The Toronto Raptors will make the trip over to Ohio for a visit with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday. Toronto has pulled out of its first losing streak in over a month with wins in two of its last three games, while Cleveland can’t wait for this disappointing season to end. They’ve dropped eight of their last 11 games.
The Denver Nuggets will make the trip over to the state of Oklahoma for a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday. The Nuggets have picked up steam of late as they hope to get to the .500 mark before the season is out, winning five of their last seven games, while the Thunder have shaken off a shaky stretch to win five of their last six games.
The Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat have been two of the best teams in the NBA throughout the 2013-14 season, but entering Monday’s faceoff, the two are struggling mightily with the playoffs around the corner.
The Pacers are 35-34-1 ATS with an O/U record of 29-39-2 and the Bulls are 34-36 ATS with an O/U record of 28-42. This season the Bulls are 22-13 at home and the Pacers are 19-5 on the road.
The races in the NBA’s Eastern and Western conferences are heating up as the playoffs inch ever closer. With teams looking to solidify home court or just back their way into postseason contention we are seeing their true colors.
The NBA season is in full swing and some interesting contenders are already emerging – some new and some totally unforeseen.
Los Angles has won five of its last six and arrive in Oklahoma on Thursday to take on a Thunder team that is perfect at home.
Colts Visit Texans in Key AFC South Battle
Two teams coming off their much needed byes meet in Houston Sunday when the Colts who have taken a stranglehold on their division meet the Texans who were supposed to challenge for the AFC South but have absolutely fallen flat.
After making it to the Finals the year before the Thunder came up short last year. For some they are still the team of the future but they are more than ready to win big now. As good as they are it is still about consistency. Some nights they look great and others they look average.
The San Antonio Spurs made it to the Finals last year, again, though it appears the changing of the guard may have begun. That is what they do, transition players in and out and keep winning. You hate to use the word model franchise but what else would you call it at this point.
There is going to be a different flavour to things in Denver this season with George Karl out at coach. In is Brian Shaw, who has been well schooled in the Phil Jackson way of the force but has no head coaching experience.
The Toronto Raptors enter the 2013-14 season with plenty of optimism after some big time additions, and the loss of a player viewed as dead weight. With plenty of Eastern Conference teams, particularly Atlantic Division teams, tanking in hopes of a top draft pick, a playoff spot seems well within the team’s grasp.
The Indiana Pacers gave the Miami Heat a run for their money in the postseason last year, coming within a single win of the NBA Finals, and are now the sexy pick to make it to the NBA Finals out of the East this year.
The New York Knicks took a major step forward last season, and after running into a buzzsaw in the postseason last year, the team reloaded in the offseason and looks to make another run toward the NBA Finals this year.
Coming off a trip to the Western Conference Finals, the Memphis Grizzlies look to continue their upward trend with a roster that remains largely intact and a new head coach.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been rebuilding for what seems like forever. The team has gone through multiple phases since the early 2000s, and while the squad from the Pacific Northwest has a whole new identity, it appears to be stuck in limbo.
