RADIO
It's settled. The best team in the Western Conference is the Phoenix Suns. If anything is certain, it's that a regular season matchup at the end of November is the most important game on the schedule and determines everything from that point onward. Sarcasm aside, last night's contest was extremely entertaining and we received another sample of just how good Deandre Ayton can be, when he wants to be.
Sadly, that game also brought along two new injury developments, Devin Booker's left hamstring and Andrew Wiggins' back spasms. Wiggins played through some pain last night to the tune of 4-12 shooting, but Booker only managed 15 minutes before heading to the locker room, likely to miss the Suns next game against the Pistons Thursday. With nine games Wednesday, we are slowly entering the chunky, girthy part of the season, where the injury bug runs rampant and where availability is the best bet. If you are unclear with the term "wabi-sabi," it pretty much defines tonight's slate.
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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DEN @ ORL
Nikola Jokic (DEN) MORE 25.5 Points - Cole Anthony (ORL) MORE 17.5 Points
In his first game back, Nikola Jokic picked up right where he left off, scoring 24 points on 14 shots against the league's most physically imposing paint threat, Bam Adebayo. Jokic was expected to have a less-than-stellar game upon his return, especially against Adebayo, but instead he proved why he's the MVP and ultimately, why he doesn't need quality support to win games, just players who won't literally drop the ball when he passes it to them. Jokic is going to put on a clinic whether Wendell Carter Jr. and Mo Bamba play solid defense or not, and nothing those players have shown this season benefits them in this matchup other than fouling out so they don't have to defend him.
Cole Anthony is off the injury report and we can only assume that he's fully healthy and is going to dismantle the Nuggets backcourt. Despite the Magic not being very good, they have capable players like Anthony who can carry an offense, even if they are only doing so by scoring 15-20 points a night. Consistency is what matters and until another Orlando guard proves why Anthony shouldn't be the one taking shots...Anthony will and should be doing most of the facilitating and producing.
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ATL @ IND
Trae Young (ATL) MORE 26.5 Points - Malcolm Brogdon (IND) MORE 20.5 Points
This is a no-brainer. Trae Young is averaging more than 30 points a game over the last week, and it's not that the Hawks have dominated every matchup they've played. Young is just playing that well, that regardless of win or loss, he's is putting up the necessary points. This isn't even considering that he's going up against a Pacers team without their best defender, Myles Turner.
Facing the Hawks backcourt means two things; 1. You have to help guard Trae Young. No single player is sticking with Young for close to 40 minutes without any help, and 2. You are guarded by Trae Young. Trae Young is not sticking with any player for close to 40 minutes without any help. Malcolm Brogdon is, at the very least, good for 15 points based purely on the fact that the Pacers will have to prioritize their guards being the main facilitators rather than challenging Clint Capela over and over.
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MIN @ WAS
Bradley Beal (WAS) MORE 25.5 Points - Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) MORE 24.5 Points
The fact that Bradley Beal's line is still 25-points is insane. He's hit the 26 point mark once since November 18th, and it's not really poor shooting or a specific downward trend that's the case. He's just playing different, more team-oriented basketball. There will be games down the stretch where the Wizards need to force-feed Beal, but every game we are seeing the Washington stray further and further from that sense of "bad" basketball. With options, Beal just doesn't need to score like he had to in previous seasons, and if MKF allows us the chance, there's no reason to bet the over when the over is becoming more circumstantial rather than the game plan.
Nearly everything about Karl-Anthony Towns recent game log is reassuring, except for two games. One against the Heat, the other against the Clippers. Between both games, he played a total 60 minutes, scoring 19 points on 23 shots. Facing Bam Adebayo, you're NOT expected to have the most productive game, so it's understandable, but when Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein shut you down, that's almost incomprehensibly bad for someone viewed as an All-Star or at least near All-Star caliber talent. The Wizards are only really brining Daniel Gafford's length to the table to combat Towns, so at least the potential is there. What he does with it, no one knows.
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HOU @ OKC
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) MORE 21.5 Points - Christian Wood (HOU) MORE 20.5 Points
This will be the third time these teams play each other since November 17th, the fourth time this season, so while the point total of this game won't be incredibly high, the best players on both these teams can't help but thrive. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hasn't had great success shooting against the Rockets, but he's productive to say the least. When these teams played two days ago, Gilgeous-Alexander hit 22 points on 20 shots and proved that Houston will need to physically stop him, otherwise the only thing keeping him from dominating this game is his own below average shooting. It's doubtful he regresses this game seeing how he's only gotten better.
For everything positive said about Gilgeous-Alexander and his potential against the Rockets, you can basically double it when talking about Christian Wood against the Thunder. In the only game Wood failed to score 20 points against Oklahoma City, he still put up a 14-rebound double-double, and that's basically ignoring the last game between these two. Not only did the Thunder have no way of stopping Wood, but he made it clear in the box score as well, dropping 24 points with 21 rebounds in a 13-point win.
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