Preview Roundups
April 03, 2015
Charlotte at Indiana 7:00 PM ET
The Charlotte Hornets and host Indiana Pacers can't afford a loss when the struggling teams meet Friday. The Hornets have lost seven of 10 games and currently sit in the 10th spot in the Eastern Conference - two games back of Brooklyn for the eighth and final playoff spot - and are 1 1/2 games south of Boston.
New York at Washington 7:00 PM ET
Washington looks to keep alive its slim chance at homecourt advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs when it hosts New York on Friday. The fifth-place Wizards, who play five of their final six games on the road, enter the contest trailing Chicago and Toronto by three games with eight to play.
Milwaukee at Boston 7:30 PM ET
The Milwaukee Bucks look to end an 11-game road losing skid when they take on the Boston Celtics on Friday. The Bucks have dropped two of their last three overall, but are coming off a 95-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday and remain ahead of the Miami Heat for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto at Brooklyn 7:30 PM ET
The Brooklyn Nets are making things interesting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and are thriving of late behind Brook Lopez and Deron Williams. The Nets will try to post their sixth straight win when they host another team looking to improve its position in the East in the Toronto Raptors.
Detroit at Chicago 8:00 PM ET
The Chicago Bulls and Detroit Pistons spent most of the 1980s and 90s battling for playoff positioning but the Pistons have been reduced to spoiler in recent years and they’ll take on that role again Friday in Chicago. The Bulls come into the game tied for third in the Eastern Conference with the Toronto Raptors with seven games left in the regular season.
Oklahoma City at Memphis 8:00 PM ET
If Oklahoma City is going to reach the postseason for the sixth straight time, it will have to survive a gauntlet of quality opponents. The next in that run of challenging contests comes Friday at Memphis, which is in a battle of its own for playoff positioning.
Orlando at Minnesota 8:00 PM ET
Two of the top rookies in the league meet when the Orlando Magic visit the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night – both looking to end losing streaks. Orlando point guard Elfrid Payton recorded four double-doubles and two triple-doubles in the last 13 games while fellow first-year player Andrew Wiggins of the Timberwolves is averaging 16.3 points.
Denver at San Antonio 8:30 PM ET
The streaking San Antonio Spurs look to notch their ninth win in 10 games when they host the Denver Nuggets on Friday. San Antonio has won its last five contests to move within a half-game of the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference and a win over the Nuggets would give the Spurs their 16th consecutive 50-victory season.
New Orleans at Sacramento 10:00 PM ET
The New Orleans Pelicans take another swing at chasing down Oklahoma City for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference when they visit the Sacramento Kings on Friday. New Orleans has won three straight games to move 1 1/2 games behind the Thunder for eighth place in the Western Conference but only has eight games remaining.
Portland at L.A. Lakers 10:30 PM ET
The Portland Trail Blazers will be trying for their first season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers since the 1993-94 season when the teams meet Friday night in Los Angeles. Portland will be eager to move on after it blew a 13-point lead with just under a minute left in the third quarter and lost to the Clippers 126-122 on Wednesday.