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The rest of the week showcases two monster slates before the Christmas games Sunday. Wednesday hosts 11-games headlined by enough talent that would fill the rest of my introduction paragraphs, but really, it’s Luka Doncic, Jayson Tatum, Joel Embiid, and Giannis Antetokounmpo that have all been putting together MVP-campaigns and are worthy of a gamble tonight.
That’s not including Kevin Durant, a dark horse MVP-candidate facing off against his former, heavily-injured team. The only other Michael Jordan Trophy consideration would be Nikola Jokic who deservedly has a couple nights off until the massive 14-game slate Friday. I’ve still only mentioned a portion of the star-power that we’ll see tonight.
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CHI @ ATL
Trae Young (ATL) MORE 27.5 Points – DeMar DeRozan (CHI) MORE 25.5 Points
Just four of tonight’s games have point totals over 230-points and this matchup leaves plenty of room for both Trae Young and DeMar DeRozan to hit their overs. Young doesn’t have many tools at his disposal, so until Dejounte Murray returns, Young is going to have to play some amount of hero-ball to keep his team competitive each night.
DeMar DeRozan is an entirely different story and there’s no real rhyme or reason to his consistency. He’s a focal point of the Bulls offense and will always see high-usage, but his game log is scattered with sub-20-point games against terrible teams. He should have a big night against the Hawks, but that’s been said before and it’s not like scoring under 20-points on 20-or-more attempts is foreign to him.
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IND @ BOS
Jayson Tatum (BOS) MORE 28.5 Points – Tyrese Haliburton (IND) MORE 18.5 Points
Jayson Tatum has taken at least 20-attempts in five of his last six games and the Pacers defense let up more points than they defend. As long as Tatum can have some luck hitting his shots, 30-points should be a cake walk. After getting beat by the Magic in back-to-back games, there’s little chance Boston will take Indiana lightly.
Tyrese Haliburton has had a roller coaster of a season. It’s undeniable his importance to the Pacers offense, but outside of a few shots, he tends to pass up easy points to involve teammates. Great for Indiana and Pacer fans, terrible for betting. While he should score 19-points every time he goes out, his assist totals seem to be his focus right now.
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POR @ OKC
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) MORE 30.5 Points – Damian Lillard (POR) MORE 28.5 Points
As long as both players are playing, you take the over. This is the type of matchup you want and both Damian Lillard and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are playing at such a high-level that it’s hard to justify the under. Just for fun, Gilgeous-Alexander has scored 97-points on 67-shots over the last week, with Lillard scoring 114-points on 74-attempts through his last four games.
While Lillard is looking to jump back on the 30-PPG train, he’s still posted massive games in the process and the continued Lillard-SGA matchup is certain to inspire some more motivated production.
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ORL @ HOU
Jalen Green (HOU) MORE 23.5 Points – Paolo Banchero (ORL) MORE 21.5 Points
Jalen Green has been on a downtrend the last couple games, but the energy-level seems to still be firing on all cylinders. It’s hard to watch him play and advise someone to take the under, only because of his dedication to scoring at seemingly any point in time. All it takes is one made-three to change his night and although the Magic defense has shut down some stars in the past, they still struggle against quick guards.
It’s always fun talking up a defense only to follow it up with the real advisable matchup. While the Magic’s recent defensive exploits are hard to invest in, the Houston Rockets defense is just downright bad. Effort is there, they just don’t have the talent to stop players that can finish and drive through multiple defenders. Banchero scores against some of the league’s top defenses and Houston isn’t bringing, and doesn’t possess, the toughness needed.
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