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Following LeBron James’ historic night is a nine-game slate featuring just one out-of-conference matchup, Spurs versus Raptors. With most of tonight’s contest being inter-conference, playoff implications are slowly coming into frame and Kyrie Irving’s availability comes at a perfect time.
The Mavericks don’t look lost without a paddle, but two young players coring 58-points on 29-shots is efficiency that is nearly impossible to sustain. Irving might relieve some pressure, but there is little doubt that any momentum created by Josh Green and Jaden Hardy most likely started and ended against the Jazz.
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CHA @ WAS
LaMelo Ball (CHA) MORE 24.5 Points ‒ Kristaps Porzingis (WAS) MORE 22.5 Points
Naturally, the Hornets remain on most of my betting lists because of how many points are scored in their games. Their offense is initiating with one of two sources and if LaMelo Ball is playing even half-decently with a healthy team around him, he’s more likely to shine in the stat column rather than fall flat. He has his moments, but until the Hornets have a plan to right the ship, it’s LaMelo, Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward doing everything themselves.
Ignoring his last game, Kristaps Porzingis scored 70-points on just 35-attempts the two games prior. Include that last game and the number drops to 88-points on 48-attempts. The trend is coming down, but two back-to-back games with 30+ points already this week is a great sign. Kyle Kuzma being out helps significantly, but even with him in the lineup Porzingis shoots and he shoots a lot.
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SAC @ HOU
De’Aaron Fox (SAC) MORE 24.5 Points – Jalen Green (HOU) MORE 22.5 Points
Both De’Aaron Fox and Jalen Green command a ton of usage every night, regardless of how well they are playing. Looking at their bad games as well as some of their best, their usage usually leads the team even if their scoring doesn’t. Jalen Green opens up the court for his teammates with his playmaking, but lack of trust has forced him to become more of a shooter which really isn’t a problem for bettors, except he’s wildly inconsistent. Against weaker defenses he’s more than willing to rely on his ability to score around the rim.
Similar with De’Aaron Fox, he usually doesn’t take a bunch of three-pointers to have high scoring games. He takes what the defense gives him and in today’s game that means matador defense and easily long-arming layups against a defenseless paint. Neither Houston or Sacramento bring a ton of height and defense which is what’s needed to keep players from getting to the rim.
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MIN @ UTA
Anthony Edwards (MIN) LESS 26.5 Points – Lauri Markkanen (UTA) MORE 25.5 Points
The Timberwolves were embarrassed by the Nuggets last night and there was not a single positive thing to say about what happened on Minnesota’s end. However, we can pull positives from that game in the sense that, at least their starters only played 20-minutes and will be fresh heading into tonight’s game against the Jazz. Does that mean they will fare any better? Absolutely not…but like I said, it’s a positive.
If Lauri Markkanen is playing and the Jazz are playing well, you have to like the over. The problem is, the Jazz aren’t playing well. Bad news first. Rudy Gobert is good for one thing and that thing is defense. There’s not much to be said if Gobert decides to go DPOY-mode against his former team and Markkanen just doesn’t find a groove from the outside. Good news is that the rest of the Timberwolves defense is borderline terrible, so having one-quality seven-footer on defense doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things against a mobile stretch-four.
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GSW @ POR
Damian Lillard (POR) MORE 35.5 Points – Klay Thompson (GSW) MORE 24.5 Points
Just want to point out that last night, LeBron James was 36-points from breaking the all time scoring record, and just a few hours before game time, FanDuel Sportsbook had his line at 31.5 points. The fact that Damian Lillard is currently sitting at a 35.5 point projected can only mean one thing. Damian Lillard is the greatest basketball player of all time.
Have you heard of this guy Klay Thompson? He’s a pretty good shooter. Some would even say that when he gets heated up, there isn’t a single-more dangerous player to play against. Steph Curry has the title as greatest shooter ever by sheer numbers, but break some of those numbers down and pit them against Klay’s and Thompson has himself a case for being equally as lethal. It was impossible to ignore the energy he played with last game and it seemed incredibly sustainable.
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