Expert Basketball Picks and Previews

Raptors ‘expect the unexpected’ from Cavaliers in Game 4 The Toronto Raptors understand they must be ready for anything Sunday afternoon when they attempt to even their Eastern Conference first-round series with the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers hold a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after the Raptors’ 126-104 home victory in Game 3 on Thursday. “Every game in

Thunder must adjust without Jalen Williams in Game 3 vs. Suns After being without him for much of the regular season, the Oklahoma City Thunder will once again have to adjust to playing without Jalen Williams. One of the Thunder’s primary ballhandlers, Williams suffered a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in Wednesday’s Game 2 win over the Phoenix Suns in

Pistons look to carry momentum into Game 3 vs. Magic The Detroit Pistons almost were unrecognizable for the first six quarters of their first-round series against the Orlando Magic, but that all changed in the span of about eight minutes. The top-seeded Pistons appear to have finally settled in as they head into Game 3 against the eighth-seeded Magic on

Hawks look to build comfortable series lead over Knicks The New York Knicks held a comfortable lead for most of their Game 1 win last weekend. Since then, the Atlanta Hawks have made things massively uncomfortable for an opponent with aspirations of a deep postseason run. The pressure is intensifying for the Knicks, who will look to even up the

The Boston Celtics visit the Philadelphia 76ers for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 7:00 PM at Xfinity Mobile Arena. The series is tied 1-1 after Philadelphia answered back in Game 2, so this is the swing game that starts to shape the rest of the series. Fans can watch the game

The Los Angeles Lakers visit the Houston Rockets for Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 8:00 PM at the Toyota Center. Los Angeles leads the best-of-7 series 2-0 after taking both games at home, and now the pressure shifts hard onto Houston. Fans can watch the game on Amaz. The Lakers have

Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round brings the San Antonio Spurs to the Moda Center to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, April 24, 2026, at 10:30 PM. The series is tied 1-1, which makes this the first real pressure swing of the matchup. San Antonio still owns the stronger regular-season profile at 62-20, but Portland has

76ers, Celtics enter Game 3 all square; Philly ‘hopeful’ Joel Embiid returns Welcome to the playoffs. After the Boston Celtics dropped Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers, those four succinct words from Jaylen Brown summarized the situation at hand for the division rivals. The Celtics look to recover from a surprising defeat to the Sixers when the teams reconvene Friday

Cleveland heads to Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night for Game 3 of this Eastern Conference first-round series, with tipoff set for 8:00 PM ET and the Cavaliers holding a 2-0 lead. Kenny Atkinson’s group finished the regular season 52-30, while Toronto closed 46-36, and now the pressure flips squarely onto the Raptors in their first home game of the series.