[ad_1]
The Jazz have won nine straight games for the third time this season; no other team has won more than eight consecutive victories.
Monday April 5
Utah to Dallas
7 p.m. ET, NBA League PassThe Jazz enter Week 16 with a nine-game winning streak. It’s not only the longest active streak in the league, but also Utah’s. third streak of at least nine consecutive wins this season. No other team has won more than eight consecutive victories (Atlanta, Brooklyn, Milwaukee). During their current streak (which dates back to March 19), Donovan Mitchell averaged 28.1 points on 53.1% -51.6% -95.3% split shots, while Rudy Gobert averaged 15 , 7 ppg on 68.9% shooting, 12.0 rpg and 3.3 bpg. Utah beat their opponents by 166 points in Gobert’s 267 minutes on the field during the streak. On Monday, the Jazz will face a Mavericks team who have won four straight games for the fourth time this season, but are still looking for a five-game winning streak. Dallas are also looking for their first win over Utah as the Jazz swept away a two-game streak at the end of January.
Tuesday April 6
Portland at LA Clippers
Wednesday April 7
New York to Boston
7:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Knicks and Celtics are both in the middle of the Eastern Play-In tournament mix.
The Knicks and Celtics enter Week 16 with 25-25 and are respectively seventh and eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. The addition of the Play-In tournament adds more races to watch. Not only do you have teams doing all they can to finish in the top 10 in order to qualify for the tournament and keep their playoff hopes alive, you also have teams in the 5-8 bracket looking to finish in the top. six in order to secure their place in the playoffs and avoid having to survive Play-In. It is in this latter group that the Knicks and Celtics currently live. If the season ended today they would end up in the Play-In tournament, but the East leaderboard is so crowded (currently there are only three games separating No.4 and No.9), there has an opportunity to move up the standings and lock in a playoff spot. With so many teams in this race, head-to-head games like Wednesday’s game between the Celtics and the Knicks take on the added importance of potential tiebreakers; New York leads the season series 1-0 with two more games to go, including the final game of the regular season.
Thursday April 8
Milwaukee to Dallas
9 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Bucks held Giannis Antetokounmpo (left knee pain) out of the roster against Sacramento on Saturday, but the Bucks still took the win thanks to a season-high 33 points (plus 11 assists) from Jrue Holiday, who signed a four- year contract extension a day later. Giannis shouldn’t run out of extended time, so he should be available to join Holiday and the rest of the squad when they face Luka Doncic and the Mavericks on Thursday. Giannis is 3-1 in head-to-head matches with Doncic, including their first meeting this season on January 15. Giannis finished with 31 points on 14-21 shots and nine rebounds, while Doncic recorded one of nine triple-doubles this season with 28 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds in the loss. The two teams are starting back-to-back winning streaks for Week 16 – three in a row for Milwaukee and four in a row for Dallas.
Friday April 9
Philadelphia to New Orleans
8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
After missing 10 games with a bone contusion in his left knee, Joel Embiid returned to the Sixers on Saturday and finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in 29 minutes in a win over Minnesota. Tobias Harris continued his good play as he led the Sixers with 32 points of 13-17 (76.5%) from the field, 66.7% (2-3) of 3 points and 100% (4-4 ) in the open field. start the line. Harris needs to increase his free throw percentage by just 0.1% to be in the shooting club 50-40-90. If he could end the season by achieving those goals, he would join an exclusive club that only includes eight NBA players. Speaking of shooting efficiency, the Sixers face Zion Williamson and the Pelicans on Friday. Williamson ranks sixth in the league for field goal percentage as he continues on 62.4% of his shots (444-712). Williamson is on track to score over 500 field goals this season. If he does and maintains this level of efficiency, he would become just the third player to shoot at least 62% from the field while also achieving 500 field goals in one season, joining Hall of Famers Artis Gilmore (four times) and Wilt Chamberlain (once).
Saturday April 10
Washington to Phoenix
10 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass
The Suns enter Week 16 with 3 1/2 games behind seeded Jazz in the West. While the Suns have won five straight games, they have failed to catch up since the Jazz won nine straight games. Phoenix has built a 2 1/2 playing cushion over the No.3 Clippers as they look to solidify their playoff position. On the other side of the playoff spectrum are the Washington Wizards, who have lost three straight games and find themselves on the outside watching the Eastern Play-In. Bradley Beal hasn’t played since March 27 with a contusion to his right hip and the Wizards have only gone 1-3 in his absence. He is doubtful for Monday, but I hope he will be healthy next Saturday. Beal scored 34 points against Phoenix in their first meeting on Jan. 11 as the Wizards handed the Suns their second biggest loss of the season (21 points). Beal edged Devin Booker (33) in the individual scoring battle and the Wizards were able to secure the victory even with Russell Westbrook out of the roster.
Source link
