jrue Holiday (ankle) remain out
Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets, 9 p.m. ET
Jazz
- PG: Dante Exum
- SG: Joe Ingles
- SF: Gordon Hayward
- PF: Derrick Favors
- C: Rudy Gobert
Nuggets
- PG: Ty Lawson
- SG: Gary Harris
- SF: Danilo Gallinari
- PF: J.J. Hickson
- C: Joffrey Lauvergne
Jazz SG Alec Burks (shoulder) remains out
Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) will not play
Nuggets PF Kenneth Faried (thumb) will play
Nuggets SF Wilson Chandler (leg) will play
Nuggets PF Darrell Arthur (knee) will not play
San Antonio Spurs at Sacramento Kings, 10 p.m. ET
Spurs
- PG: Tony Parker
- SG: Danny Green
- SF: Kawhi Leonard
- PF: Tim Duncan
- C: Tiago Splitter
Kings
- PG: Ray McCallum
- SG: Ben McLemore
- SF: Rudy Gay
- PF: Carl Landry
- C: Jason Rhompson
Kings C DeMarcus Cousins (ankle) will not play
Kings PG Darren Collison (hip), SF Eric Moreland (shoulder) remain out
Milwaukee Bucks at Los Angeles Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET
Bucks
- PG: Michael Carter-Williams
- SG: Khris Middleton
- SF: Giannis Antetokounmpo
- PF: Ersan Ilyasova
- C: Zaza Pachulia
Lakers
- PG: Jordan Clarkson
- SG: Wayne Ellington
- SF: Ryan Kelly
- PF: Carlos Boozer
- C: Robert Sacre
Bucks SG O.J. Mayo (hamstring) will not play
Bucks SF Damien Inglis (foot), PF Jabari Parker (knee) remain out
Lakers SG Nick Young (knee) will not play
Lakers PG Steve Nash (back), SG Kobe Bryant (shoulder), PF Julius Randle (leg), PF Ronnie Price (elbow) remain out
Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trail Blazers, 10:30 p.m. ET
Thunder
- PG: Russell Westbrook
- SG: Andre Roberson
- SF: Kyle Singler
- PF: Serge Ibaka
- C: Nick Collison
Trail Blazers
- PG: Damian Lillard
- SG: Wesley Matthews
- SF: Nicolas Batum
- PF: LaMarcus Aldridge
- C: Robin Lopez
Thunder SF Enes Kanter (thigh) will not play
Thunder SF Kevin Durant (foot), PF Steve Novak (medical), C Steven Adams (hand) remain out
Trail Blazers C Joel Freeland (shoulder) remains out