RADIO
Welcome back to another Friday night edition of the NBA In-Season Tournament. There are eight games tonight in the association, and I'm here to offer some analysis and advice on what I'm looking into. Enjoy the new courts; I love seeing something different!
I'll keep it brief on the recap: Wednesday night was not my finest performance. After going 8-1 in my last three articles, I finally had a down night. I won't get too discouraged; it's a long season, and these things happen. I'm still 10-6 on the season and hope to get back on track tonight.
In this article, I'll be providing my favorite picks against the spread, game totals, parlays, and teasers for games that tip off at 7:00 PM EST on Friday, November 10.
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NBA Betting Picks: ML & Spreads
Washington Wizards (-2) vs. Charlotte Hornets (242 total)
These two teams played on Wednesday night, with the Wizards picking up a nice 132-116 road win. Kyle Kuzma led the way with 33 points, but it was the Wizards bench that really stepped up. Danilo Gallinari (18), Delon Wright (18), Landry Shamet (15), and Corey Kispert (12) combined to score 63 points. Jordan Poole only contributed 11 out of the team's 132 points.
I'm not a fan of this Wizards team, but I'm going back to them tonight at home. They have been good at scoring the basketball and are in the top five for points per game. On Wednesday night, they hit 18/43 (42%) three-pointers. In the two games prior, Washington combined to hit 27/62 (43.5%) of their threes. It's been a good shooting stretch for the Wizards recently.
These teams are pretty identical defensively (bad), but the over at 242 is too high for my liking. Charlotte has a clear rebounding advantage, but Washington has been surprisingly good at limiting second-chance points. Washington outscored the Hornets 35-12 in points off turnovers Wednesday night. Such a huge advantage is unlikely to happen in this game, but I'll back the Wiz's recent good shooting in this home game.
Charlotte also has trouble stopping the fast break, where Washington is in the top eight for FBPS. On Wednesday night, the Wizards only outscored them 8-5 in that department. I could see that being a bigger advantage tonight.
The pick: Washington Wizards ML (-130 DraftKings)
Memphis Grizzlies (-4) vs. Utah Jazz (230.5 total)
What an awful start to the season for the Memphis Grizzlies. Another loss at home on Wednesday night dropped them to 1-7 on the season. Luckily, tonight they play the Utah Jazz, who come in at 2-7.
Memphis is having a hard time scoring the ball but is playing a Jazz team in the bottom five in defensive rating. The Grizzlies haven't been awful on defense, ranking in the top 15 in defensive rating. When it comes to offensive rating, Memphis is last, while Utah is 17th. Utah does have a worse net rating at -8.8 compared to the Grizz at -6.3.
I still like to think Memphis can get something going. Desmond Bane has had a great start to the season, averaging 25 points. Bane is a marksman from deep, and Utah struggles to defend the three. Jaren Jackson Jr. is averaging 22.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks to start the season. JJJ is scoring 11 of his 22.4 in the paint. This is an area Utah has struggled with, placing in the bottom five in opponent PITP per game. According to Fantasy Pros, Utah is giving up a lot of points to power forwards. It's a good matchup for Jackson and Bane.
Look, maybe the in-season tournament can generate some crowd excitement, and the Grizzlies can pick up a nice home cover.
I like the matchup.
The pick: Memphis Grizzlies -4 (-108 FanDuel)
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NBA Betting Picks: Game Totals
Minnesota Timberwolves (-6.5) @ San Antonio Spurs (226.5 total)
The Minnesota Timberwolves are hot right now. Winners of four straight, they come into tonight's game after a 122-101 win over the Pelicans that wasn't even a competition.
San Antonio returns home after a brief road trip that saw them lose to the Pacers and Knicks by a combined differential of 62 points.
I finally lost an under after starting the season 4-0. I'm going to try again here with a team that is the number-one-rated defense in the NBA. Minnesota has a 100.4 defensive rating and is only allowing 101.1 points per game. If you were to look at the home/away splits, you'd see Minnesota has allowed 112 points in two road losses. I'm not overly concerned about that. Granted, the recent win streak has all been at home for the Timberwolves, they have looked fierce defensively.
The Spurs and defense haven't meshed well this season. They are last in the NBA in defense rating and give up the most points per game. Minnesota is a decent-scoring team, but nothing too crazy. They are averaging 111.7 points per game, which just puts them outside the top 20. San Antonio is inside the top 15 in PPG, averaging 113.4.
Even in this recent four-game win streak, the Timberwolves are averaging 117.3 points, which is 14th in the NBA during that span. The Timberwolves are also shooting 52 percent on field goal attempts, averaging only 82.8 per game. Only the Cleveland Cavaliers are averaging fewer shot attempts in this four-game sample.
Minnesota is in the bottom 10 in pace.
I like the total to go under here.
The pick: Under 226.5 (-110 FanDuel)
Favorite ML Parlay: WAS + BOS + MEM (+224 DK)
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