The NBA regular season continues on Tuesday as teams fight for those top eight spots in each conference. The Eastern Conference is incredibly tight, with only five games separating first and eighth place. 

Minnesota Timberwolves Travel to MSG

The Minnesota Timberwolves haven’t been playing great basketball this season, and neither have New York Knicks, for that matter. The T’Wolves are just outside the playoff bubble, sitting ninth in the Western Conference.

New York is eleventh in the Eastern Conference standings, a half-game below the Boston Celtics. Both these teams have been winning recently, with identical 5-2 records in their last seven games, and the Wolves are coming off a twenty-point victory against Golden State at home. The Knicks lost their last game against the Hornets at MSG, 97-87.

This should be a close game, but Minnesota will get their second straight win in this one. 

Detroit Begins West Coast Swing against Warriors

The Detroit Pistons will travel to San Francisco to face the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night. At least the Pistons haven’t been losing that much lately, going 5-4 in their last nine games, with their previous two wins coming over the Jazz and Raptors at home. 

They still sit seventeen games out of first place in the Central Division behind the Chicago Bulls. Golden State is still second in the Western Conference, three games behind the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors are only 4-6 in their last ten games and have let the Memphis Grizzlies move to within 1.5 games of their second-place position. 

Steph Curry is back after missing one game, and the Warriors will win an easy one at home. 

Cavaliers Look To Get Closer to Division Lead vs. Bulls

The Cleveland Cavaliers have won five straight games and are only 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bulls in the NBA’s Central Division. Chicago has lost four straight and five of their last six, allowing the surging Cavs to threaten them for the division lead. 

The Bulls have been without SG Zach LaVine in the last two games because of a knee injury, but a recent MRI revealed no structural damage. He will be unavailable for this matchup against Cleveland.  

Cleveland is looking for their sixth straight victory and fifth straight on the road. They have won over both the Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets during the recent streak. This Cavs team isn’t stacked with superstars but has had even production from everyone on the offensive end, with nine players averaging double figures this season. Darius Garland leads them in scoring with 19.7 points per game and assists with 7.9 per matchup. 

Cleveland will continue its winning ways and take the victory over the Bulls on the road.