January 17th NBA Game Previews

The Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse at Friday night.

The Timberwolves (15-25) come into Friday's game looking to get back into the win column, as they've dropped four of their last five games. Their most recent stumble came against the same Pacers squad they'll face Friday, as they dropped a 104-99 decision to Indiana on Wednesday night. Jarrett Culver paced the Timberwolves with 17 points, complementing them with five boards, one assist, two steals and one block. Gorgui Dieng generated a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double that also included three assists and one block. Keita Bates-Diop matched Dieng's scoring tally and also pulled down six rebounds and dished out three assists. Robert Covington registered 14 points, seven boards, two steals and one block. Andrew Wiggins contributed 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.

The Timberwolves will list Karl-Anthony Towns (knee/illness) as questionable for Friday's game. Allen Crabbe (trade acquisition) and Jake Layman (toe) project to remain out.

In contrast, the Pacers (26-15) come into Friday night's contest with four wins in their last five games, with the most recent the aforementioned 104-99 defeat of the Timberwolves on Wednesday night. In that contest, Domantas Sabonis led the Pacers with 29 points, adding 13 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block. Malcolm Brogdon supplied 21 points, six boards and six assists. Doug McDermott tallied 14 points, two boards, two assists and one steal. T.J. Warren delivered 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal. Jeremy Lamb managed nine points, six rebounds, one assist and two steals.

The Pacers will continue without Victor Oladipo (knee) for Friday's game.

Friday's game marks the second and final meeting between the teams this season. The Pacers hold a 1-0 series lead, having notched a 104-99 win Jan. 15.

The Chicago Bulls face the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on Friday night.

The Bulls (15-27) have founds win hard to come by most of the season, but they'll check into Friday's contest with victories in two of their last three games. Their most recent success came at the expense of the Washington Wizards, which they toppled by a 115-106 score Wednesday night. Zach LaVine paced the Bulls with 30 points, adding seven rebounds, seven assists and one steal. Tomas Satoransky and Thaddeus Young followed with matching 18-point tallies, with Satoransky also dishing out five assists and pulling down three rebounds and Young recording eight boards. Lauri Markkanen delivered 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one block. Chandler Hutchison poured in 11 points, while Luke Kornet and Coby White had matching 10-point, four-rebound, two-assist efforts.

The Bulls will list Satoransky (ankle), Ryan Arcidiacono (elbow), Hutchison (shoulder), Markkanen (ankle) and Kornet (thumb) as probable for Friday's game. Wendell Carter, Jr. (ankle) and Daniel Gafford (thumb) will remain out.

The 76ers (26-16) are currently trying to manage the ongoing absence of Joel Embiid due to a finger injury, and they'll check into Friday's contest with just a 3-6 record over their last nine games. However, one of those three victories came their last time on the floor, as they dropped the Brooklyn Nets by a 117-106 score Wednesday night. Tobias Harris led the way with a 34-point, 10-rebound double-double that also included three assists and one steal. Ben Simmons pitched in 20 points, 11 assists, six rebounds, one steal and one block. Josh Richardson and Furkan Korkmaz each poured in 15 points, while Al Horford supplied 14 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals and one block.

The 76ers will continue without Embiid (finger) for Friday's contest.

Friday's game marks the first of three meetings between the teams this season. The 76ers won the 2018-19 season series against the Bulls by a 3-1 margin.

The Washington Wizards take on the Toronto Raptors at Scotibank Arena on Friday night.

The Wizards (13-27) sport a record that underscores how difficult a first half of the season they've endured, but they'll check into Friday night's contest with a serviceable 3-3 mark over their last six games. However, their most recent time on the court resulted in one of those losses, as they dropped a 115-106 decision to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night. Bradley Beal led the way with 23 points, complementing them with four rebounds and four assists. Jordan McRae followed with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists and one steal. Isaiah Thomas and Davis Bertans generated matching 12-point tallies while pulling down two and five rebounds, respectively. Gary Payton II furnished 10 points, two boards, two assists and one block. Anzejs Pasecniks matched Payton's scoring and added three rebounds, two assists, three steals and one block.

The Wizards will list Garrison Mathews (ankle), Mortiz Wagner (ankle) and Rui Hachimura (groin) as out for Friday's game.

The Raptors (26-14) have been struggling with consistency a bit of late, as they'll come into Friday's contest with a 5-4 record over their last nine contests. Their most recent time on the court did result in a victory, however, as they bested the Oklahoma City Thunder by a 130-121 score Wednesday night. Norman Powell paced the Raptors with 23 points, adding two rebounds. Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby posted matching 21-point tallies while posting four and five rebounds, respectively. Kyle Lowry provided 17 points, eight assists, four rebounds and one steal. Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol compiled 15 points each, with Ibaka recording six rebounds and Gasol dishing out six assists.

The Raptors will list Fred VanVleet (hamstring) as questionable for Friday's game, while Dewan Hernandez (ankle) is projected to remain out.

Friday's game marks the second of three meetings between the teams this season. The Raptors hold a 1-0 series lead, having notched a 122-118 win Dec. 20.

The Oklahoma City Thunder play host to the Miami Heat at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Friday evening.

