Preview Roundups
April 12, 2012
Detroit at Charlotte 7:00 PM ET
The Detroit Pistons will try to hand the host Charlotte Bobcats a 14th consecutive defeat Thursday night. The Pistons have taken all three previous meetings with the Bobcats and are going for the season-series sweep. Detroit enters as losers of three straight and is playing the final contest of a four-game road trip. Charlotte has dropped 15 of its last 16 contests and is looking for its first win since Mar. 17.
Miami at Chicago 8:00 PM ET
If the Miami Heat have any hope of overtaking the Chicago Bulls for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, a win on Thursday is a must. To get that done, they are going to have to figure out a way to fix a defense that just surrendered its highest shooting percentage of the season in a home loss to the Boston Celtics. The Bulls are unsure if Derrick Rose will play on Thursday.
L.A. Clippers at Minnesota 8:00 PM ET
The Minnesota Timberwolves may have to attempt to end a season-worst seven-game losing skid without the services of All-Star forward Kevin Love when they host the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday. Love is highly doubtful to play against Los Angeles after suffering a mild concussion in Wednesday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets and spending the night in a Denver hospital for observation. The Clippers notched an impressive road victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.
Memphis at San Antonio 8:30 PM ET
The San Antonio Spurs enter Thursday’s home contest against the Memphis Grizzlies having lost back-to-back games for the first time since late January. San Antonio was routed at home by the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday and sits one game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for best record in the Western Conference. Memphis recorded its fourth straight victory by defeating the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday. The Grizzlies are 0-3 against the Spurs this season.
Dallas at Golden State 10:30 PM ET
Lamar Odom didn’t help the Dallas Mavericks much on the court. Now that he's gone, the defending NBA champions hope to concentrate on something else that is not guaranteed: making the playoffs. That quest continues Thursday night in Oakland against a Golden State team that can only play spoiler. “There’s nothing to say,” Dirk Nowitzki said of the Odom situation. “It’s over. I thought as an organization we had to make that move to get him here, but things didn’t work out the way we wanted it to.”