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Tonight's nine-game slate might be the most competitive night of basketball this season. Nikola Jokic and Jimmy Butler are possibly facing off, the young Thunder are traveling to Houston, and with both Evan Mobley and Kristaps Porzingis both showing reasons why they belong in this league, the first matchup between the two should be enlightening. Outside of those three games, Hornets-Bulls will be high scoring and the Clippers get the chance to bounce back against the Pelicans after losing to the Warriors yesterday afternoon.
Reggie Jackson went scoreless in 21 minutes with four fouls, so at the very least, he'll be extremely fresh (and will probably want to actually play some basketball this game.) However, the matchup to look forward to is LaMelo Ball and Zach LaVine. They have yet to play and since DeMar DeRozan has his work cut out for him going against Gordon Hayward, Ball is going to to have to carry this offense while looking down the barrel of a team with serious firepower, so it's a good thing P.J. Washington is back. Add in Damian Lillard versus the Jazz backcourt and there's not much more you can ask for tonight in terms of high-scoring potential.
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ORL @ PHI
Joel Embiid (PHI) MORE 22.5 Points - Jalen Suggs (ORL) MORE 14.5 Points
With Cole Anthony aiming to return at the start of December, the Jalen Suggs experiment has been moderately underwhelming. Luckily, he gets to face the 76ers backcourt which is still just as bad at playing defense whether they have Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris or not. The Timberwolves gave Leandro Bolmero his first quality chunk of minutes against them and despite looking slightly too excited to contain himself on the court, the coaching staff clearly saw exploitable gaps in Philadelphia's defense to feel comfortable to play him. Now, the Magic and Timberwolves coaching staffs aren't amazing, but it doesn't take a genius to realize Tyrese Maxey is still a young defender and Seth Curry just isn't that good defensively. Suggs is taking at least 10 attempts a game most nights, so the effort is there and the efficiency really isn't far behind.
Now even though the Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr. frontcourt pairing hasn't been perfect, it's shown signs of sustainability when both can stay out of foul trouble. That doesn't happen a lot and Embiid arguably does nothing but try to draw fouls. It's what he did against the Timberwolves and he managed to force Karl-Anthony Towns to foul out early on Embiid's path to 21 free throw attempts Saturday, and it's what he'll do tonight.
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IND @ MIN
Anthony Edwards (MIN) MORE 23.5 Points - Malcom Brogdon (IND) MORE 18.5 Points
The Pacers defense hasn't been great this season, but when Myles Turner is your anchor in the paint, it'll always be difficult for teams to consistently finish at the rim. The Timberwolves are likely to draw Turner out of the paint by using Karl-Anthony Towns, but that's not always the best strategy. If Town's isn't hitting, Minnesota has only D'Angelo Russell as another shooting option, otherwise they give Anthony Edwards the ball and say "GO." Banking on Edwards beating his matchup feels right, so even with Turner in the paint, he can't physically keep up with both and it's doubtful he gives Towns any slack.
Malcolm Brogdon usually doesn't hit 20 points in a game unless he absolutely has to. In close games, he usually does, but any sign of a blowout, in his favor or against, the minutes and usage just aren't there. Brogdon knows they won't win games if the rest of his team isn't hitting, and he rarely will "take over the game" when the game isn't necessarily in reach, but with how both teams are playing, this should line up for a close game between two middle-of-the-road teams, giving Brogdon plenty of reason to have a quality night.
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WAS @ SAS
Bradley Beal (WAS) MORE 22.5 Points - Dejounte Murray (SAS) MORE 17.5 Points
Even with the potential that this game is low-scoring, both Bradley Beal and Dejounte Murray are going into this game as their teams primary scoring option. The added threats to the Wizards have obviously pulled from Beal's overall dominance of this offense compared to previous seasons, but that isn't a bad thing. When his projected drops this low, it's hard to be sold on the under and against the Spurs, it's hard to see him not being the main facilitator. Whether he scores or not, Beal demands offense and is taking the shot attempts to prove it.
On the other end, Dejounte Murray has been a gift for the Spurs offense and over the past week he's averaging 23 points a game. He's been playing well and the rest of the rotation is extremely accommodating to players who are playing well. Murray is that player, has been that player all season, and there's no sign of him slowing down or Coach Gregg Popovich shifting from what little is going right for the Spurs.
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NOP @ LAC
Paul George (LAC) MORE 25.5 Points - Brandon Ingram (NOP) LESS 20.5 Points
On one end, Paul George is playing well and the other Clippers aren't really demanding usage, so until Los Angeles has nightly support, are we assuming Paul George isn't trying to score 30 points each night? If we can get another scoreless night from some Clipper guards, he might have 30 points by halftime, and against a Pelicans team that is seriously struggling, Jonas Valanciunas might be the only reason New Orleans has any life this game.
Brandon Ingram has seriously struggled since coming back and a 20 point night seems like a stretch if Paul George or Marcus Morris Sr. picks him up on defense. After scoring 21 points on 22 shots the first game against the Jazz, the next night he finished with eleven points on 14 attempts, somewhat solidifying a downward trend after one promising 26-point game against the Wizards last week.
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