RADIO
Wednesday’s 10-game slate is packed with high-scoring potential throughout, but the late-grouping of games is where every bettors focus should be. Lakers – Spurs features LeBron James on the second night of a back-to-back after scoring 46-points yesterday against the Clippers. James is more than likely going to have his fourth 40-point game this month against San Antonio and it’ll be his fifth in the last 30-days.
Just prior to Lakers versus Spurs, the Warriors and Grizzlies face-off for just the second time this year. Stephen Curry didn’t play the first time around and Jordan Poole, along with some others, picked up every bit of slack and held every Grizzly player not named Ja Morant to under 13-points. Also, sorry for the late publishing of this article.
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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UTA @ POR
Damian Lillard (POR) MORE 32.5 Points – Lauri Markkanen (UTA) MORE 27.5 Points
Damian Lillard is one of those players where the over always looks good and hitting the under creates nothing but uneasiness. Around the time of the first matchup, Lillard was in-and-out of the lineup and ended up leaving that game early due to a leg injury. He wasn’t having a great night, but a lot has changed since and not many improvements have been made to Utah’s backcourt defense, whereas Lillard is on his second hot streak of the season.
Right until the last two weeks, Lauri Markkanen’s point production was on an elevated level. Sadly, in his last seven games he’s only scored over 27-points three times. Jusuf Nurkic doesn’t provide the sturdiest anchor for Portland to rely on and there’s no way he can chase Markkanen out to the perimeter, especially when Jordan Clarkson or Collin Sexton are on the court. As long as this game remains competitive, Markkanen’s control of the offense should push him over the top.
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TOR @ SAC
Pascal Siakam (TOR) MORE 24.5 Points – De’Aaron Fox (SAC) MORE 23.5 Points
Both of these players are currently at the forefront of their offenses and depending on the night are usually doing most of the ball handling. Going with the over and not thinking twice feels right here. Pascal Siakam is undoubtedly the Raptors top option on offense along with Fred Van Vleet, not to mention Siakam's minutes are outrageously high. He’s played at least 40 minutes in four of his last five games and he’s taken over 20-attempts in his last two matchups.
De’Aaron Fox has taken fewer and fewer shot attempts the last couple games, but has managed to post at least nine assists in both of his last two contests. He will always look to score first, but if you are wary about his point production, his assist prop is just as good. As long as Fox or Domantas Sabonis are at the reigns, it’s hard to take the under on any of the Kings starters.
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MEM @ GSW
Ja Morant (MEM) MORE 29.5 Points – Stephen Curry (GSW) MORE 27.5 Points
Steph Curry being in the lineup doesn’t improve Golden State’s defense so Ja Morant’s upside remains fairly high. There isn’t a team that can really shut Morant down, but that’s not to say there aren’t times where he does it to himself. He hasn’t had a 30-point game since January 11th, but saying he hasn’t tried would be an understatement. If this game is anything like the Lakers game and Morant takes 29-attempts, that under is looking mighty low.
For Curry, it’s always hard to judge when he will have his “best shooter of all-time” kind of nights. He’s volatile in the offense and his importance there never changes, but defenses apply different types of pressure and Curry is prone to bad nights. Since Curry works naturally as a piece of properly-functioning-offense rather than an individual-production-machine, it makes sense to take the overs in nights where he will be directly contested. In this case, by both Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks.
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ATL @ OKC
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) MORE 29.5 Points – Trae Young (ATL) MORE 26.5 Points
Instead of waiting for the Lakers-Spurs to be posted, I’ll gladly use that as my excuse to why this article is so late. It’s not the reason, but you don’t care and instead I’ll use this time to explain why you should also wait for the Lakers game to be available. Until LeBron James has even a somewhat-healthy team around him, he’s playing ‘angrily.’ This close to the scoring title, you can tell there’s something driving this current streak and it’s not over, nor is it ending tonight. Get in on the action while you can because this is something special whether you want to admit it or not.
As for the Hawks and Thunder, historically, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Trae Young put on a show when their teams meet. This season, sadly, has been underwhelming for Atlanta and Young in particular. He’s increasing his assist output, but he’s not seeing as many high-scoring games and the Hawks aren’t exactly in a winning position most nights. Atlanta is only six games ahead of 13th place Orlando, slightly over halfway through the season. Although tonight’s matchup favors Young’s size and quickness, he needs to hit shots before we are confidently hitting the over. Shai on the other hand is lined up for 30-points whenever he suits up.
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