Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns were far from playoff contention heading into the All-Star break. Since the beginning of March, however, they have turned a corner, compiling an 18-10 record and are just a half-game behind the Utah Jazz for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Phoenix (32-30) looks to bounce back from a loss and stay squarely in the playoff picture as they host the Los Angeles Clippers in Thursday’s best game on TNT. They defeated the Clippers in the
The Dallas Mavericks are clinging to the seventh seed in the cramped Western Conference playoff race. A loss tonight would inch them closer to being the first team since the 1997-1998 Bulls to miss the playoffs after a championship season. Relating further to those Bulls, the Mavericks are also working with a shortened lockout season. Dallas (34-28) looks to avoid that dubious feat and snap a two-game skid as they try to sweep the season series against the Houston Rockets for the second
The San Antonio Spurs are healthy and playing their best basketball of the season as they gear up for the playoffs. They sit atop the Western Conference by percentage points, and a win tonight would provide a 1/2 game lead over the idle Oklahoma City. However, the team has been unable to solve one team in their recent meetings: the Los Angeles Lakers, who they play again in Tuesday’s best game. The Spurs (43-16) hope to avoid a fourth consecutive loss to the
After winning four straight games on the road just a week ago, the Houston Rockets sat alone in sixth place of the Western Conference. Since then, they have dropped three straight games, all against conference rivals who are fighting for the final playoff spot — Utah, Phoenix and Denver — to fall back to the eighth seed. Houston (32-28), in danger of losing its grip on a playoff berth, hosts the seventh-seeded Denver Nuggets to conclude a home-and-home game in Monday’s best game. The
Usually, the winners make the headlines. In today’s roundup, however, the losers were the story of Saturday night as a handful of teams fighting to make the playoffs came up short. With three different teams — Milwaukee, Utah and Phoenix — still within reach of the eighth and final playoff seed in their respective Conferences, how many of them came out with a victory? None. Starting with the most inexplicable blowout of the night – the only game on national television – the Spurs
With the news that Kobe Bryant would sit out another game, the Los Angeles Lakers will turn to their big men looking for another stellar performance. If Andrew Bynum can have a repeat of his 16 points and league-high 30 rebounds as he did against San Antonio, the Lakers may be equipped for success, even if he continues his quest to shoot threes or act rebellious in various ways. The Lakers (37-22) look to build upon a two-game winning streak without their leading scorer
April is supposed to be the time of the NBA season when the best teams gear up for the playoffs and head into it playing their absolute best basketball. The Heat must have missed that memo. And the Bulls’ starters, too. With the NBA regular season slowly but surely winding down, two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference are heading into the postseason with plenty of uncertainty and several important questions to still resolve. For the Chicago Bulls, the team with
The Chicago Bulls could inch closer to securing the best record in the league while locking up the number one seed with a win against the second best team in the Eastern Conference. Whether they might actually want to secure the number one seed is another story. Holding the best record in the league, the Chicago Bulls (44-14) play host at the United Center to the visiting Miami Heat in Thursday’s best game on TNT. The two teams split the first two games of