So exciting I thought the playoffs had started...

Tonight’s slate of NBA games is the most anticipated lineup thus far in the season. Shaq makes his debut with Phoenix when Kobe and the Lakers come to town. The Shaq-Kobe feud has lay dormant of late with Diesel playing for Miami but that could change with the former championship duo now battling it out in the same division.

The Hornets host the Mavericks in Jason Kidd’s Dallas debut. Kidd faces Chris Paul in a match-up of elite point guards. How deep is the West? The Hornets have the best record in the conference but everyone will be auditioning Dallas tonight for the playoffs. Kidd, Jason Terry, Josh Howard, Dirk Nowitzki and Erick Dampier are a solid starting 5 and Kidd always contributes to great chemistry on the floor (except for this one time a few years ago in Dallas… might be a good idea not to fill that extra roster spot with Jim Jackson).

In the nightcap, the Celtics visit Golden State in Kevin Garnett’s second game back from an abdominal strain. Garnett was mediocre in his return. Doc Rivers said Garnett’s minutes would be a game-time decision but KG stated emphatically that he would play. With the Warriors pace and lack of rebounders, don’t be surprised to see him have a big game.

As if those three games weren’t enough, Mike Bibby returns to Atlanta, Orlando heads north of the border to take on the Raptors, and the Knicks look to win two in a row only this time without throwing stuff at each other during timeouts.