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Dallas at Detroit, 7PM ET, ESPN
This nationally televised battle features two teams that have mostly disappointed in the first half of the season. Besides not living up to expectations thus far, the Mavs and the Pistons have something else in common: both are coached by men who seem to be in over their head. Dallas didn't bother competing during a 34-point loss in Milwaukee the other night (a lack of effort falls squarely on the coach's shoulders), and it's taken Michael Curry far too long to figure out that benching one of his guards is more effective than trying to play them all at the same time.
The Pistons come into this one winning with their new lineup however, while the Mavs seem to be waiting for help to arrive in the form of some mid-season trade. Teams that get rolled the way Dallas did in their last outing tend to bring the energy from the start in their next one, so Detroit will need to be ready to match it if they want to see their winning streak reach three.
Our own Matt Watson will be there Twittering away, so follow along @NBAFanHouse.
UNDERCARDPhoenix at Charlotte, 7PM ET
It's always interesting when teams that traded with each other meet up with to face their former players, and that's exactly what we have here with the Suns and the Bobcats. Charlotte sent Jason Richardson to Phoenix for Raja Bell and Boris Diaw, and the former Suns would like nothing better to beat their revamped, former team. Richardson's numbers have been down since he became a Sun, so maybe a return to Charlotte will remind him of how he used to play earlier in the season.
The Suns are 1-2 so far on this road trip, with their last loss coming in New York to their former head coach, Mike D'Antoni. If Phoenix loses for the second straight game to some former Suns, I'm guessing that won't sit well with GM Steve Kerr. And it's not like it can't happen: Charlotte has wins in three of their last four, including ones over the Pistons and the Blazers.
Toronto at Chicago, 8:30PM ETChris Bosh hates his teammates, and the Bulls players have no respect for their head coach. This should be fun.
Houston at Indiana, 7PM ETMilwaukee at Atlanta, 7:30PM ET
Memphis at New York, 7:30PM ET
New Orleans at Minnesota, 8PM ET
New Jersey at San Antonio, 8:30PM ET
Cleveland at Golden State, 10:30PM ET
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 7PM ET
Friday's NBA Guide: Bad Coaches Meet in Detroit, and J-Rich Returns to Charlotte originally appeared on NBA FanHouse on Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:13:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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