Maine @ Canton	Erie @ Ft. Wayne
Texas @ Tulsa	Bakersfield @ Rio Grande
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When the 12th season in NBA D-League history blows open on Black Friday, you’ve got four games to choose from. Not to mention the ability, with Futurecast, to watch from the comfort of a post-Thanksgiving coma, wherever that happens to be.

And while last year offered a chance to see Jamaal Tinsley in action for the L.A. D-Fenders before he was scooped up by the Utah Jazz – not to mention the 10 other players that made NBA teams out of camp – this year’s a bit of a different story. Top Prospects will still abound, but by this point – as opposed to last year, when the lockout pushed back the start of the NBA season until Christmas – the eight teams in action should feature a medley of Prospects and NBA assignments.

It’s easy to forget: while the 2011-12 season smashed the record for NBA Call-Ups (60), it also did the same for assignments (64). As NBA teams place more stock in the NBA D-League (two more NBA teams secured single-affiliations this summer, bringing the total to 11), they’re using their affiliates to mold young players, instead of letting them freeze on the ends of benches. The talent pool’s never been richer, and the league’s never been better-suited to help rookies ripen.

Last year, it took just nine days for the first Lottery pick – Houston’s Marcus Morris – to head to the NBA D-League (Spurs’ PG Cory Joseph also went down that day). In 2013, take the under.

As far asTop Prospects, here’s a list of the best players whose rights are held by the eight teams in action:

• Maine: Morris Almond
• Canton: T.J. Campbell
• Erie: D.J. Kennedy
• Fort Wayne: Charles Garcia
• Texas: Alando Tucker
• Tulsa: Marcus Lewis
• Bakersfield: Brian Butch
• Rio Grande Valley: Tyren Johnson