August 4th NBA Game Previews

The Brooklyn Nets will face the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday at Orlando.

The Nets (31-35) are coming off a massive 118-110 win over the Washington Wizards the last time out, and now they have gone 1-1 since the league restarted -- they dropped the opener against the Orlando Magic by a 128-118 score. However, the Nets have gone 4-1 in their last five games dating back to early March, and they seem to be in a good position to capture the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

As it has been the case so far since the restart of the league, Brooklyn will be seriously depleted with names such as Kevin Durant (Achilles), Kyrie Irving (shoulder), Spencer Dinwiddie (illness), and DeAndre Jordan (illness) out for the remainder of the season. This will probably mean a heavier workload for Caris LeVert, who has averaged 25.5 points in his first two games in Orlando.

The Bucks (54-13) are coming off a 120-116 loss against the Houston Rockets in their second game since the league restarted, as they kicked things off with a 119-112 victory over the Boston Celtics. However, their recent form hardly resembles one of a title contender, as Mike Budenholzer's men have dropped four of their last five games dating back to March 7. They failed to close things out against Houston despite holding the lead in the fourth quarter, and the team must do a better job executing down the stretch come playoff time.

Milwaukee lists Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton as out for Tuesday's matchup, both due to a coaching-related decision. Plus, Frank Mason has been listed as a game-time decision due to a back problem.

This will be the second meeting between these two teams in the current season, and the Bucks won the previous game by a 117-97 score.

The Dallas Mavericks play the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday at Orlando.

The Mavs are coming off a hard-fought, 117-115, loss against the Suns, where Luka Doncic led the way 40 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingis added 30 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Despite the two great performances, the Mavs struggled from the field, where they shot 41 percent, including 6-of-31 from long range. Seth Curry was the only other player to score in double digits, as he tallied 16 points, while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dorian Finney-Smith hauled in 10 rebounds each. The Mavs clinched a playoff spot since their last outing but still have some work to do in order to stay sharp and be ready for when it counts. The Mavs have no trouble at the offensive end, as they rank second in the league in made three-pointers per game, and limit themselves to an average of 12.2 turnovers per game, which is third fewest in the league.

Meanwhile, the Kings are coming off a, 132-116, loss against the Magic on Sunday, where they lost grip early and could not recover. On the plus side, they had seven players score in double digits in the contest. Harry Giles III was the high-point man with 23 points and eight rebounds, in 19 minutes off the bench. De'Aaron Fox added 13 points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal, while Harrison Barnes, Buddy Hield, DaQuan Jeffries, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Richaun Holmes chipped in 12 points each. The Kings shot 50 percent from the field and tallied 30 assists, however, their defense allowed their opponent to put up even better numbers. The Kings have allowed opponents to shoot an average of 47.0 percent from the field this season, while they are shooting an average of 46.0 percent, including 36.2 percent from long range.

The Phoenix Suns play the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday at Orlando.

The Suns are coming off an impressive win over the Mavericks on Sunday, which marked their second straight win, as they remain undefeated in the bubble. Devin Booker led the way with 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting, four assists and three rebounds, while Ricky Rubio added 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Cameron Johnson had a strong outing and totaled 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, while Dario Saric chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Aron Baynes (coach's decision) has not yet taken to the court for the restart, as he continues to work back into game shape. The Suns are shooting a league-best 83.0 percent from the foul line and average a league-best 27.1 assists per game, however they allow their opponents to shoot an average of 47.4 percent from the field and are giving up an average of 113.9 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are coming off a, 126-103, win over the Pelicans on Saturday, where they built a 32-point lead by halftime and were able to hold on despite being outscored by 14 points in the fourth. Paul George led the Clippers with 28 points on 8-of-17 shooting, while Kawhi Leonard added 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and one steal. Reggie Jackson was solid off the bench, with 15 points, eight boards, two assists and two steals, while Patrick Beverley and Marcus Morris chipped in nine points each. Lou Williams (quarantine) missed the Clippers' last game and remains questionable for action on Tuesday, while Montrezl Harrell (personal) will remain out. The Clippers are one of the few teams that are elite at both ends of the floor, as they are holding opponents to an average of 43.6 percent shooting from the field, which is third lowest in the league, and they average 116.1 points per game, which is fourth most in the league.

The Orlando Magic takes on the Indiana Pacers in an NBA seeding game in Orlando on Tuesday evening.

