BASKETBALL NBA ARTICLES

After a tumultuous week that included a loss to the lowly Nets, LeBron James claimed the Cavaliers are ready to make a run at the title. Not something you’d expect after that, but the King lived up to his words with a triple-double performance Saturday. Cleveland goes for some fine-tuning before the postseason begins and can deliver a blow to the Rockets’ postseason chances.... 

Toronto may have squandered its best chances to hang with the Cavaliers in the fight for the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference with losses in Boston and Houston at the start of its just completed road trip. The Raptors started looking like a contender again in Saturday’s thumping of New Orleans and can reach 50 wins for the first time by ending OKC’s seven-game winning streak.... 

They won’t finish with a top-two seed in the Eastern Conference, but it’s tough to find anyone playing better basketball over the past month than the Atlanta Hawks. It’s nearly as hard to find a team playing worse than the Bulls. The Hawks can clinch a playoff berth with their ninth win in 10 games and sweep the season series from Chicago.... 

Sunday was a good day for the Clippers. They learned their All-Star power forward has been cleared to return and clinched a playoff berth with a win over Denver. We’ll see how Monday rates for them, but it shouldn’t be bad. Playing a back-to-back series at home for the third time, the Clips are unbeaten in the previous five games.... 

The New York Knicks have fallen off the face of the earth from an offensive perspective, and they could be in a lot of trouble when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.... 

Oklahoma City has moved back into the discussion as a contender in the Western Conference and can solidify its position with San Antonio and Golden State with a win Saturday. OKC hosts the Spurs, who are playing for the third time in four nights and the second of a back-to-back.You can bet on NBA odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.... 

Are the Charlotte Hornets for real? They’ve won 17 of their past 21 games and are closing in on first place in the Southeast Division and third place in the East. The Hornets beat the Pistons both times this season by a combined 35 points, but play for the first time in the Motor City.... 

The Pacers have a favorable schedule down the stretch as they try to hold onto a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. After Indy knocked off the Sixers on Monday night, the injury-ravaged New Orleans Pelicans pay a visit, without three of their top players.... 

A Western Conference division rivalry should be a good one as Golden State hosts the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday. The Warriors are closing in on the NBA single-season record of 73 wins as they stand 63-7 including a perfect 32-0 at home. The Clippers are 43-26 and 19.5-games behind the Warriors in the Pacific division and three games in front of Memphis for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference playoff que.... 

We had a shootout when these teams met last, back in January. The Thunder won that game 116-108, but failed to cover the 8.5-point spread. Oklahoma City will get another pass at covering against Houston on Tuesday.... 

The Bulls and Knicks haven’t played since New Year’s Day. They’ll get reacquainted in a hurry with a home-and-home series on consecutive nights that starts Wednesday in Chicago. Each team’s last game was against Sacramento with the Bulls getting a win while the Knicks managed just 80 points against one of the NBA’s worst defensive units in a loss.... 

What was supposed to be the easy part of the Clippers five-game road trip ended in losses to a pair of depleted teams over the weekend. Now comes the hard part. The Clips have played the Warriors tough this season, losing three games by a combined 14 points, but blown fourth quarter leads in two of those outings continue to haunt LA.... 

The Memphis Grizzlies are a mess right now. They've literally got an entire team on their injured list, and they're struggling just to find enough bodies to play night in and night out. It's a rare case where you might very well see the Los Angeles Lakers favored over a team which is going to make the playoffs in the Western Conference.... 

There were plenty of questions swirling around the Oklahoma City Thunder when they lost eight of 12 games after the All-Star break. Those have apparently been answered during OKC’s four-game winning streak. The Thunder are looking a lot like the team that was once considered a threat in the Western Conference.... 

Getting the two worst teams in the Western Conference in a back-to-back would be a gift for most clubs, but Memphis will take a cautious approach with their depleted roster. The Griz are 9-6 SU in the second of a back-to-back, but are just 1-4 in their last five such games. They’ve handled the Lakers easily in the first three meetings and should do so again.... 

One might expect a Spurs letdown on Monday. After all they did just finish off a perfect 5-0 homestand by knocking off the best team in the Association. With a chance to reach 60 wins for the sixth time in its history, San Antonio goes for a seventh straight victory overall and 11th in row versus Charlotte.... 

Golden State has accomplished plenty in two seasons. The Warriors steamrolled to the NBA Championship last season and are chasing the league record for wins this year. One thing they haven’t done is win in San Antonio. The Dubs have a chance to end the Spurs 34-game homecourt winning streak and their own 32-game regular season losing skid at ATT Center when the clubs meet Saturday in primetime.... 

A much anticipated rematch of the NBA’s top two teams is scheduled for Saturday night when the San Antonio Spurs host the record-setting NBA champion Golden State Warriors. The Spurs remain undefeated at home at 33-0, but they still trail the Warriors by 3.5 games with Golden State hosting the NY Knicks Wednesday night. San Antonio is 57-10 while Golden State enters a remarkable 60-6 and also undefeated at home.... 

Oklahoma City put together 48 minutes of inspired basketball, taking out weeks of frustration on the Blazers in Monday’s win. The outburst came before a three-game road trip where the Thunder look for more consistency before the postseason.... 

The Clippers head to Houston for Wednesday night’s game after toiling with the Spurs on Tuesday. LA is 6-0 SU and 4-2 ATS in the second game of its last six back-to-back situations with the Clips last defeat coming in Houston, 107-97, back on Dec. 19.... 

An inter-conference tussle in Boston is locked in for Wednesday when the Celtics host the Thunder. Plenty of scoring is expected making live betting at BookMaker the place to be with back-and-forth action and plenty of opportunities to wager and win.... 

The Cleveland Cavaliers finish up a four game road swing on Monday and will attempt to go unbeaten during this stretch when they take on the Utah Jazz.Any concerns about the Cavaliers' team dynamics following last week's events have dissipated and now the focus is again on Cleveland securing home court advantage in the playoffs.... 

These two teams met in January in what turned out to be a massive shootout, ending with the Clippers winning and covering the spread 140-132 in overtime. The record, stats and trends favor Los Angeles again on Wednesday, but this time the game will take place in Houston.... 

Five straight losses for the Wizards have dropped the team to 30-35 and 3.5 games back of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. In addition to dropping five in a row, they also failed to cover the spread in each. The Wizards—and their bettors—will hope the team can halt both trends as they host Detroit on Monday.... 

The Clippers want to be considered among the NBA’s elite, but outcomes like Sunday’s loss to the Cavs make it difficult to include them in the conversation. They have another chance to change the narrative while ending San Antonio’s 41-game regular season win streak....