Expert NBA GAME Previews

The Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks meet in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM ET on NBC, and the series is tied 2-2 after New York answered with a 114-98 win in Game 4. This is the swing game. Atlanta already stole one at

The Portland Trail Blazers visit the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, for Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at Frost Bank Center. Tipoff is set for 9:30 PM ET on ESPN, with San Antonio leading the series 3-1 and sitting one win away from advancing. Portland is in full survival mode after dropping Game 4,

The Philadelphia 76ers visit the Boston Celtics for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, at TD Garden. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM ET on ESPN, and Boston has a chance to close the series after taking a 3-1 lead. The Celtics are coming off a 128-96 win in Game 4, their second

The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic meet Monday night at Kia Center for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM ET on NBC, and Orlando enters with a 2-1 series lead after taking Game 3 by a 113-105 score. Detroit is the No. 1 seed in the East at 60-22, but the

The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the Phoenix Suns on Monday night with a 3-0 lead in their Western Conference First Round series and a chance to finish the sweep. Game 4 is set for 9:30 PM ET at Mortgage Matchup Center, with the broadcast on NBC. Oklahoma City has looked like the deeper, cleaner, more connected team through three games.

The Minnesota Timberwolves head to Ball Arena on Monday night with a 3-1 lead over the Denver Nuggets and a chance to close out their Western Conference First Round series. Tipoff is set for 10:30 PM ET on NBC, and the betting market has made the situation pretty clear: Denver is still respected at home, but Minnesota has the series

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors meet Sunday, April 26, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena for Game 4 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. Tipoff is set for 1:00 PM ET on ESPN, with Cleveland leading 2-1 but coming off a rough 126-104 loss in Game 3. Cleveland still has control of the series, but the tone changed a bit

Game 4 shifts back to Moda Center on Sunday, April 26, with tipoff set for 3:30 PM ET on ESPN. San Antonio leads the series 2-1 after taking Game 3 on the road, 120-108, and now has a real chance to push Portland to the edge before the series swings back to Texas. The Spurs finished the regular season 62-20,

Game 4 shifts the pressure squarely onto Philadelphia. Boston took back control of this first-round series with a 108-100 win in Game 3, so the Celtics head into Sunday night up 2-1 with a chance to put the 76ers on the brink. Tipoff is set for 7:00 PM ET at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and the spot is pretty clear for