Any NBA "go-with" list at the moment likely includes the Mavs, with wins in four of five as Jason Kidd has started to push the right buttons. Getting Anthony Davis back and in a healthy state has been one of the positives; AD is just off of a smashing 29-point effort in last Saturday's comfy win over the powerful Rockets. AD had scored 32 earlier in December in a win over the Nuggets Meanwhile, 6-9 Duke rookie Cooper Flagg has picked up the pace this month and is scoring better than 20 ppg in December. Granted, Brooklyn is not as much of a pushover these days and has won three of four, but a favorable recently slate has helped the results. Play Mavs

The correlation is too strong...Memphis has surged since a Morant went down with his calf injury. The Griz have won seven of nine, all minus Morant, its best surge of the season, with terrific balance reflected in five different leading scorers across the past five games. Emerging recently has been Washington State rookie wing Cedric Coward, who scored 23 in last Friday's win over the Clippers. Another reason Morant and his distracting presence haven't been missed is that his numbers had tailed off dramatically before the injury' his 35.9% FG shooting is well the worst for any season of his career in which he's been near 47% from the floor. Meanwhile, the Jazz are slumping again with two 30+-point losses in a row. Play Grizzlies

The Rockets have a chance to respond after a poor effort last Saturday in a 122-109 loss vs. the Mavs. Five days off since might prove a perfect re-set opportunity, and Houston has also fared very well off of defeats this season, winning and covering in impressive fashion after their last four losses. The Rockets also were victimized by uncommon 60% Dallas FG shooting last weekend. Importantly, the Rockets are also mostly healthy into tonight. As for the Clips, a few improved efforts lately, and they do have Kawhi Leonard available, but they've lost 8 of their last 9 with Kawhi on the floor, and LA has dropped 16 of 19 overall in a numbing fall from grace. Play Rockets.

Returning to Crpyto.com from a challenging road trip that ended 2-1, the Lakers have to feel pretty good about their NBA Cup chances in tonight's quarters vs. the Spurs. As LA was generating momentum earlier in the season, it beat the Spurs 118-116 on this floor back on November 5 when Luke Doncic scored 35 and LeBron James was still out. Wemby was also on the floor and was SA's leading scorer that night, but tonight he's out (as he's been the past few weeks; calf) and LeBron is back in action. The Spurs might have some defensive issues minus Wemby as recent losses at Cleveland and Minnesota suggest, plus a close 135-132 shave on Monday vs. the Pels in New Orleans. Play Lakers.

By us, the Knicks look like a team that could win the NBA Cup as the quarterfinals commence tonight. New York might be catching the Raptors at the right time as Toronto has started to sag minus RJ Barrett (knee), who likely remains out for another week. The Raps are wobbling, now losing three in a row for the first time since the first week of the season, and five of six, including a heavy 116-94 recent loss to the Knicks at MSG on November 30. Meanwhile the Knicks have won and covered three straight and seven of eight, routinely extending margins for Mike Brown. Karl-Anthony Towns (calf) is iffy for tonight, though Brown's side managed to beat Orlando on Sunday sans KAT. Play Knicks.

Scorelines have been slowly reducing in Orlando games and might reduce even more now that Franz Wagner is out. Jamahl Mosely has plenty of practice dealing without his key cogs. Both Wagner and Paolo Banchero missed significant time last season, and Banchero only recently returned to active duty from a groin strain. Banchero's recent numbers in his first two games since being activated suggests he is being brought back slowly. No Orlando scoreline has cleared 226 the past three games. As for Miami, the Heat are playing faster this season with with Normal Powell in the lineup, but its scorelines have started to dip slightly. This is also the third game between these two so no secrets between them. Play Heat-Magic Under

Just once have the Kings won back-to-back this season, so replicating the 53% FG shooting and 127-111 stunner at Miami on Saturday might be problematic. Zach LaVine's 42 points vs. the Heat looks more an audition before the trade deadline (note LaVine scored all of 2 points at Houston in his preceding game), and Sacto remains minus Domantas Sabonis and Dennis Schroder. Meanwhile, though still down key pieces Tyrese Haliburton, Obi Toopin, and Andrew Nembhard, the Pacers still have some class about them and have won three of five (two over the Bulls). Pascal Siakam is still available, however, and making a case for the All-Star team after leading Indiana in scoring the past five games (26 ppg that span). Play Pacers

