NBA News

The Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets square off in an intriguing first-round Western Conference playoff series. The best-of-seven series could come down to who isn’t going to be on the floor, instead of who is actually playing. Advertisement The Lakers are expected to be without Luka Doncic, who suffered a hamstring injury late in the season, and Austin Reaves …

The 2026 NBA Playoffs are finally set, and they won’t include the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors won their first game in the play-in tournament, but they failed in their bid to grab the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference on Friday night in a defeat to the Phoenix Suns. Golden State now has to pray for lottery luck …

The Western Conference’s top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the eighth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs. The two franchises haven’t met in the postseason since 1997, when the Thunder were the Seattle SuperSonics and Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp were still patrolling the floor. Schedule | Odds | Thunder breakdown | Suns breakdown …

The NBA playoffs are never short on surprises, and this year’s bracket is setting up to be an entertaining one so here are five bold predictions for the Knicks and contenders at large. Minnesota upsets Denver This lowkey postseason rivalry finds these two teams at a crossroads: Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets trying to maintain the vestiges of their 2023 …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. Our NBA player prop projections are locked in for Saturday’s highly anticipated first-round playoff opener between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks, with the model flagging some good opportunities to exploit. These Hawks vs. Knicks NBA player prop projections aren’t based …

The Toronto Raptors (46-36) take on the Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30) during the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Cleveland added James Harden this season and with him in the lineup, Cleveland went 18-6 and he averaged 20.6 points, 7.8 assists, and 5.0 rebounds per game. The Cavaliers in the Donovan Mitchell era have yet to make it past the …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The first Saturday of the NBA Playoffs kicks off with Raptors vs. Cavaliers, and our NBA player prop projections system has crunched the numbers to deliver the top Raptors vs. Cavaliers predictions you need for this 1:00 p.m. ET start. Advertisement Our Raptors vs. Cavaliers …

The 2026 NBA Playoffs tip off today with four exciting first-round matchups. First, at 1:00 PM ET, the Toronto Raptors, making their first playoff appearance since 2022, take on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Then, at 3:30 PM, it’s the Minnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets. At 6:00 PM, the Atlanta Hawks go head-to-head with the New York Knicks as the two teams …

Now things get real. The NBA playoffs are here and make no mistake: Oklahoma City is the team to beat. The Thunder are the reigning champions and had the best record in the NBA despite a rash of injuries, including their second-best player from last season missing the majority of the season. Advertisement That doesn’t mean they are invincible. San …

PHOENIX (AP) — Golden State coach Steve Kerr is contemplating his future, the four-time NBA champion coach suggesting after the Warriors’ season ended Friday night that there is a chance he might not be back with the club next season. “It might still go on. It may not,” Kerr said after the Warriors lost in Phoenix and were eliminated from …

Of the last 20 games of Boston’s regular season, 13 featured a starting lineup of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Neemias Queta. Despite Tatum’s late entry into the lineup, that 5-man combo is third in total minutes together this year, sporting a +7 net scoring advantage (per 100 possessions). It’s a lineup that figures to transition …

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Green was several feet behind the 3-point line as the shot clock wound down and didn’t have many options, so the Phoenix guard simply squared up and let if fly. In most cases, the third-quarter heave wouldn’t have been a high-percentage shot. Advertisement On Friday night, pretty much everyone knew it was going in. “It felt …

A winning season usually gets you to the NBA playoffs. Not this year. There were a record-tying three teams — Charlotte at 44-38, Miami at 43-39 and the Los Angeles Clippers at 42-40 — that finished over .500 this season but failed to qualify for the playoffs. Advertisement The only other years when that happened were 1971 and 2022. In …

The 2026 NBA playoffs are set. All first-round matchups are locked in after a dramatic Play-In Tournament, and, now, the hunt for the Larry O’Brien Trophy ramps up off Saturday, April 18 with four series-opening games. The Play-In Tournament delivered plenty of excitemetn before a single first-round playoff game was played. The Portland Trail Blazers and Philadelphia 76ers locked up …

The Golden State Warriors’ tumultuous season — plagued by season-ending injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody and a 27-game absence from their franchise superstar due to a persistent runner’s knee issue — has come to an ultimate end tonight against the Phoenix Suns. Steph Curry could not muster enough energy to carry the Warriors anew, with his runner’s knee …

The Golden State Warriors’ season is officially over. Now begins an offseason in which the most successful NBA team of the past decade has some hard questions to answer. Stephen Curry is 38 years old. Draymond Green is 36 years old. Steve Kerr’s contract just expired. The Warriors could look very different once the 2026-27 campaign begins, and Kerr looked …

The Golden State Warriors ended their season with a 111-96 loss to the Phoenix Suns on April 18 in the NBA Play-In Tournament. After finishing the regular season with a 37-45 overall record and getting bounced in the postseason’s qualifying round, the Warriors enter the offseason with a number of questions that need to be answered. Advertisement With franchise cornerstone …

Well, the season is over. After teasing us with a throwback performance for the ages on Wednesday, the Golden State Warriors completely and utterly ran out of fuel on Friday, losing to the Phoenix Suns 111-96 in a game that was a constant uphill battle. And with that, the offseason begins. But not before we get to one final bit …

Philadelphia 76ers (45-37, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (56-26, second in the Eastern Conference) Boston; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT LINE: Celtics -12.5; over/under is 213.5 EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Celtics host first series matchup Advertisement BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers to start the Eastern Conference first round. Boston and Philadelphia tied the regular …

“I don’t know what’s going to happen next but I love you guys to death, and I thank you. I appreciate you.” That was a mic’s up Warriors coach Steve Kerr, talking to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green just before the end of the Warriors’ season, at the hands of the Phoenix Suns in the play-in. With the end of …

PHOENIX (AP) — Jalen Green was several feet behind the 3-point line as the shot clock wound down and didn’t have many options, so the Phoenix guard simply squared up and let if fly. In most cases, the third-quarter heave wouldn’t have been a high-percentage shot. Advertisement On Friday night, pretty much everyone knew it was going in. “It felt …

The final minutes of the Golden State Warriors’ season-ending loss to the Phoenix Suns in the final game of the NBA Play-In Tournament really ran the entire gamut of emotions. It started with an incredibly moving moment, as Warriors coach Steve Kerr removed longtime stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green from the game, and the trio embraced on the sideline. …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. The first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs tips off as one of the hottest teams in the Association takes on a powerhouse looking to take the next step and maximize its title chances. The Atlanta Hawks have soared since the All-Star break, …

Want to get more Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account here. My favorite thing about betting on the NBA Playoffs is finding value in the game-to-game adjustments. Players who may have served a minimal support role during the regular season suddenly become pillars of a series strategy. It can take our wagers to strange …

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The Orlando Magic found their winning formula. Desperation works. Works wonders, actually. Facing elimination and clearly wanting no part of it, the Magic might have put together one of their best performances of the season Friday night. They rolled past the Charlotte Hornets 121-90 in an Eastern Conference play-in game, moving into the playoffs for the …