Cavs, Heat, Lakers busy in most important games
Every NBA game counts the same in the standings. A November game matters just as much as a January or March game. However … as the NBA calendar turns to March and April, regular-season games have a heightened urgency and intensity because of playoff seeds. The regular season ends April 14, and with about 14-16 games remaining for each team, there is time to rise and fall in the standings. So even though the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments begin this week, the NBA rolls on with key games. The most important games this week:
Tuesday
⬤ Charlotte at Orlando: In a three-game week at home for the Magic, they play teams with better winning percentages.
They need to go at least 2-1, and picking off Charlotte is a good way to start.
⬤ Denver at Minnesota: Who’s complaining if this is the Western Conference finals matchup?
Wednesday
⬤ Miami at Cleveland: Telling stat for the Heat: 2-16 against the top seven teams in the NBA.
⬤ Milwaukee at Boston: Boston is close to locking up No. 1; this is a possible Eastern Conference finals preview.
⬤ Philadelphia at Phoenix: The Suns have the third-toughest remaining schedule, according to tankathon.com. They can’t afford to drop home games against teams with worse records.
Thursday
⬤ New Orleans at Orlando: Two quality and underappreciated teams meet in a measuring-stick game. ⬤ New York at Denver: Health has limited the Knicks.
Friday
⬤ Cleveland at Minnesota: Since Dec. 15, the Cavs have the third-most wins, tied with Denver and behind Boston and Oklahoma City.
⬤ New Orleans at Miami: In February and March, Zion Williamson has played his best basketball of the season, especially on assists, rebounds and freethrow percentage.
⬤ Indiana at Golden State: Even with some injuries, the Pacers still have the second-best offense.
⬤ Philadelphia at LA Lakers: D’Angelo Russell has increased his offensive efficiency post-All Star break.
Saturday
⬤ Sacramento at Orlando: The Magic could end up with home-court advantage for a first-round series.
Sunday
⬤ Philadelphia at LA Clippers: Third place isn’t out of reach for the Clippers but they’re likely headed to the fourth or fifth seed.
⬤ Cleveland at Miami: This very well could be a 3 vs. 6 matchup in the East playoffs.
⬤ Golden State at Minnesota The Timberwolves need to get quality wins without Karl-Anthony Towns (recovering from knee surgery).
⬤ Oklahoma City at Milwaukee: Maybe a potential Finals matchup. But probably not. Still, these are two good teams with championship goals.
⬤ Indiana at LA Lakers: Let’s see how the week goes, but not only are the Lakers looking at a play-in game, they’ll probably have to win twice just to get the eighth seed.