Brooklyn Nets point guard Ben Simmons could be back on court on Friday after missing recent games with knee and calf issues.
Simmons exited the win over the Orlando Magic last week due to left knee soreness, while it later emerged he was also dealing with a left lateral upper calf strain.
Speaking after training on Tuesday, the Australian gave a positive update, suggesting that while he will remain out for Wednesday's clash with the Charlotte Hornets, he is aiming to be back for the Nets' game with the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
"I'm excited where I'm at right now," Simmons said. "So I'm looking for Friday to get back on the court.
"It's a lot of load for coming back from a back injury and then also the knee, so I'm glad I had this time to build some muscle around it, and we'll work on it."
Simmons, who is averaging 8.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists this season, has already missed games against the Washington Wizards, the Toronto Raptors and the Boston Celtics.
Having missed a lot of basketball in recent times, the 26-year-old suggested he might have the manage his time on the court.
"I think we're definitely going to look at it a lot different," he added. "I don't know if it's measuring minutes, maybe not back-to-backs, whatever it is. I think that's going to be a joint thing with the training staff and myself, and letting them know how I'm feeling."
The best of the East against the best of the West.
No, this is not the NBA Finals yet, though it very well could be at the end of the season as the Boston Celtics head to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday.
The Celtics have responded to losing last year's Finals to the Golden State Warriors in impressive fashion, made all the more notable given the situation around suspended head coach Ime Udoka.
With star performers Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown firing on all cylinders, the Celtics have raced out to win 20 of their first 25 (80.0 win percentage) games this season, topping the Eastern Conference by some distance (ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks with 73.9 per cent).
It has been quite the run since early November, with Boston on a record of 16-2 since their overtime defeat to the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
The Suns arguably had an even more anti-climactic end to their last campaign.
Phoenix ended the regular season with a fantastic record of 64-18, comfortably the best in the league, but were eliminated in the Western Conference semi-finals against the Dallas Mavericks, losing 4-3.
Like the Celtics, though, the Suns have mostly picked up where they left off this year, sitting on a record of 16-8 to narrowly top the West.
Monty Williams will be hoping his team can get back to their best after losing two of their last three games, with their last outing seeing them haunted by Luka Doncic and the Mavs again, but on Wednesday all they will have to deal with is the form team in the league, including Tatum and Brown.
Perhaps that defeat in Dallas will focus minds, but the Celtics will be looking to further cement their credentials.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Phoenix Suns - Deandre Ayton
Devin Booker may be the main point-getter for the Suns, recently scoring a total of 136 points across three games, but Deandre Ayton's importance in the big games can never be underestimated.
The Bahamian is actually slightly down on his usual rebound average, but his 9.6 per game is still comfortably the best on the Phoenix roster and will be crucial against a team as potent as Boston.
Booker struggled last time out against the Mavs, while Ayton top-scored for his team with 20 points, along with eight rebounds and three blocks.
Boston Celtics - Jayson Tatum
Tatum has been an absolute force of nature so far this season, averaging 30.8 points per game from his 24 appearances, the fourth-best in the league behind only Doncic (33.4), Giannis Antetokounmpo (31.9) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31.3).
The 24-year-old has scored 29 or more points in six of his last seven games, while also averaging the most rebounds (8.3) and assists (4.2) for his team this season.
KEY BATTLE - Suns must halt the points at the source
If it were as easy as stopping the opposition from shooting, you would have basketball sussed.
That is basically what Williams' must encourage his team to try though, with only one team having a better field-goal percentage than the Celtics' 49.4 this season (Denver Nuggets, 50.0 per cent).
Perhaps more concerning will be from range, with Boston boasting the best three-point success so far, sinking 40.2 per cent of their attempts from beyond the arc. Either prevent shots or at the very least, do not allow the likes of Tatum and Brown to shoot the ball without pressure.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This has been a tremendously even battle in recent seasons, with Boston and Phoenix clashing twice in each of the last four campaigns.
In every single season, they have both won one each, with the Celtics winning their last meeting at TD Garden 123-108 on December 31 last year.
James Harden said he was "all over the place" on his return from injury but vowed to improve once he finds his rhythm for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 2018 MVP winner was back in the starting line-up having missed 14 straight games after suffering a tendon strain in his right foot on November 2, with Philly going 4-5 in his absence.
However, his comeback failed to yield an upturn as the 76ers went down 132-123 to Harden's former team the Houston Rockets following double overtime.
Harden contributed 21 points but was just 4-of-19 from the field, missing all eight attempts inside the three-point arc. He also chalked up four rebounds and seven assists.
Philly coach Doc Rivers said Harden would be on a minutes restriction, but he still racked up 39. However, the 33-year-old said it was difficult to find fluidity.
"I didn't play well, but I've got to be better and I will," Harden said.
"I was all over the place. I'm not used to it, but I'm not making any excuses. I have to do better."
Harden added that he had to fight his cause to play as much as he did in overtime.
"I had to fight to stay on the court just because there was a certain plan in place before the game started,'' Harden said.
"But once you go out there as a competitor you want to try to win."
The 76ers are on a three-match losing streak and sit seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 12-12 record. They next face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
Kawhi Leonard was delighted to be the hero of a grandstand finish as he marked his return from injury with the winning shot in the Los Angeles Clippers' 119-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
Having sat out the last six games with a sprained right ankle, the two-time NBA champion returned to the court alongside fellow All-Star Paul George, with both playing a crucial part at the Spectrum Center.
It was George who led the way with a team-high 19 points, but Leonard seized the last-gasp heroics after sinking an 18-foot jumper with 1.4 seconds on the clock to claim the win.
