Nick Nurse reckons Brighton Bears have potentially the best point guard in the country right now.

The playmaker in question can go a few miles towards proving it as injury-ravaged Bears hit the road over the next three days.

Ryan Huntley has been an inspiration during Bears' run of home wins, culminating in a 17-point fourth-quarter masterclass to see off Thames Valley Tigers in last Saturday's BBL Trophy contest.

Now he and his colleagues face two major examinations as Bears go to title contenders Newcastle Eagles tonight (7.30pm) and leaders London Towers on Saturday.

They will do so without two key men after Duncan Ogilvie damaged his knee and Yorick Williams aggravated a hand problem in a practice-court collision on Tuesday.

Ajou Deng comes into the starting five and Joe Perera will get court time at two-guard, leaving Huntley to play 40 minutes barring a last-minute signing.

Eagles fans have been proclaiming their own TJ Walker as the BBL's finest for years, even when the official league MVP was Chester's John Thomas.

Towers livewire Rod Brown also gets a mention whenever fans start debating who are the best playmakers.

It is arguably the most glamorous position on the court, basketball's answer to rugby's scrum half or American football's quarter back, and the battle of the point guards could go a long way to deciding two highly significant contests.

Huntley was under orders to up his scoring rate from 12 points per game to 16 when Nurse brought him south from Chester in the summer.

His average in all competitions currently stands at 13.9 but he has piled up 69 points in the last three games on 55 per cent field goal shooting. Just as significantly, 28 of those 69 points have come in the fourth quarters of the games concerned.

Comparisons are already being made with his predecessor Randy Duck and that ability to stay cool under pressure is the area where Huntley scores highest.

Milton Keynes Lions coach Nigel Lloyd was one of the premier point guards in the BBL for years.

He said: "It's the most important position because you are the coach on the floor. You set the tempo and people look to you for leadership.

"I'd say TJ is the best in the league because of the different things he does.

"He runs the fast break, he gets the ball to the right people at the right time and he can rebound.

"Rod distributes the ball well on the fast break and he can creat havoc defensively with the way he pressures the man with the ball. That is important because, as a point guard, the team's defence starts with you.

"I like Ryan because is steady. He won't make a lot of mistakes.

"He can shoot the open jumper better than the other two and he's big and strong so he can post up and get a basket. He's more of a combo guard."

Huntley will be up against the man he replaced at Chester when he faces Brown on Saturday. Chester coach Paul Smith said: "Rod made the decision to move on at the start of last season and we never really got to the bottom of why he did it.

"We brought in Ryan to replace him and he did well. He's a good guy and excellent shooter. I'm surprised he didn't shoot much when we played them recently but I understand that has changed now."

Back court parity will do for Bears tonight because Nurse reckons they have the firepower to win inside.

Nurse, whose team have yet to beat any of the league's big guns, said: "This game is huge for us and we will be well prepared.

"Transition defence will be key for us. Walker and Jerry Hyatt will push the ball up the floor and we have got to match them.

"We will play good old-fashioned Bears defence, take them out of their sets and make them grind it out."