NBA Previews

The Miami Heat are relying on Bam Adebayo more than ever. Over his past four games, Adebayo is averaging 24.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists. That’s up slightly from his season averages of 22.0 points, 10.4 boards and 4.1 assists. “We’re running a lot of our actions through (Adebayo),” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. On Sunday night, Adebayo will try to keep his momentum as Miami plays host to the struggling Charlotte Hornets. The

From the moment the Denver Nuggets won the NBA title in June, they hoped they could bring back Bruce Brown, an unrestricted free agent who had been an integral piece to their championship puzzle. Denver had little room under the salary cap, so Brown signed with the Indiana Pacers for two years and $44 million. For the first time since he celebrated winning it all with the Nuggets, Brown returns to Denver on Sunday with

The San Antonio Spurs will look to build on their most impressive three-game stretch of the season when they host the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. San Antonio and Chicago will meet for the third time this season, a rarity created by the teams’ performance in the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament. Saturday’s contest will represent the second game between the teams in the Alamo City. The Bulls have captured the first two meetings this season,

The Utah Jazz are in the midst of an impressive roll and the Los Angeles Lakers are in a deep funk. Utah will strive to win its fifth straight game and 11th in the past 13 when it hosts the Lakers on Saturday night in Salt Lake City. The Jazz own their first four-game winning streak of the season and all of the victories have been by double digits. The largest margin was Friday night’s

The New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks are tied for first place in the Southwest Division. That tie will be broken when they face each other Saturday night in the first of two head-to-head matchups in three nights in Dallas. The tie arose after the Pelicans lost Friday night at Denver, 125-113, which was only New Orleans’ second defeat in eight games and ended a seven-game road winning streak. “It definitely gives a playoff feel

Two seasons ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder and Orlando Magic were in a race toward the bottom of the NBA standings. In the process of a rebuild, the teams were battling for the top picks in the 2022 NBA Draft. The Magic ultimately won out, selecting Paolo Banchero with the top overall pick. The Thunder got the second overall pick, taking Chet Holmgren. While Holmgren missed all of last season with a foot injury, Banchero

The Milwaukee Bucks catch a huge break in the schedule for the second consecutive game when they host the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. As was the case when Milwaukee took advantage of a Boston Celtics back-to-back to crush its Eastern Conference rival 135-102 on Thursday, the Bucks enjoyed Friday off while the Warriors were involved in a basketball-style track meet in Chicago. A short-handed Golden State squad prevailed 140-131 but had to burn

Their five-game winning streak snapped, the New York Knicks will look for a complete effort when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday. The Knicks will need a stronger start after allowing 44 points in the first quarter of a 128-124 loss to the host Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. The defeat was New York’s first since acquiring OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors in a five-player trade on Dec. 30. Julius Randle scored 32 points

Outside of facing the Washington Wizards, the Atlanta Hawks haven’t had much success this season. Luckily for Atlanta, it gets a chance for a fourth win over Washington already this season when the Hawks host the reeling Wizards on Saturday. Coming off a 126-108 loss to the visiting Pacers on Friday — the Hawks’ third defeat in as many tries against Indiana — Atlanta experienced the same old story: not being able to get stops