The small forward, who missed the entirety of last season with a torn ACL, delighted in his moment of triumph on the floor afterwards, stressing his passion for the sport has not diminished during his time on the sidelines.
"It felt good to be back," he stated. "I love this game of basketball. I don't think anybody loves playing more than me.
"Maybe [people love] watching [more]. But I love this game, and it gives me joy when I am able to play.
"That ending is great, [in] that I was able to make that shot. We're [leading by] nine, eight points pretty much the whole game. I would rather close it out than have to [grind it] out like that."
George was full of praise for his team-mate too, focusing on his return rather than his own after he set up Leonard for the game-winning shot.
"Any time you see Kawhi going to the spot, that's where he is comfortable," he added. "That's where we are comfortable. I wanted to get it to him right there, and he took it home with his shot."
With both players having seldom lined up together this year, head coach Ty Lue is hopeful their return can help drive the Clippers higher this season, with the team sixth in the Western Conference.
"Those guys on the floor, it's going to cause teams to double-team," he stated. "[It will make] teams do some things they're not used to doing, and we're going to get open shots. [We] just continue building off this."
The Boston Celtics kept their terrific season rolling on Monday when they utilised a dominant third quarter to defeat the Toronto Raptors 116-110 away from home.
Boston were led by Jayson Tatum, who finished with 31 points on 11-of-24 shooting, hitting five of his 10 three-point attempts while adding 12 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in his 39 minutes. He helped his side outscore the Raptors 35-18 in the third period, turning around a six-point deficit at halftime.
The 24-year-old is enjoying the best season of his career, averaging a career-high 30.7 points per game while shooting a career-best 48.1 per cent from the field, all while attempting a career-high 9.3 three-pointers per game.
Tatum was supported well by running-mate Jaylen Brown, who chipped in 22 points (nine-of-22 shooting), eight rebounds and eight assists, while reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart posted 18 points (seven-of-14) and seven assists.
While the Celtics were the best defensive team in the league this past season when they went to the NBA Finals, this campaign it has been all about their offense.
Scoring 120 points per 100 possessions, they are two-and-a-half points clear of the second-ranked Phoenix Suns (117.5), and they are getting it done by shooting a league-best 40.2 per cent from the three-point line.
Their win against the Raptors was their 21st game with at least 110 points, helping them to a league-best record of 20-5, while no other team has more than 17 wins.
Harden's rough return to Houston
Playing against his former team, James Harden returned for the Philadelphia 76ers after five weeks on the sidelines, but had a rough outing in a 132-123 double-overtime loss to the Houston Rockets.
Harden, who won the 2017-18 league MVP while playing for the Rockets, scored 21 points, dished seven assists, snagged four rebounds and plucked two steals, but he shot a dismal four-of-19 from the field.
His step-back three-pointer tied the game at 108-108 with 90 seconds remaining in regulation, ultimately forcing overtime, before back-to-back MVP runner-up Joel Embiid fouled out in the first extra period, leaving the 76ers short-handed for the second overtime.
Last year's second overall draft pick Jalen Green was strong for the Rockets, scoring 27 points on nine-of-20 shooting with seven assists, while this year's third overall pick Jabari Smith Jr added 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Gilgeous-Alexander carries the Thunder
Arguably the breakout star of the season so far, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the best player on the floor yet again in a 121-114 win on the road against the Atlanta Hawks.
The 24-year-old is currently third in the NBA in scoring at 31.1 points per game, and that figure got a bump after he put up 35 points against the Hawks, hitting 10-of-22 from the field and all 15 of his free throws.
Of the four other players averaging at least 30 points per game this season (Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum) none are attempting fewer than Gilgeous-Alexanders 3.0 three-pointers per game, and none are shooting better than his 92.4 per cent from the free throw line.
The Washington Wizards will be without Bradley Beal for at least a week after it was revealed on Monday that he had suffered a hamstring strain.
The injury occured in the first quarter of the Wizards' loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, with Beal exiting after only three minutes of action.
Beal, 29, is second on the Wizards' franchise leaderboard for total points scored, with his 14.643 career points for the team that drafted him third overall in 2012 trailing only Elvin Hayes (15,551). Based on his scoring average this season, he will overtake Hayes' record in 42 more games.
He is averaging 22.9 points and 5.4 assists per game this campaign, shooting a career-high 52.2 per cent from the field, although the Wizards are 7-11 in the 18 games he has featured in.
Sporting an 11-13 record overall, the Wizards will need Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma to run the show in Beal's absence, with the team stating he has been ruled out of their next three games and will be re-evaluated in one week, although it is far more likely his return will be closer to two weeks.
James Harden will return to the Philadelphia 76ers starting line-up on Monday after five weeks on the sideline recovering from a right foot tendon strain.
The 10-time All-Star and six-time First Team All-NBA honouree missed 14 games after suffering the injury on November 2, with his team going 4-5 in the nine games he has featured in, averaging 21.8 points, 10.0 assists and 7.3 rebounds.
His absence did not kill the 76ers' season, as they went 8-6 without him, thanks in large part to the stellar play of Tyrese Maxey and Shake Milton in expanded roles.
For the month of November, Maxey averaged 22.4 points and 5.6 assists per game – similar to his stats with Harden in the side – but Milton took a massive step up, going from two points per game in October up to 14.2 points, 4.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds.
Despite Harden's return, the 76ers will remain a man down as Maxey has now missed two weeks with a similar foot injury, and is expected back at some point in the next 10 days.
Monday will be Harden's second time playing against his former team the Houston Rockets since joining the 76ers. In the 2017-18 season, Harden became the first Rocket since Hakeem Olajuwon (1993-94) to be named league MVP.
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