5 NBA games to watch this week
Monday: Oklahoma City Thunder at Golden State Warriors, 10:30 p.m. ET (NBATV)
A primetime matchup on the West Coast highlights a busy Monday night.
MVP frontrunner Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors bounced back from their season-high-tying, two-game losing streak by winning three consecutive, including a beatdown of what was then the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors.
The NBA's best will host an Oklahoma City Thunder team much better than what its 17-17 record indicates.
Oklahoma City, by far the most dangerous non-playoff team in the NBA, is healthy and an exceptional 9-2 with Kevin Durant in the lineup. Durant has dropped 78 points over his last two contests after missing six consecutive games.
The Thunder will be out for revenge after Durant scored 30 points in 19 minutes before injuring himself in a loss the last time these two teams met.
Monday: Atlanta Hawks at Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
Monday's 11-game slate has some intriguing matchups, including the surging Atlanta Hawks attempting to extend their winning streak to five games against the Los Angeles Clippers, winners of three straight.
The Hawks sit in first place in the East and haven't simply feasted on the inferior conference to claim the top spot.
Atlanta, 18-2 in its last 20, has beaten a foursome of Western Conference juggernauts in a span of less than three weeks in the Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers. That deserves some respect. So does the Hawks' 8-2 mark against the West.
Wednesday: Detroit Pistons at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 p.m. ET
This game wouldn't have meant much less than two weeks ago, but the Detroit Pistons aren't the same since getting rid of Josh Smith. They were always better without him on the court and are even better now that he's off the team.
The Pistons are riding a season-high five-game winning streak and haven't lost since Smith departed the Motor City.
Dallas has been just as hot, winning five consecutive and is 6-2 since acquiring Rajon Rondo.
The Mavericks and Pistons will take six-game winning streaks into the matchup if both win their next contest.
Detroit is outscoring opponents by 18.2 points over its winning streak – good for the second-best mark in the NBA – while averaging 108.4 points per game, ranking fifth in the Association. Dallas ranks third and fourth, respectively, in those categories over the same stretch.
Friday: Chicago Bulls at Washington Wizards, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)
A showdown in the nation's capital between two of the Eastern Conference's best highlights a busy Friday night in the NBA.
Both the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards have legitimate shots at capturing the No. 1 seed in the East and will meet for the second time this season. The Bulls, who have won an NBA-best 14 road games, were already victorious once in Washington where the Wizards are an impressive 14-4.
Sunday: Phoenix Suns at Memphis Grizzlies, 6 p.m. ET
The Memphis Grizzlies remain in first place, despite playing in the toughest division in basketball. They've cooled down some, losing five of their last eight contests, including an embarrassing 29-point loss to the Denver Nuggets. But seven of those games have been without injured power forward Zach Randolph.
Memphis will face a hot Phoenix Suns team. The Suns are 8-2 in their last 10 and have reeled off some impressive victories over that stretch, including a Sunday shellacking of the Raptors.
The Grizzlies beat the Suns in early November and this could very well be a potential first-round playoff matchup, pending how the season plays out.