As the season enters its second full month, it is strange that the biggest story for League Pass is players returning from injuries. Reggie Jackson came back on Sunday to a Pistons team outperforming expectations while Paul George and Al-Farouq Aminu are also getting back in the swing of things with some other arrivals possible as well.

This week also features some real headline matchups from Cavs/Raptors on Monday to Raptors/Celtics on Friday and the League Pass Game of the Week, Warriors at Jazz, on Thursday.

Monday

Nuggets at 76ers, 7 p.m.: Joel Embiid and the Sixers occupy a now-standard spot as the first game of the night. The Nuggets bring plenty of their own intriguing young talent and Jamal Murray may have a chance to shine against the Sixers’ shaky guard backups.

Cavs at Raptors, 7:30 p.m.: What would be Game of the Week if they had not already played twice this season, the third Cavs/Raptors game should still be interesting considering Cleveland’s recent skid. LeBron James and company will look to improve their defense against a very familiar foe.

Trail Blazers at Bulls, 8 p.m.: Preliminary reporting is that Blazers forward Al-Farouq Aminu will return for this one, giving Portland a key piece of their identity and success from last season. The Bulls finished last week with a big win over the Cavs followed by a shocking loss in Dallas so expect them to come out strong here. It will also be interesting since Rajon Rondo will not play after being suspended by the team.

Tuesday

Magic at Wizards, 7 p.m.: Changing around the starting lineup has given the Magic new life and they have won three of their last four. Still under .500, the Wizards are still searching for a similar spark but can get it from John Wall and Bradley Beal 

Knicks at Heat, 7:30 p.m.: A recent push has put Miami closer to the playoff picture but they still need to win games like this to maintain a clean shot at it. The Knicks got a big win against the Kings on Sunday and Miami will have to use smaller players to defend Kristaps Porzingis because Hassan Whiteside makes a bigger impact in the paint.

Bulls at Pistons, 7:30 p.m.: Reggie Jackson’s return makes this more interesting and it will also be a nice back-to-back test for the Bulls. Andre Drummond will need to handle Robin Lopez, who has become more confident in his mid-range jumper. 

Wednesday

Pistons at Hornets, 7 p.m.: Just about a week before this one, the Pistons picked up a big win in Charlotte while the Hornets were closing off a demanding four games in five nights. This time, we get Kemba Walker vs. Reggie Jackson, though Kentavious-Caldwell-Pope should spend some time on Kemba as well.

Heat at Hawks, 7:30 p.m.: The Hawks’ recent struggles may be injury related but they hopefully will have Paul Millsap back by this point. Either way, Hassan Whiteside and Dwight Howard will do battle on the interior while spending more of their time trying to shut down drivers than zealously defending their counterpart.

Trail Blazers at Bucks, 8 p.m.: Portland’s defense has been a major culprit in their problems so far and Point Giannis will challenge them, particularly Maurice Harkless. Matthew Dellavedova and Tony Snell will also try to slow down Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.

Thursday

Nuggets at Wizards, 7 p.m.: Both of these teams have enough talent to make the playoffs and currently sit on the outside looking in but they have dramatically different senses of urgency. That said, keep an eye on how Emmanuel Mudiay handles the challenge of John Wall on both ends of the court and how Denver coach Michael Malone handles Danilo Gallinari’s defensive assignments. 

76ers at Pelicans, 8 p.m.: Even if they spend very little time guarding one another, Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid sharing the court makes this worth keeping an eye on. 

Warriors at Jazz, 9 p.m. (Game of the Week): The Jazz have played the Warriors tough for the last few years and possess even better personnel to handle them now with George Hill on Steph Curry. Golden State will have played the night before against the Clippers and the Salt Lake City crowd will be amped so this could be an ‘upset” or a big statement for the league’s best team so far.

Friday

Raptors at Celtics, 7:30 p.m.: If both teams are healthy, this could end up being a big time game with some long-term implications. The Raptors’ offense has exploded over the last few weeks and Boston’s defense has been returning to form once they got Al Horford and Jae Crowder back from injury. This could end up being a way too early playoff preview as well, depending on how records turn out.

Pistons at Timberwolves, 8 p.m.: Towns vs. Drummond is enough to keep this interesting but it also could have larger resonance for Minnesota because they need to win games like this to claw their back back in the playoff picture. Detroit usually keeps one of their forwards on high-end SF scorers so watch how Andrew Wiggins plays against a bigger, stronger combo forward defender.

Knicks at Kings, 7:30 p.m.: After a fun game at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, these teams end their season series in Sacramento. The Knicks’ desire to play Kristaps Porzingis with another traditional big man wreaked some havoc with the Kings’ defense, pushing them into two-big alignments themselves. DeMarcus Cousins could have a big game, particularly since he got a little testy with Joakim Noah in the first contest.

Saturday

Trail Blazers at Pacers, 7 p.m.: This will be substantially more interesting with the returns of Paul George and Aminu as they help give their teams an identity. Indiana’s default starting backcourt is not exactly stout defensively but will have to do their best to slow down the Lillard/McCollum duo while Moe Harkless likely draws the massively important Paul George assignment. Also, Myles Turner’s comfortability shooting outside the paint will challenge Mason Plumlee and the Portland defense. 

Hornets at Cavs, 7:30 p.m.: While these teams are not even from a talent perspective, at full strength there are fun matchups all over the floor. Kemba Walker and Kyrie Irving, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist on LeBron and Kevin Love vs. Marvin Williams just to name a few. On top of all that, both teams often play stretch fives off the bench (especially since Roy Hibbert cannot guard Channing Frye) which could lead to some strange dynamics. 

Kings at Jazz, 9 p.m.: Cousins vs. Gobert will always make this list, partially because they excel in completely different components of being a dominant center in the modern NBA. It would be great if Derrick Favors had returned to give Boogie a different look but that appears unlikely at the moment. Also watch how the Kings defend a Utah offense that utilizes their swingmen for a significant amount of their shot creation- a different challenge for them.

Sunday

Celtics at Thunder, 7 p.m.: Russell Westbrook has been a force this season and Boston’s Avery Bradley could be on the short list of defenders most capable of corralling him. However, making that choice puts Isaiah Thomas on a larger opponent and creates new matchup problems. Also, Al Horford’s ability to spread the floor takes Steven Adams out of his comfort zone. 

Warriors at Timberwolves, 7 p.m.: A potentially fun game, particularly if the Wolves try to regain some of the switching magic that led them to a huge upset in Oracle last season. Andrew Wiggins will presumably defend Kevin Durant for the majority of the game and can show his strides on that end while we actually get to see Draymond Green defend Karl-Anthony Towns since Green was injured last time.

Knicks at Lakers, 9:30 p.m.: A fun capper on the week with two teams that have gotten surprisingly large contributions out of the ends of their bench. Julius Randle guarding Porzingis will be an experience as well.