NBA Previews

The Atlanta Hawks begin their push for a postseason berth coming out of the All-Star break with a home date on Friday against the Toronto Raptors, but they will do so with some question marks in the frontcourt. Hawks coach Quin Snyder said Onyeka Okongwu, who is averaging 10.2 points, seven rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots per game, will be out for “the foreseeable future” due to a left toe sprain. While fellow big man

Two of the NBA’s hottest teams entering the All-Star break hope the week off hasn’t stalled their momentum as they go head-to-head Thursday night when the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco. The Lakers, though, will be missing LeBron James due to a lingering left ankle injury. The California rivals begin the second half clinging to the ninth and 10th positions in the NBA playoff race, spots that would grant

The Sacramento Kings are 31-23 after 54 games for the second consecutive season. But last season, Sacramento was in third place in the Western Conference en route to ending a 16-season streak of missing the playoffs. This season, the Kings are just eighth in the West entering Thursday night’s home matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. The contest is the first after the All-Star break for both the Western Conference-worst Spurs and Kings. Sacramento stands

Though the Utah Jazz stumbled into the NBA All-Star break, the play of Keyonte George offered somewhat of a silver lining. The Jazz are hopeful the rookie guard can continue his pre-break momentum while also helping them end a slide when they face the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night in Salt Lake City, Utah. Though they’re both 3-7 in their last 10 outings, the Jazz and Hornets enter this contest in opposite directions. Utah dropped

For the second game in a row on Thursday night, the Utah Jazz will face a hungry team that has extra motivation. Considering how the Jazz are playing and what happened to them Wednesday night — when they were blown out 138-122 by the driven Los Angeles Lakers — that could be a daunting task. Similar to how Los Angeles’ Anthony Davis called the Jazz-Lakers game “very important” because it was his team’s last game

Two steps forward, one step back. That’s been the Milwaukee Bucks’ theme under Doc Rivers, who took over as head coach on Jan. 29. The Bucks look to head into the All-Star break on a high note when they visit the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. Memphis snapped a nine-game losing streak with a 121-113 home victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday. The Bucks fell to 3-6 under Rivers on Tuesday, when the visiting Miami

The Denver Nuggets have lost two straight games for the first time since early December, and avoiding a third straight defeat might be difficult as injuries pile up. Denver’s starting backcourt is hurting and might not be available when the Nuggets host the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night. Jamal Murray (bilateral tibia inflammation) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right hamstring) left Monday’s loss at Milwaukee and are questionable for the matchup with the Kings. “Yes, we want

Anthony Davis has a score to settle when his Los Angeles Lakers oppose the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in Salt Lake City. The Jazz defeated the Lakers 132-125 in the teams’ latest matchup, on Jan. 13 in Salt Lake City. Davis had 15 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists, but he shot only 5-for-21 from the floor. “We lost last time in Utah. I didn’t shoot the ball extremely well,” he said. “We owe these

The Boston Celtics will attempt to beat the visiting Brooklyn Nets for the second time in as many nights when the teams meet Wednesday in the final game for each side before the All-Star break. Jayson Tatum collected 41 points and 14 rebounds to help Boston beat Brooklyn 118-110 on Tuesday in New York during the opener of the home-and-home series. It was the third time Tatum scored at least 40 points in a game