If there is any player challenging LeBron James for the title of best in the Eastern Conference over the first few weeks, it's Toronto Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan. The star scorer will try to help the Raptors avenge a previous setback when they visit James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Dwight Howard was considered part of the reason why the Houston Rockets underachieved last season but he's fitting in much better with his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Howard has seven double-doubles in his first nine games with Atlanta and looks to record another one when the Hawks visit the Miami Heat on Tuesday.

The Minnesota Timberwolves look like a team that can challenge for a Western Conference playoff spot on some nights and a lottery team on others. The Timberwolves are coming off one of their best performances of the season and will try to win back-to-back games for the first time under new head coach Tom Thibodeau when they host the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday.

The Portland Trail Blazers were held under 100 points for the first time in a 111-80 loss at the Los Angeles Clippers last week and spent the next two games making up for that lack of scoring. The Chicago Bulls are just beginning to get things turned around on the defensive end and will test how far they've come when they visit the Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Nets were obliterated in the first of consecutive games at Staples Center and hope to be more competitive Tuesday when they visit the Los Angeles Lakers. Brooklyn found itself down 35-7 less than 10 minutes into the contest against the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers and never recovered while suffering a 127-95 defeat Monday.