NBA Previews

The Charlotte Hornets are fresh off a victory because of a defensive stop on the game’s final possession. They’ll likely need more of that kind of defense against the host Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night. The Mavericks are coming off their first loss of the season, returning home from Denver following a 125-114 setback Friday night. Dallas won its first four games of the regular season — three by single-digit margins. The status of Mavericks

The Phoenix Suns on Sunday will be facing their former coach’s current team for the first time this season, but they’re more concerned about getting their health and collecting a much-needed win when they visit the Detroit Pistons. Monty Williams was fired by Phoenix after last season, and Pistons owner Tom Gores coaxed him into coaching his team with a record-breaking six-year, $78.5 million contract. The teams matched up in the preseason but this time,

All the numbers seem to favor the Golden State Warriors as they look to remain unbeaten on the road against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night. The Warriors opened In-Season Tournament play with an action-packed, 141-139 road win Friday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State’s fourth straight triumph away from home this season. The Warriors won just 11 road games all of last year. One of those wins came at Cleveland, a 120-114

The Nuggets historically are dominant at home, including last season, when they went 34-7 in the regular season and 10-1 in the playoffs in Denver. One team that got them on their court was the Chicago Bulls, who came to Denver on March 8 and beat the Nuggets 117-96. That was eight months and an offseason ago, but Denver might be looking for some payback when it hosts the Bulls on Saturday night. Both teams

When the Boston Celtics return to the floor on Saturday night, the intrigue will revolve around how their offense follows one of the most historic showings in team history, a 155-point night. Boston will oppose the Brooklyn Nets in New York. Riding a three-game winning streak, the Nets are hoping their defense can make enough plays to stop the unbeaten Celtics from putting up more big offensive numbers. The Celtics are 4-0 for the first

Slow starts have been a recurring theme for the Charlotte Hornets, who have lost three straight following a season-opening victory over the Atlanta Hawks. The Hornets will look to reverse the trend when they face the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night in Indianapolis. Indiana snapped a two-game losing streak with a 121-116 win over the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday in their first game of the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament. Charlotte returns to action for

Managing expectations will be at the forefront Saturday when the Houston Rockets play host to the Sacramento Kings. After finishing with the third-best record in the Western Conference last season, while snapping a playoff drought that covered 16 seasons, the Sacramento Kings have not opened this campaign like a house ablaze. The Kings led the NBA in offensive rating a year ago at 118.6 but have slipped to eighth thus far in the early stages

It won’t make up for what happened in the 2023 playoffs, but the Minnesota Timberwolves are riding high into Saturday’s game in Minneapolis against the Utah Jazz after picking up a big victory in their most recent performance. On Wednesday, the Timberwolves handed the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets their first loss of the 2023-24 season with a 110-89 blowout victory at home. Anthony Edwards scored 24 points for Minnesota, Karl-Anthony Towns contributed 21 points

The Atlanta Hawks have been on a roll over their last three games. After losing their first two games of the season, they have averaged 128 points in comfortable wins against Milwaukee, Minnesota and Washington. They’ll seek a fourth straight win when they visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. “The sky was not falling when we lost our first two,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said, “and we don’t need to congratulate ourselves for