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|  Friday NBA
Philadelphia at Chicago (-4, 199)
With the regular season winding down, the Philadelphia 76ers can't afford having players sit out due to injuries. The Chicago Bulls certainly aren't in any position to force any more players to stay on the bench.
The 76ers hope to have their two top guards in the lineup Friday night when they visit a Bulls team trying to make a playoff push despite team turmoil.
Philadelphia (31-34), in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, has gained some confidence following its biggest win of the season. In a possible first-round playoff matchup, the 76ers won 83-82 at Detroit on Wednesday night.
Starting guard Willie Green, though, missed the game with a lower back strain. Green, averaging 13.0 points per game, is uncertain for Friday's contest. With Green out, swingman Andre Iguodala moved to guard and Reggie Evans started at forward.
Andre Miller, Green's backcourt mate, left the game in the fourth quarter after straining his lower back. He expects to play against the Bulls (26-38), but missing Miller for an extended period would be a big blow to the Sixers' playoff chances.
Miller's play has been perhaps the biggest reason Philadelphia has a shot at making the playoffs for the first time in three years. The veteran is averaging 16.8 points, 6.7 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals a contest.
Chicago, chasing a postseason spot in the East, has had its lineup depleted in recent games.
Chris Duhon missed a shootaround at Detroit on Sunday and made some comments that didn't sit well with management after being held out of that game, a 116-109 Chicago loss. He was then inactive Tuesday night in a 108-96 win over Utah in what interim coach Jim Boylan said was a "coach's decision."
Duhon's incident wasn't the only episode the Bulls have had to deal with this month.
Tyrus Thomas decided to skip practice on March 5, and management suspended him for two games. Rookie Aaron Gray, meanwhile, reportedly mouthed off to Boylan during a game against Memphis last week.
"When people question our team, I respond that we have guys in the locker room with a lot of character who care about their craft and work at it," Boylan said. "The guys were hurt the last couple days. There were a lot of things swirling around our team, and no one likes to see that stuff in the paper. This is a basketball team, not a soap opera."
Pick: 76ers
San Antonio at Detroit (-3, 178 1/2)
The San Antonio Spurs just suffered their worst loss of the season, while the Detroit Pistons lost a tight game that came down to the final shot.
Pistons coach Flip Saunders, however, seems a lot more angry about his team's latest performance than Spurs coach Gregg Popovich does about his club's blowout defeat.
Two of the NBA's best square off Friday when San Antonio (44-20) continues a three-game road trip in Detroit (46-18), with both teams hoping to prove their last games were nothing more than an aberration.
The Pistons began their five-game homestand with a 116-109 win over Chicago on Sunday, shooting 50.6 percent outrebounding the Bulls 42-28.
On Wednesday, though, Detroit was outrebounded 39-32 and committed an unusually high 15 turnovers, losing 83-82 to Philadelphia when Chauncey Billups' jumper bounced off the rim as time expired.
"We were terrible,'' Saunders said. "The score isn't reflective of the way we played - we shouldn't have only lost this game by one point.''
Detroit has the NBA's second-best record, but it's struggled lately against top teams. The Pistons are 4-3 in their last seven contests, the four wins coming against teams that would currently qualify for the draft lottery and the three losses to teams that are in playoff position.
The Spurs, however, didn't look much like a team bound for the finals Wednesday, losing 100-75 at Southwest rival New Orleans. It was their worst defeat since a 104-68 loss at Dallas on April 7, 2005.
Popovich, though, was content to give the Hornets credit and move on.
"They just played better than we did," Popovich said. "They shot the ball well. They were aggressive. Any way you want to slice it, they did a great job."
The loss was the Spurs' third straight on the road, and they've been outscored by an average of 15.0 points in those games. San Antonio has lost three of four since winning a season-high 11 in a row.
Pick: Spurs
Toronto at Denver (-10, 219 1/2)
If the Denver Nuggets were in the Eastern Conference, they would probably be able to rest Allen Iverson. If the Toronto Raptors were in the West, Chris Bosh may have already played a game this month.
With the Nuggets playing for their playoff livelihood, Iverson intends to stay in the lineup Friday night in a matchup with a Raptors team that has been slumping with Bosh sidelined.
Iverson, who was already playing with a fractured right ring finger, banged his right knee early in Wednesday night's game against Memphis and was held to eight points on 2-for-12 shooting in a 108-86 Denver win. Iverson was initially injured in a win over San Antonio last Friday, but hasn't missed any time.
"It's a place I've been before in my career, so I'll just deal with it," said Iverson, averaging a team-high 26.6 points and 7.2 assists.
Iverson's skills and experience are essential for Denver (38-26), which is in a battle to make the playoffs in the highly competitive West. The Nuggets are off to their best 64-game start in 20 years, but still trail Golden State for eighth place in the conference.
"It's now or never. We don't have a choice," said Denver forward Kenyon Martin, who had 23 points versus the Grizzlies. "It's either win now or be watching come April, and I don't think anyone around here wants to be watching. We've got too much talent and the guys have too much pride, so we're going to approach every game like it's our last. That's what it's all about."
The Nuggets can't afford to lose many games down the stretch if they hope to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year. They'll meet Toronto (34-30) in the first of two more home games before beginning a five-game road trip against teams in the East.
Denver's win over Memphis was its first in three games. The Nuggets will now try to extend a three-game home winning streak against the Raptors.
Toronto enters this contest having lost six of eight, allowing an average of 108.4 points. The Raptors, though, are a virtual lock to earn a playoff spot, even though they're four games worse than the Nuggets.
Pick: Raptors
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