Though mostly a paradigm of consistency this season, the Lakers were ambushed in Boston on Friday night when minus Luka Doncic and LeBron. Luka returns tonight but LeBron remains doubtful, yet the situation could be problematic again for LA as the Sixers look to be gathering some real momentum. There's a good chance Joel Embiid and Paul George are available tonight but Philly is in the process of switching identities this season; the Sixers are Tyrese Maxey's team now as he continues to blitz the league at 3.16 ppg, and the backcourt has added potency with Baylor rookie VJ Edgecombe emerging. Three straight wins for Philly suggests Nick Nurse has his team on the upswing and on the verge of another signature win. Play Sixers

The angle we've been taking with the Grizzlies effectively remains the same...if Ja Morant is out (which is likely the case again this afternoon), we go with Memphis. Morant, dealing with a strained calf (a more bothersome injury than it sounds), has been out since November 15, but the Griz have not coincidentally started to take flight since, winning six of their last eight to revive hopes for this season. Morant, who will be actively shopped at the deadline, has seen his numbers plummet this season anyway...his absence is a plus for Memphis. Meanwhile the Blazers continue on their long road trip and have been laboring, dropping 9 of their last1 2 games. Play Grizzlies

Dallas hung around the first meeting vs. Houston on November 3, losing only 110-102 at the Toyota Center, though the Rockets keep reminding how they can dominate opposition when in the mood. It was the Suns last night coming nowhere near as Houston breezed 117-98, and did it with 6-11 Alperen Sengun, who might be able to return tonight. Sengun is hardly the only 6-11 component on a roster full of size and length, and note the recent Rockets win margins...19, 26, and 28 points in their last three Ws. The Mavs briefly rallied with a recent 3-game win streak, but regressed again in last night's 132-11 beatdown administered by the Thunder, when Anthony Davis was held to just 2 points. Play Rockets

It got a bit dicey for the T-wolves in their last two games vs. the improved Pelicans but still managed to survive, pushing the current win streak to four. It looks like Minnesota has steadied after a three-game skid in late November, and problems earlier, now at 14-8 and relatively healthy. Minnesota has feasted upon sub-.500 teams like the Clippers, and expect Anthony Edwards to come out smoking after being held to just 11 in the Thursday win over the Pels. This recommendation, however, is as much against the struggling Clippers, who lost again last night in Memphis, and have now dropped a numbing 14 of their last 17 games. Play T-wolves

Once more, Sacto is slipping, as after a brief rally in late November, the Kings have regressed again, and now bring a four-game losing streak into Miami tonight. Everything came collapsing down on Wednesday in Houston when the Rockets rolled, 121-95. That meant Sacto has now lost 12 of its last 14 and still no sign of Domantas Sabonis, sidelined with knee problems since mid-November. The schedule is a bit of a concern here as Miami lost by 1 last night at Orlando, while the Kings have had a couple o days to prepare, but the Heat have shown us so much more this season, and just a week removed from a six-game win streak. Play Heat

Once in a while the Clips are capable of delivering a big effort like Wednesday night in Atlanta. But Ty Lue's bunch also hasn't won back-to-back games since the first week of the season. James Harden reappeared vs. the Hawks with 27 points, but he like the rest of the team have been burdened by inconsistency all season. Too old and too slow, the latter becoming painfully obvious, as is the folly of thinking Norman Powell was surplus after last season. His consistency has been greatly missed. Meanwhile the Griz temporarily cooled vs. the Spurs on Tuesday but had won three straight prior, and still minus the very disruptive presence of Ja Morant, whose absence might actually be a blessing. Play Grizzlies

There are certain matchups that might simply not work right for certain teams and that might be the case for the Suns vs. the Rockets. Last week in the desert it was a 114-92 Houston romp as the Rockets' length pestered Phoenix into an uncommon 21 turnovers. Even minus Kevin Durant, Houston's remaining collection of 6-11s tilted the floor, though it was a 6-7 component, Amen Thompson, with 28 points, who really bothered the Suns. We'll see about Alperen Sengun's status, but all added up, it's not the best news for Phoenix on a variety of fronts, especially as top scorer Devin Booker (25 ppg) is now down for at least a week with a groin strain. Play Rockets

It's a different feel for the Pistons, finding it a bit harder now that they are wearing a bigger target on their backs. Detroit continues to win, but most of its recent games are now going down to the wire, and three times in the last five they've actually lost (Bucks, Magic, Celtics) after winning 13 in a row. In its last three wins, Detroit hasn't extended the final margin beyond five points. Meanwhile, Portland is battling on the current road trip, winning impressively at Cleveland on Wednesday after a near-miss at Toronto the previous night. Deni Avdjia continues to produce big numbers (scored 27 in the Wednesday win). Play Blazers