Monday's NBA Guide: Nuggets-Hawks, Magic-Pistons and O.J. Mayo Meets Minnesota

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

A second Fat Monday in a row for the lig, with eight games of varying intrigue on the docket.

HEADLINER
Denver at Atlanta, 7PM EST

The night's best match-up will be the first to tip-off with two teams who have far exceeded expectations this season. The Hawks find themselves as the fourth best team in the East, led by exhilarating playmaking from Joe Johnson, deft shot-making by Mike Bibby and continued interior excellence from Al Horford. Josh Smith (dampened) and Marvin Williams (rebuilt) make this a pretty killer starting five, all things considered.

The Nuggets remain right in the Western mix despite being written off as casualties of the Portland ascension during the summer. As we have been over, it's a whole lot of Nené and Chauncey Billups doing the trick, but don't forget about Carmelo Anthony, who has better rebound numbers than Kenyon Martin and has really stepped up the defensive intensity.

Bibby has actually done well against Billups the last few years. You figure Dahntay Jones will get another start for George Karl's bunch to keep an eye on J.J.; if there's a stretch where J.R. Smith joins Billups against the Hawks starters, don't be surprised to see Billups mark Johnson and Smith keep a hand in Bibby's face. Melo's going to need to run out to keep Williams from drilling corner threes, which leaves a bit of a burden on Nené and K-Mart to keep the high-flying Josh and the crafty Al off the offensive glass.

UNDERCARD
Orlando at Detroit, 7:30PM EST, NBA TV

Update: Matt Watson is at the game -- you can read his updates below, and if you have a Twitter account, send him questions @NBAFanHouse.

The Pistons have dropped the Magic from the playoffs two years running, but it's become pretty clear the script has flipped. Finally, Orlando is getting the elite tag while Detroit jostles for mere positioning in the middle of the Eastern upper class.

By the numbers, Detroit is really quite mediocre: just a +0.4 per-game points margin, the league's 15th-ranked offense and 17th-ranked defense. But the Pistons remain solid across the board (save a lack of offensive rebounding and that they foul too much) and can beat literally any team in the league when things click. It's just a matter of making the click a regular occurrence.

The brilliance of the Magic, I shouldn't need to convince you of. The Christmas blow-out of New Orleans should have done the trick. Or the 11-1 run just completed ... entirely made up of Western opponents ... which included road wins at Portland and Utah and home wins against the Lakers, Spurs and aforementioned Hornets.

Still, these changings of the guard always seems to bring out something in the old hand. Does Detroit still have that big brother edge? Or will Dwight Howard send the sentiment into the third row?

Memphis at Minnesota, 8PM EST

This has been billed as O.J. Mayo's triumphant told-you-so, but I can't look away from Randy Foye any time the Wolves are on. I fear he's an onion we'll never unravel.

Philadelphia at Utah, 9PM EST

Marreese Speights and Kyrylo Fesenko for ALL the marbles. Utah's still bitterly shorthanded, and Philly's still bitter Elton Brand hasn't worked out. C.J. Miles will show Thaddeus Young the path to Oz, but only if Andre Iguodala pays for lunch. I suppose Kyle Korver will hug somebody during warm-ups.

Phoenix at Oklahoma City, 8PM EST

A thriller last time, thanks to Matty Barnes. Though OKC boasts exactly three wins 31 games into the season, no Thunderer (Thunderian?) may be as morose as Steve Nash. (Except for Robert Swift, of course. That is one morose dude.) In spirit of good spirit, a Phoenix at Oklahoma City haiku:

Lo! Are the Suns good?
Please, do not ask the Thunder
who make all look great.

Chicago at New Jersey, 7:30PM EST

... featuring a halftime breakdancing battle between Aaron Gray and Ryan Anderson!

I know both teams have improved a good chunk on last season's performances, but this still doesn't feel like it should be a battle between two teams on the playoff bubble. It is. New Jersey is 7th and Chicago 9th. But the Nets defense and the Bulls offense ... so awful!