Chicago Bulls vs Portland Trail Blazers

(13-8)                   (17-5)

Start Time: 7:00 PM EST

TV Channel: ESPN

Preview: What seemed like a questionable move in the offseason, when the Bulls acquired Pau Gasol, has now turned into an undoubtedly great pick-up by Chicago. Gasol is now averaging around 20 points and 12 rebounds per game. The headline at the beginning of the year, however, was not the acquirement of Pau Gasol but of course, Derrick Roses health. After starting the year on a bad note with strained hamstring which left him in-and-out of games, he has recently picked it together scoring 23 points on Wednesday against the Nets. This is going to be a good test to Rose as he will try to prove that he can produce yet another solid game. Now for the Blazers; they have won 8 out-of their last 10 games and are coming off a disappointing loss to the T-Wolves on a night where they missed nearly 50 FG on 38.8%. Portland will be looking to gain some ground on the 1^st place Warriors here as they look to get a nice win following a tough loss.

Prediction: I believe that with a healthy Derrick Rose, Chicago is one of the best teams in the NBA, but without him they are a borderline playoff team. This game is going to completely rely on the former MVP and if Rose is feeling good tonight, then Chicago will run away with the victory. Based on what I saw against the Nets, Rose looks healthy and ready to lead Chicago on a nice playoff run.

Points Per Game Leaders:

POR – LaMarcus Aldridge (21.7 PPG) CHI – Jimmy Butler (21.5 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

POR – LaMarcus Aldridge (9.9 RPG) CHI – Pau Gasol (12.2 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

POR – Damian Lillard (6.2 APG) CHI – Derrick Rose (5.1 APG)

Sacramento Kings vs Memphis Grizzlies

(9-7)                                    (14-2)

Preview: Memphis enters into this game on a good note after starting the season on fire. The Kings have also looked decently well as they are two games above .500 and have beaten some solid teams such as the Clippers, the Trailblazers and San Antonio. The Grizzlies have also defeated most of those teams, plus more, as they are already 12 games above .500 just 16 games into the new season. The Grizz will look to extend their 4-game win streak here tonight against the Kings in Sacramento. In addition to this 4-game win streak, they have also won 8 out-of their last 9 game only losing to the first-place Toronto Raptors. If the Bucks are going to want to defeat this red hot Memphis team, they are going to need to get their no-doubt best player, DeMarcus Cousins, the ball very often in hopes that he can either score or distribute the ball to the perimeter. Memphis is a great defensive team, 2^nd best in opponent points per game (92.8 PPG), and the Kings aren’t a great offensive team as it is so this is going to be a very difficult matchup for Sacramento.

Prediction: I think the Grizzlies will beat the Kings due to their outstanding defense from guys such as Marc Gasol, who has won defensive player of the year in years past. Also, due to the fact that Sacramento is poor team on the defensive end, the Grizzlies will run away with this game by forcing turnovers and turning them into points on the other end.

Points Per Game Leaders:

SAC – DeMarcus Cousins (23.5 PPG) MEM – Marc Gasol (20.2 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

SAC – DeMarcus Cousins (12.6 RPG) MEM – Zach Randolph (11.7 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

SAC – Darren Collison (6.6 APG) MEM – Mike Conley (6.4 APG)

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Houston Rockets

(10-7)                           (12-4)

Preview: In this matchup, the Bucks are coming into it on a 3-game win streak while the Rockets are entering the game after a tough loss, in front of their home crowd, to the Clippers on Friday Night. The 3-game streak that the Bucks are on may seem slightly impressive, however, all 3 wins were against teams at least 7-games under .500 which shows this should be nothing to be impressed by. This season, the Rockets have looked very good on the defensive end allowing only 92.2 points per game which is best in the NBA which is surprising as James Harden is known to be one of the worst defensive 2-guards in the NBA. Recently though, Harden has looked surprising well on defense and even has blocked a few shots. If the Rockets want to continue their hot start to the fresh season, they will need to either keep emphasizing their key defensive work or pump up their offense as they only score 96.3 PPG which is good for 22^nd in the NBA (slightly worse than the Bucks at 96.6). The Bucks are a good passing team and will need to get some easy points by distributing the ball if they want to pull off a surprising ‘W’ here.

Prediction: I think the Rockets will pick up an easy win here as their defense has looked just too strong this season and the Bucks have no real “star” players that could take the game into their own hands and force some double teams to get other players open, such as James Harden.

Per Game Leaders:

HOU – James Harden (24.7 PPG) MIL – Knight (17.3 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

HOU – Dwight Howard (11.3 RPG) MIL – Sanders (6.8 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

HOU – James Harden (6.7 APG) MIL – Knight (6.1 APG)

Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings

(11-3)                           (9-5)

Preview: Both of these teams are completely different in their style of play so far this season. For the Kings, they primarily rely on their offense as they score a respectable 103.1 PPG which is good for 9^th in the NBA. On the defensive side though, they allow 100 PPG for 17^th in the NBA. The Rockets, however, are a heavy defensive team and give up only 91.7 PPG which is 2^nd in the league only below the defending champs San Antonio. On the other hand, just like Sacramento, they are weak on the other side of their game and score only 96.7 PPG for 21^st in the league. Houston right now is tied for 3^rd in the Western Conference and a win right here would put them ahead of the Trailblazers and in good position just 15 games into the season. Sacramento is in 7^th place right now and would love to gain some ground as they are still just 3 games out of 1^st. This conference right now is very tight and the winner of this matchup could help propel the team to a big win streak as we approach the quarter mark of the season.

Prediction: I think that the Kings will pull out a big win here as they are already on a 3 game win streak and have really looked good on the boards which could help lead them to victory as they grab the 3^rd most rebounds per game with 45.8.

Points Per Game Leaders:

SAC – DeMarcus Cousins (23.1 PPG) HOU – James Harden (25.2 PPG)

Rebounds Per Game Leaders:

SAC – DeMarcus Cousins (12.3 RPG) HOU – Dwight Howard (11.3 RPG)

Assists Per Game Leaders:

SAC – Darren Collison (7.0 APG) HOU – James Harden (6.6 APG)