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Eleven games Friday night is a great way to head into the weekend. The only problem is, trying to find a quality bet on Monkey Knife Fight will take some digging…and maybe some slight convincing. Although this game should have been featured in the article, the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic game needs to be overlooked. Paolo Banchero will score more than 17.5 points, Trae Young will crush his assist total and Dejounte Murray will also surpass his 7.5 projected assists, but there is no way to work with this information.
Despite this game having some of the most potential for bettors because of the totals, on Monkey Knife Fight it needs to be avoided. There is nothing offered that is worth the risk, mainly because Atlanta’s offense was locked in from multiple angles. It’s rare that a team has four players score 20 points, but it’s even more of an anomaly when a team does it with the efficiency that the Hawk had Wednesday night. As easy as it would be to try to cash in on Banchero tonight, until we see where Atlanta funnels its resources in crunch time, we can’t be sure that Young will be good for 26 points a night like he once was.
MonkeyKnifeFight.com is always ahead of the curve with their canceling of contests amid postponements, so don't worry about wasting money on a player or game that might not play. As always, you can find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter with any questions, especially since lines and players are subject to change throughout the day.
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SAS @ IND
Keldon Johnson (SAS) MORE 21.5 Points – Tyrese Haliburton (IND) MORE 17.5 Fantasy Points
Keldon Johnson picked up right where he left off, proving to be the most productive player on the Spurs and someone to watch nightly. As long as he’s playing and not against a top-tier defense, even someone like Myles Turner doesn’t have the coverage to keep Johnson from doing one of the two things he’s made a reputation of doing. The Pacers with and without Turner are two different teams and the frontcourt leaves Indiana with Terry Taylor and Jalen Smith to contest shots and fight for rebounds. Not a great look for them, but a great chance for Johnson to create a double-double streak.
Tyrese Haliburton is the focal point of this team and everything starts with him. He’s shown the ability to knock down shots but is lacking the support. Until someone like Buddy Hield can consistently score 20 points a game, as a shooter Hield’s role is going to decrease more and more with every ‘off’ game. Haliburton has proven he is worthy of taking a majority of the shots and until that changes, it’s going to be something worth watching this early in the season.
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NOP @ CHA
Zion Williamson (NOP) MORE 24.5 Points – Terry Rozier (CHA) MORE 21.5 Points
What you should be looking for here is Terry Rozier’s assists and a combination bet for Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram. The Hornets frontcourt doesn’t offer a ton of resistance with both Mason Plumlee and P.J. Washington guarding the paint, not to mention both Williamson and Ingram played extremely well their first game of the season. Add in C.J. McCollum and it’s hard to determine exactly who should be stopped first. In this case, Charlotte might be better off just trying to keep up rather than get bruised up and battered on defense.
Rozier is the captain of this offense while LaMelo Ball is out and you have to get in on his assist total bets. Despite his hair-trigger, Rozier knows his role as the point guard and rarely fails to include his teammates. Before the first half of their first game had ended Rozier was already had five assists, passing his assist total and helping anyone who played an assist ladder or had him in fantasy. Until Ball returns, Rozier is the guy to capitalize on.
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DET @ NYK
R.J. Barrett (NYK) MORE 20.5 Points – Isaiah Stewart (DET) LESS 8.5 Rebounds
Even if R.J. Barrett took a backseat to Cam Reddish last game, it doesn’t change the fact that he took 18 shots and only scored 11 points. On a positive note, any player that can shoot 16% and still score 11 points usually means, against more susceptible defense he should have more luck. The Pistons give up a ton of points in the paint and have proven to be troubled by players who push the issue at the rim and attack rebounds. Initially, I had Barrett to go under here, but it’s hard to see the Pistons frontcourt limiting any Knicks players tonight. Unless Barrett just significantly underperforms again, there’s no reason why he can’t score 20 points if he’s taking upwards of 15 shots.
Isaiah Stewart is a great frontcourt player but he’s not the rebounder this wager is making him out to be. With Jalen Duren slowly but surely proving why he is the rebounder Detroit needs, it’s going to take a couple weeks. Being an undersized center means most of Stewart’s attention focuses on the little things like taking his matchup out of the game and boxing-out, leaving unattended rebounds for…whoever. He hasn’t changed his role this season so look for more point-heavy stat lines that ignore his real impact on the glass.
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DEN @ GSW
Nikola Jokic (DEN) MORE 26.5 Points – Stephen Curry (GSW) MORE 25.5 Points
Nikola Jokic is listed as probable with a right finger strain, so depending on his availability tonight, this wager should work out as long he plays. Lining up against Draymond Green won’t be enough to keep Jokic from producing and the return of Jamal Murray hasn’t seemed to impede him in anyway. His rebounds being so low in the first game of the season can be somewhat attributed to the fact that the Jazz have a ton of rebounders on their squad and Jokic had to focus on the person rather than the ball. That number should bounce back up against the Warriors.
After a phenomenal season debut, Stephen Curry will look to build on that momentum by dismantling another Western Conference opponent. After pouring in 33 points against the Lakers, the Nuggets are rolling out Ish Smith and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as their backcourt. So, if that wasn’t enough to secure this bet, I’ll remind you that Denver let up 2+ 3PM to five different Jazz players in their first game.
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