A surprisingly weak set of games made more interesting by the Rudy Gay trade.

Monday

Denver Nuggets @ Washington Wizards: Ty Lawson and John Wall are two of the fastest players in the entire league and have been playing well as of late. Unfortunately, this game will not have JaVale McGee returning to his old stomping grounds.

Sacramento Kings @ Dallas Mavericks:  Even though it looks like Rudy Gay will not play in this game, it still has Isaiah Thomas and Monta Ellis on the same court.

Tuesday

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Atlanta Hawks: While clearly not at the same level as the strong teams in the West, Atlanta has looked pretty good this season and has a 7-3 record at home so far. Jeff Teague and the Hawks bigs need to have strong games in order for them to win this one.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ Detroit Pistons: Reports as of this writing indicate that Kevin Love will be back for this one, so it should feature two of the best frontcourts in the entire league. Andre Drummond has continued his monstrous play with more minutes but will have tons of trouble with Nikola Pekovic’s strength.

Phoenix Suns @ Los Angeles Lakers: A fun little test to see how the Lakers are adapting to playing with Kobe again. The loss of Jordan Farmar will hurt substantially against Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic.

Wednesday

Orlando Magic @ Charlotte Bobcats: Before Michael Kidd-Gilchrist broke his hand, this game had even more luster since the Bobcats were playing better defense. Even without MKG, this should be an interesting matchup of young teams and a strange but potentially fun Center tilt between Al Jefferson and Nikola Vucevic (if Vucevic is back from his sprained ankle).

Oklahoma City Thunder @ Memphis Grizzlies: Far less interesting without Marc Gasol on the floor but a potential playoff preview warrants inclusion on the list anyway. Having a good game against Russell Westbrook could help Mike Conley get the respect his game deserves.

Philadelphia 76ers @ Minnesota Timberwolves: Ricky Rubio and Michael Carter-Williams. Yep.

Utah Jazz @ Sacramento Kings (Game of the Week): After going to overtime on Saturday, these two teams go at it again but the Kings will look substantially different after trading four players for Rudy Gay. As of now, this should be Rudy’s first game in a Kings uniform.

Friday

Washington Wizards @ Atlanta Hawks: The third and fourth best records in the Eastern Conference, as of now. Plus, fun big man talent for both teams and the John Wall / Jeff Teague PG duel.

Minnesota Timberwolves @ San Antonio Spurs: This game features two of my favorite teams to watch even though Minnesota has sputtered after a strong start. I sincerely hope we see Kevin Love and Tim Duncan battle on both ends of the floor. 

Sunday

Portland Trail Blazers @ Detroit Pistons: Intriguing individual matchups all over the floor, especially if Josh Smith guards LaMarcus Aldridge for extended periods of time.  Damian Lillard may end up playing the biggest role in deciding the winner since he will need to score and distribute for the Blazers to get a nice road win.

Golden State Warriors @ Phoenix Suns: Phoenix has been one of the more entertaining teams so far this season and they have a chance to make a statement against a division opponent. Golden State has been reeling somewhat since Andre Iguodala’s injury but need to put away teams like the Suns on the road if they want to host a playoff series. Plus, Eric Bledsoe could be an incredibly fun defender to watch pitted against Stephen Curry.