Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors (ESPN)
The Sixers (17-8) make the trip to Toronto (20-5) in a heavyweight Eastern Conference showdown.
Philly are rolling, having won eight of their last nine games behind the addition of star forward Jimmy Butler.
Butler looks like the missing piece Philadelphia have long needed, giving them a tougher defensive identity and go-to scorer down the stretch.
It has eased the weight off Joel Embiid’s shoulders, who is averaging 19 points, 14.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over the past seven days, while JJ Redick is hitting his best form for the season.
The sharpshooter is averaging 20.7 points and 2.7 triples on 55 per cent overall shooting from the field over the past seven days.
The Raptors’ eight-game winning streak came to an end against the Denver Nuggets at home on Tuesday.
Kawhi Leonard is averaging 28.8 points, nine rebounds, one steal and 1.2 blocks on 50 per cent shooting from the field in his past five games.
He will go head-to-head with defensive stud Butler, who will make life tough for The Claw on the offensive end, which could be a key factor in this match.
Tip: Philadelphia +2.5 @ $2.56
LA Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies
No one predicted the Clippers (16-7) and Grizzlies (13-9) would be shooting for a top four seed in the West this season.
LA are armed with an array of very good players, led by Tobias Harris (averaging 21.6 points, 8.4 rebounds), who is having a career-best campaign. Yes, the Clippers won the Blake Griffin trade.
Danilo Gallinari (19.2 points, six rebounds) is having an impressive bounce-back season, and Montrezl Harrell (16.5 points, 65 per cent FG, 7.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks) is putting his hand up for Sixth Man of the Year honours.
But Doc Rivers’ team will have to grit and grind this one out on the road, coming up against one of the league’s best defensive teams in Memphis (103.1 points allowed, ranked third in NBA).
The Grizzlies have found a defensive weapon in pick no. 4 Jaren Jackson Jr., and Marc Gasol and Mike Conley have always been excellent two-way players and are having great seasons.
The Clips got the win in overtime last time they met a fortnight ago, but Memphis will look to make it a smash-mouth game this time around where they excel.
Tip: Memphis to win @ $1.91.
San Antonio Spurs @ LA Lakers (ESPN)
The Spurs (11-12) travel to LA (14-9) in an interesting Western Conference matchup.
It has been a weird season for San Antonio, who find themselves in the West’s bottom four after reeling from the loss of Leonard and veterans Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
DeMar DeRozan (24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, six assists) is enjoying a fine season, But Gregg Popovich’s team are uncharacteristically struggling defensively (112.3 points allowed per game, ranked 22nd in NBA).
The Lakers can be unreliable outside of LeBron James’ (27.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists) heroics night in night out, but they are coming into their own and should only improve as the season progresses.
San Antonio pipped the Lakers in LA 143-142 last time they met on October 24.
However, Luke Walton’s team will have won seven of their past 10 and will look to keep their momentum against a Spurs team who are coming off a trip from Utah on Wednesday (AEST).
Tip: LA -7.5 @ $1.85.
