Thursday's NBA Guide: LeBron vs. Dwight, Round I

FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.

Headliner
Cleveland at Orlando, 8 PM ET, TNT

Isn't the headliner supposed to come after the undercard? Not in tonight's front-loaded TNT double-header. The Magic and Cavaliers each boast one of the top four records in the league, and while they've been lumped together with the Celtics all season as the only legitimate contenders in the East, we've yet to see these two teams actually go at it.

With only one and a half games separating these two in the standings, it goes without saying that this game might have postseason implications. While both of these squads are still gunning for the top spot, the difference between the No. 2 and No. 3 seed is huge: home court advantage in the second round should these two meet in the playoffs.

Orlando's success clearly starts with Dwight Howard, whom my colleague Matt Moore profiled in the first half of his two-part Under the Microscope. But Howard's dominating post presence merely sets up the rest of Orlando's offense: attacking from beyond the arc. Only the Knicks average more three-point attempts per game than the Magic, and they're even more dangerous now that Mikael Pietrus, who missed 12 games with a broken wrist, returned to action earlier this week. In his first game back, Pietrus jacked up seven threes against the Pacers while scoring 27 points.

Pietrus also happens to be one of the team's strongest defenders, so expect him to see plenty of time trying to slow LeBron James. The point guard battle will be interesting, as well, with both Mo Williams and Jameer Nelson on the bubble for an All-Star spot. The votes have already been tabulated and will be announced tonight, but expect to see both guys try to make a statement in front of a national audience.

Undercard
San Antonio at Phoenix, 10:30 PM ET, TNT

The Spurs have knocked off the Suns in the playoffs in three of the last four years (and four of six), so there's no love lost between these organizations. To top it off, the Spurs are comfortably nestled in the No. 2 seed while the Suns are struggling to hold onto the No. 7 seed, meaning if we threw the second half of the season out the window and kicked off the postseason today, this would in fact be a first-round matchup.

You can argue that the Spurs' playoff dominance over the Suns was what inspired the trade for Shaquille O'Neal and paved the way for Mike D'Antoni's departure. Even though life in the Seven Seconds or More era has at times been rocky, O'Neal has been re-born and seemingly growing stronger as the season wears on. What's even better, he's even hitting his free throws -- he's shooting nearly 70% from the line this month, which might be enough to keep Gregg Popovich from resorting to his old "cowardly" Hack-a-Shaq tactics, not even as a joke.

In any case, the Suns won their season opener in San Antonio, and were it not for an insane Roger Mason three at the buzzer last month, they would have won the re-match in Phoenix last month. Expect a physical game, a style the Suns are finally equipped to play. The Spurs have lost only four times in their last 19 games, but for what it's worth, it's the last game of a mini three-game road trip.