NBA Previews

Each playing their third game in four days, the Atlanta Hawks and Cavaliers meet in Cleveland on Tuesday in the final East Group A game for both teams in the NBA in-season tournament. The Cavaliers (2-1) have a narrow chance to advance while the Hawks (1-2) have been eliminated. In an up-and-down week for Atlanta, point guard Trae Young averaged 35 points per game and shot 50 percent — 46-for-92 from the field and 24-for-48

The Boston Celtics can advance to the knockout stage of the NBA’s in-season tournament, but they’ll need a dominating performance against the visiting Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night – plus some help from the Brooklyn Nets to do it. The Celtics could win East Group C if several outcomes go Boston’s way – including a Celtics win over the Bulls and a Brooklyn victory over Toronto on Tuesday. That would leave Boston, Brooklyn and Orlando

A pair of teams mired in inconsistency despite significant expectations will get a chance to compare notes Monday when the Los Angeles Clippers play host to the Denver Nuggets. The Clippers have lost seven of their last 11 games and are just 4-6 since James Harden joined the group after a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers. But things are much improved with Los Angeles winning four of its last five after a 107-88 victory over

The Indiana Pacers boast the league’s top offense, but coach Rick Carlisle knows his squad needs to improve on the defensive end in order to make a lengthy postseason run. The Pacers’ ongoing journey to become a complete squad continues on Monday when they face the visiting Portland Trail Blazers in Indianapolis. All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton averages 25.4 points and 12.1 assists to lead Indiana, which is scoring a league-high 128.8 points per game.

Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy sent a message to his players after an ugly loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. It was clear by the end of the Jazz’s 105-100 win Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans that his demand for players to “play hard and pass” had been received. Utah has another chance to please its coach against the same team on Monday night when the Jazz host the Pelicans in Salt

The good news for the Washington Wizards and Detroit Pistons: One of them will snap a lengthy losing streak Monday night in Detroit. The Wizards begin a four-game road trip saddled with a nine-game losing streak. The Pistons have lost 13 straight in a classic meeting between resistible force and movable object. Washington’s last victory came on Nov. 8 at Charlotte. In their last outing, the Wizards were blown out by Atlanta 136-108 on Saturday

The Los Angeles Lakers will try to run their road-winning streak to four games when they visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. The Lakers are coming off a 121-115 road win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday night. Seven of the eight Lakers who played against Cleveland scored in double figures, led again by power forward Anthony Davis, who finished with 32 points and 13 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double and 13th in

The Brooklyn Nets struggled defensively during their just-concluded three-game losing streak. Even if one of their better defensive showings occurred against a short-handed opponent on Saturday, the Nets will look to follow it up on Sunday night when they host the struggling Chicago Bulls. The Nets are playing their second back-to-back set this season and are coming off a 112-97 win over the Miami Heat, who held out stars Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler due

The Toronto Raptors are feeling good about their new-found offense, and it will be put to the test when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday night. The Raptors, who have shot 50 percent or better from the field in four consecutive games, will be going for their first three-game winning streak of the season. They are coming off a 121-108 home win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday that followed a 132-131 road victory over