Tip-off: Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET
Line: N/A, Total: N/A

Kawhi's back just in time to try and slow down one of the best offenses in NBA history.

Put aside your preconceived notions about how good the Warriors are, and the NBA team that has undoubtedly looked the best on the court this season is the Houston Rockets. They've doubled down even harder on their threes and layups approach, and have a bench full of rangy forwards that make them an unexpected terror on the defensive end. And with PG Chris Paul recently reentering the lineup, they look like even more of a threat to possibly take down Golden State. But don't forget about the Spurs. San Antonio quietly got off to a 19-8 start before SF Kawhi Leonard, the team's focal point and an MVP candidate any time he plays a full season, came back from an injury for the first time against the Grizzlies on Tuesday night. With Gregg Popovich at the helm, it's hard to believe it will take long for Leonard to integrate himself back into the lineup. The Texas rivals will meet up for the first time this season on Friday night, the first of four regular season matchups they'll have this year. Last year, the Spurs took three of four from the Rockets, with none of those games decided by more than six points. Three of them were decided by a single basket.

Leonard's importance to the San Antonio lineup cannot be overstated. He averaged 25.5 PPG last year, eight more than any other player on the roster. The Spurs held an enormous lead over the Warriors when he went down with a season-ending injury in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last year, and the Warriors quickly came back in his absence before sweeping the series. He's a superstar on offense, even better on defense, and will completely change how this team operates. PF LaMarcus Aldridge has been forced to pick up the slack in the meantime, and has done an admirable job in averaging around 23 and 8. He had 27 and 10 in a tight win over Boston last Friday, and 20 and 9 in a surprisingly close win over Phoenix the next day. After him, it has truly been a by-committee approach to replacing Leonard's scoring. The following players were all averaging within 2.5 points of 10 PPG entering his return on Tuesday night: SF Rudy Gay, C Pau Gasol, PG Patty Mills, SG Danny Green, SF Kyle Anderson, PG Tony Parker and SG Manu Ginobili. It's a lot of older vets, with Parker just recently returning to the lineup and Ginobili showing a spark with a game-winning shot against the Celtics. Gay has mostly come off the bench, so Leonard's return likely won't change his role significantly. He's barely north of 30% from three, so if he wanted to sacrifice those two shots per game Pop probably wouldn't be too upset. Mills had 20 off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting against Phoenix on Saturday.

Houston is always down for a shootout, as evidenced by the fact that they weathered a New Orleans franchise-best 18 three-pointers in a 130-123 win on Monday night. PG James Harden had 14 assists at half, and finished with 17 to go with 26 points and six steals. Houston trailed by 13 with three minutes left in the third, but Harden and PG Chris Paul combined to outscore New Orleans by themselves 28-22 the rest of the way. Harden's numbers are so ridiculous—and Houston's record so good—that it's hard to not see him as a shoo-in for the MVP at this point in the year. At 32 years old, Paul may actually be benefiting from the pseudo-sidekick role that some worried he'd struggle with. He's still a good bet for double-digit assists on any given night, and is showing off a smooth three-pointer that he perhaps should've utilized more over the course of his career. He had 20 against the Pels, while SG Eric Gordon added 27 off the bench and C Clint Capela bullied in 28 points on 13-of-14 shooting. Gordon's a sixth-man of the year candidate, but that undersells his contributions: He should be an all star. His three-point accuracy has lagged a bit this season, suggesting there's room for further dominance still for this offense. SF Trevor Ariza and PF Ryan Anderson add further ammo to Houston's long-range arsenal, while SF P.J. Tucker and PF Luc Mbah a Moute take a more defensive approach in their significant minutes off the bench.