Six things to watch during this weekend’s NBA action

Planning on catching NBA action this weekend but don’t know what to watch? You’ve come to the right place.

Here are six things to watch, including one player trying to get in the record books, another possibly making his return from injury and four individual matchups you won’t want to miss.

1. James Harden, Russell Westbrook meet in battle of MVP candidates

Chesapeake Energy Arena will be an electric atmosphere for Friday night’s Western Conference showdown between the Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden and Westbrook meet for the second time this season in what should be an entertaining matchup between two of the front-runners for MVP. Harden is averaging 28.5 points, 11.4 assists and 7.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Westbrook is averaging a triple-double with 31.0 points, 11.3 assists and 10.9 rebounds per game.

Oklahoma City defeated Houston 105-103 on Nov. 16 led by Westbrook’s game-high 30 points. The Thunder have won six games in a row, while the Rockets have won four straight.

2. Westbrook goes for seven straight triple-doubles

Westbrook notched his sixth straight triple-double in Monday’s 102-99 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. If he can manage another triple-double against the Rockets on Friday, Westbrook would become just the fourth player in NBA history to get seven triple-doubles in a row, joining Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain, who had nine straight during the 1967-68 season.

Westbrook was only two rebounds and one assist short of a triple-double the last time out against Houston.

3. Andre Drummond vs. Karl-Anthony Towns

Towns has endured tough matchups against some of the better big men in the league in the past week or so. He faced Rudy Gobert, Kristaps Porzingis twice, Pau Gasol and Jonas Valanciunas. Friday night will be no different when the Minnesota Timberwolves host Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons, who are allowing the second-fewest points per game (96.3) this season. The Pistons are also one of the better rebounding teams in the league with Drummond leading the charge at 13.2 rebounds per game.

This will be just the second time ever Towns and Drummond square off. The Pistons beat the Timberwolves 115-90 last season led by 23 points and 18 rebounds from Drummond.

4. Nerlens Noel could make season debut this weekend

Asked about the possibility of Noel playing on Sunday in Detroit, Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown said “maybe,” according to CSN Philly. Noel has missed the entire regular season recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and hasn’t played since last April. The former No. 6 overall pick averaged 11.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game last season.

When Noel returns from injury, he will have to compete with Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor for playing time. The 76ers are also without prized rookie Ben Simmons, who is recovering from foot surgery.

5. Anthony Davis vs. Blake Griffin Round 2

Griffin got the better of Davis in last week’s game between the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans. He scored a game-high 27 points to help the Clippers get a 114-96 victory on the road. Meanwhile, Davis scored 21 points despite injuring his shoulder in the first quarter. The Pelicans will travel to Los Angeles for a rematch on Saturday, pitting Davis and Griffin against each other once more.

Anytime you get a chance to see two All-Stars go at it, it’s must-watch TV.

6. Joel Embiid vs. Andre Drummond

Assuming Embiid plays with two days of rest in between his last game for the 76ers, this should be a good matchup of young big men. Drummond, still just 23 years old, is in his fifth season. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old Embiid is playing out his rookie year after missing the previous two season with foot issues. It will be interesting to see which player gets the better of the other. Drummond is a bruiser who does most of his scoring in the paint, while Embiid has a little more finesse and can shoot from mid-range.

These players are the future of the NBA and the center position, so it would serve you well to see them play against each other for the first time ever.