This marks the second game of a three-game home stand for the Thunder (23-18), which began with a loss against the Raptors, on Wednesday. It marked their second straight home loss, but they look to get back on track and build on their 13-8 home record. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continues to impress, averaging 21.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Dennis Schroder was the high-point man, with 25 points, for the Thunder in their last contest, and is averaging 18.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists, over his last nine games. Chris Paul is the captain of the ship, averaging 16.5 points, 6.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. The Thunder average 19.4 made free throws per game, which is fourth most in the league. They are averaging 109.4 points per game and are holding their opponents to an average of 107.9 points per game.

Meanwhile, the Heat (28-12) have won six of their last 10 games and are coming off a win at home against the Spurs on Wednesday. This marks their first game of a two-game road trip, as they look to snap a two-game losing streak on the road. The Heat average 111.6 points per game and are holding their opponents to an average of 107.8 points. The Heat are shooting 47.2 percent from the field, which is tied for third best in the league. They are also shooting 37.8 percent from long range, which is second best in the league. Jimmy Butler leads the Heat with 20.5 points, 6.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Bam Adebayo is averaging 15.8 points and team highs with 10.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. After a relatively quiet stretch, Kendrick Nunn exploded for 33 points in the Heat's most recent contest. Nunn is averaging 14.7 points on 48 percent shooting, 3.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds, over the last 10 games.

The Memphis Grizzlies play host to the Cleveland Cavaliers at FedEx Forum on Friday evening.

This marks the fifth game of a six-game home stand for the Grizzlies (19-22), where they have gone 4-0, with wins over the Timberwolves, Spurs, Warriors and Rockets. The Grizzlies have won eight of their last 10 games, including their last six in row, and they are 11-12 at home. Ja Morant continues to impress, as he is averaging 17.4 points on 57.5 percent shooting, 8.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds, over the last 10 games. Jonas Valanciunas has also been playing well lately, averaging 18.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 blocks, over the last 10 games. Valanciunas has scored 30 points in two of the last five games. The Grizzlies average a league-best 27.9 assists per game. They are shooting 47.0 percent from the field, which is sixth best in the league, and they are shooting 36.0 percent from long range.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers (12-29) have dropped seven of their last 10 games, including their last two in a row. This marks their fifth game of a six-game road trip, where they have gone 2-2, with wins in Detroit and Denver followed by losses in L.A., to the Lakers and Clippers. The Cavs have a 6-15 record on the road. They average 104.9 points per game, which is fifth fewest in the league, and they are giving up an average of 15.6 turnovers per game, which is second most in the league. Collin Sexton leads the Cavs with 18.8 points per game. Tristan Thompson is averaging 12.8 points and team highs with 10.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. Darius Garland is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 3.6 assists per game. The Cavs average 21.5 assists per game, which is third fewest in the league.

The Atlanta Hawks travel to Texas to face the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center on Friday.

The Hawks (9-32) had a ton of promise heading into the season but it's been anything but promising thus far. In fact, they currently own the second-worst record in the NBA, only half a game up on a Golden State Warriors team without Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson. Kevin Durant, DeMarcus Cousins and Kevon Looney. That says a lot about how bad this team has been and it's sad because they've kept Trae Young healthy throughout the season. The young point guard is doing all he can to get them out of this slump too, averaging 29.1 points and 8.5 assists per game. That hasn't kept the Hawks from losing 15 of their last 18 games though and it's scary that a team with Young, John Collins and Kevin Huerter is struggling so mightily.

The Spurs (17-22) simply can't figure out what sort of team they are. In fact, they haven't had longer than a two-game winning streak or a two-game losing streak since the beginning of November. That has them hovering in this .500 purgatory and it could end a two-decade playoff streak that this franchise has going. Where they've really struggled is on the defensive end, allowing the fifth-most points in the NBA. That's a shocking statistic from a team who usually ranks in the Top-10 and it's a wonder why they've had such a big fall off on that end of the floor. It's certainly not fault of LaMarcus Aldridge or DeMar DeRozan though, with those two carrying the load seemingly every night.

Despite the struggles, Atlanta won the first game over San Antonio earlier this year, 108-100. Prior to that, the Spurs won 14 of their previous 16 games over the Hawks.

The Portland Trail Blazers travel to Texas to face the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center on Friday.

The Trail Blazers (18-24) just had one of their most impressive wins of the season on Wednesday, going into Texas and handing the Houston Rockets a 117-107 defeat. They actually held James Harden to a season-low 13 points in that win and that's hopefully a sign of things to come. The defense is the thing that's really been holding this team back and holding Houston to just 107 points and Harden to 13 is definitely a great sign going forward. The guy who's really been imperative for this team is Hassan Whiteside. The former Miami center is one of the league leaders in rebounding and blocks since the opening month and he's done a great job of filling the void that Jusuf Nurkic (leg) left behind. Carmelo Anthony has been a nice surprise too since his signing and that pairs way too well with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum for them not to play better from here on out.

The Mavericks (26-15) come into this matchup winning three-straight. That has Dallas all the way up to sixth in the Western Conference, sitting just 2.5 games back of second. That means if they can add to this winning streak, the Mavs could be in a spot that no one would have expected at the beginning of the year. This is actually a spot that not many could have anticipated either, as the growth of Luka Doncic is simply stupendous. The 20-year-old is averaging about 30 points per game while flirting with triple-double averages. That has him setting all kinds of records and has Dallas in this superb spot. Getting Kristaps Porzingis back will only add to the glory and there's some thought that he could return here after missing about two weeks of action because of a leg issue of his own.

Portland won their first game over Dallas, 121-119, on October 27. That now gives the Trail Blazers six wins in their last nine games against the Mavericks dating back four years.