Expert NBA GAME Previews

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.

Game 3 shifts to State Farm Arena on Thursday night with the series tied 1-1, and it already feels like the first real swing game of this matchup. New York let Game 2 slip away in a 107-106 loss after controlling long stretches at home, so now the pressure flips a bit. Atlanta grabbed back home court, and this one

Game 3 shifts to Minneapolis with this first-round series tied 1-1, and that matters because the tone of the matchup already changed once. Denver opened the series with a 116-105 win behind Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, then Minnesota answered with a 119-114 comeback in Game 2 after erasing a 19-point deficit. Now the Nuggets bring a 54-28 record and

Game 2 stays at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday night, with tip set for 7:00 PM ET on ESPN, and the pressure is a little different now. Orlando already stole home court with a 112-101 win in Game 1, so the Magic come in with real momentum, while Detroit is suddenly playing to avoid heading to Orlando down 0-2 despite

Game 2 shifts back to Paycom Center on Wednesday night with the Phoenix Suns trying to steady the series after a 119-84 blowout loss in Game 1. Tip is set for 9:30 PM ET on ESPN, and the setup is pretty simple: Phoenix needs a cleaner half-court game and far fewer live-ball mistakes, while Oklahoma City has a chance to

The NBA playoffs open Sunday afternoon with a familiar rivalry and a pretty big Game 1 number. The Philadelphia 76ers head to TD Garden for a 1:00 PM tip on ABC after finishing 45-37 and grabbing the No. 7 seed, while the Boston Celtics enter as the No. 2 seed at 56-26 with home court and a market price that

San Antonio is back at Frost Bank Center on Tuesday night for Game 2, holding a 1-0 series lead after a 111-98 win in the opener. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM ET on NBC, and the spot is pretty clear from a betting angle. Portland needs a better offensive night to keep this series from tilting early, while the

Game 2 of this Western Conference first-round series heads back to Crypto.com Arena with a lot more pressure on Houston than the seed lines suggested a few days ago. The Rockets finished 52-30, the Lakers went 53-29, and Los Angeles now owns the early 1-0 edge after a 107-98 win in the opener. Tuesday’s tip is set for 10:30 PM

Game 2 of this Eastern Conference first-round series stays in Cleveland on Monday night, with tipoff set for 7:00 PM at Rocket Arena and the Cavaliers trying to turn their 1-0 series lead into real control before the matchup shifts north. Cleveland took the opener 126-113, and it looked like the cleaner, steadier team once the game settled in. Toronto