The Magic (32-35) come into Tuesday's contest having gotten the restarted season playing out in their home city off to a great start. Orlando has won its first two seeding games to reinforce its hold on the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, with its latest success coming at the expense of the Sacramento Kings by a 132-116 score on Sunday, a game in which forward Jonathan Isaac was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Terrence Ross led the Magic with 25 points, complementing them with two rebounds, one assist and one steal. Nikola Vucevic contributed a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included two assists and two steals. Aaron Gordon supplied 22 points, five rebounds and three assists. Markelle Fultz poured in 14 points, while Michael Carter-Williams totaled 12 points, five boards, three assists, three steals and two blocks.

The Magic come into Tuesday's game without any short-term injuries to report.

The Pacers (41-26) enter Tuesday's matchup looking to close out their first back-to-back set of the restarted season in successful fashion. Indiana was victorious in its most recent time on the floor Monday, when it toppled the Washington Wizards by a 111-100 margin despite playing without Victor Oladipo (knee/rest). T.J. Warren led the Pacers with a 34-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included four assists, four blocks and three steals. Malcolm Brogdon returned from a one-game absence due to a neck injury and provided 20 points, seven rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block. Myles Turner and Aaron Holiday generated matching 17-point efforts, with Turner also pulling down nine rebounds.

The Pacers will continue without Domantas Sabonis (foot) for Tuesday's game. Goga Bitadze (knee) and Oladipo are likely to be game-time decisions.

Tuesday's game marks the third and final meeting between the teams this season. The Pacers hold a 2-0 series lead, having notched 109-102 and 111-106 wins on Nov. 10 and Nov. 23, respectively.

The Boston Celtics will play the Miami Heat on Tuesday at Orlando.

The Celtics (44-22) have gone 1-1 since the league restarted on July 31 -- they kicked things off with a 119-112 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they bounced back fairly quickly and are coming off a massive 128-124 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. The Celtics have been slightly inconsistent in their recent games, though, as they have posted a 2-3 mark in their last five games if including the games prior to the league suspension in March, and a 4-6 record if including the scrimmages at Orlando.

Boston does not list any absentees due to injury, so Brad Stevens will have his team at full strength once again. Kemba Walker has been dealing with a sore knee, however, and he has been limited to a 23-minute restriction so far in Orlando -- that is not likely to change until he recovers completely.

On the other hand, the Heat (42-25) have also gone 1-1 in the restart of the regular season, as they started with a 125-105 win over the Denver Nuggets but later lost 107-103 against the Toronto Raptors on Monday. Just like the Celtics, Miami have also gone 2-3 in their last five regular season contests and this game could be pivotal in the race for the third seed in the Eastern Conference, as Boston have two more wins than the Heat while playing one fewer game -- in other words, this is a must-win game for the Heat.

Miami features a clean bill of health for this game, so Erik Spoelstra will be able to assemble the rotations as he pleases. Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo were some of the players that were questionable for Monday's tilt against the Raptors, but all of them managed to play without further issues.

This will be the third meeting between these two teams this season, and the Celtics currently hold a 2-0 lead in the series.

The Portland Trail Blazers play host to the Houston Rockets in Orlando on Tuesday.

The Rockets (42-24) have been one of the most impressive teams in this Orlando restart, winning each of their first two games in comeback fashion. In fact, they trailed by at least seven points in the final three minutes in their victories over Milwaukee and Dallas. That's truly crazy and it's fun to watch this team play with so much effort on defense and then fire up threes at will on the offensive end. They were actually out-rebounded in that Bucks win, 65-36, but recorded 15 steals and won the turnover battle, 22-9. That's the recipe for this club and it's funny to think that they never play anybody over 6:7". Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker have been holding down the frontcourt just fine and that's plenty good with James Harden and Russell Westbrook combining for about 65 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists per game in the backcourt.

The Trail Blazers (30-38) also look like one of the most dangerous teams in this Orlando restart, finally playing with a healthy roster. Each of their first two games has come down to the final seconds, beating the Memphis Grizzlies and losing to the Boston Celtics. What they have to love is seeing Jusuf Nurkic balling out. The big man made his debut on July 31 and has provided 48 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals and seven blocks in his first two games combined. It's clear that he hasn't missed a step at all and he's essentially turned Hassan Whiteside into a role player. They also got Zach Collins back as well and it's a scary sight for the rest of the west that this team is at full boar. With all that said, they still sit 2.5 games back of eight-seed and they need to finish within four to get a chance at a playoff opportunity.

This marks the fourth meeting between these teams, with the Trail Blazers winning two of three. In fact, all three fixtures were decided by double-digit margins. Look for this to be a high-scoring game, with Portland allowing 131.5 points per game in the first two Orlando outings and Houston surrendering 132.5 points per outing.