RADIO
With just seven of Friday's nine games posted, we can pretty much cover every game listed throughout this article, so let's not waste any time. Bradley Beal is shooting way too poorly to feel confident about any kind of over bet, whereas Darius Garland continues to carry this offense any way he can, usually contributing 20 points in some way or another. Between the Rockets and Magic, Christian Wood's availability is key and even without any help, he'll find a way to put up a 20 point - 10 rebound game against this frontcourt.
With the injuries surrounding the Rockets, it adds onto the defense liabilities already riddled throughout both teams. There wasn't much defense that was going to be played anyway, very similar to what the Pelicans-Mavericks game will turn into. Basically breaking down into Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Brandon Ingram, and Jonas Valanciunas combining for 90 shot attempts tonight.
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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MIN @ BKN
Kevin Durant (BKN) MORE 27.5 Points - Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) MORE 23.5 Points
While a few sick Timberwolves can open the door for Karl-Anthony Towns to easily score above his projected, the only chance Minnesota has at keeping Kevin Durant under 30 points tonight is hoping Anthony Edwards and Jerrid Vanderbilt can get him sick by halftime. We are not supporting chemical warfare, but there's no good option for the Timberwolves here. Truthfully, no team has a good option when facing Durant, you just have to hope he misses.
Jokes aside, if Edwards and Vanderbilt need a game off, which hasn't been the case yet, Towns and D'Angelo Russell are the only options for offense and the Nets defense isn't great at stopping skilled players in the pick-and-roll. Even if this game favors everything about the Nets, Brooklyn can get exposed by someone like Edwards (if he plays) and the spacing of Towns and Russell.
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PHI @ ATL
Trae Young (ATL) MORE 26.5 Points - Joel Embiid (PHI) MORE 22.5 Points
In a somewhat shocking development, the new rule change, made to specifically stop the antics of Trae Young, didn't really do much in limiting his ability to score. If anything, he said, "Ok," and just started making more shots rather than trying to draw fouls. In this current trend, there is no defender in the league that is looking forward to a matchup with Trae Young right now. Not Jrue Holiday, not Mikal Bridges, and for surely not Matisse Thybulle, Shake Milton, Danny Green, or any combination of the two.
In the frontcourt, a Clint Capela versus Joel Embiid matchup is always entertaining. Taking each battle in the paint for what it's worth, both Embiid and Capela don't shy away from contact when playing eachother, and the friendly competition adds to the intensity. However, Embiid has struggled to score against resistance this season, so unless Capela gets in foul trouble quick, the Hawks frontcourt should keep Embiid from having a high-scoring night like they usually do.
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BOS @ UTA
Donovan Mitchell (UTA) MORE 25.5 Points - Jayson Tatum (BOS) MORE 24.5 Points
This isn't really a problem, but when Donovan Mitchell gets into a groove, the Jazz know to just let him do what he wants and to just keep feeding the beast. It can be tough to track, but this has been a trend starting with his 21 point game against the Pelicans around a week ago, building into his first 30 point game in 11 games, last game. As long as he is converting, Utah won't shy away from the free production, especially since their offense isn't nearly as automatic as it was in previous seasons, and they clearly need that nightly boost from Mitchell.
Jayson Tatum strung together a streak of four, 30-point games in mid-November, but has since posted a 15 point game and an eight point game. He responded to his '8-points on 16-shots' performance with a 26-point outing most recently, but it's still not the type of rebound we expect with someone as much regard as Tatum. Luckily for him, because the Jazz defense is anchored by Rudy Gobert, he will be one of the few Celtics that will be able to create for himself so the upside is there, even in this matchup.
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PHX @ GSW
Stephen Curry (GSW) MORE 30.5 Points - Deandre Ayton (PHX) MORE 17.5 Points
This is easily the game of the night and the fact that these teams just played earlier in the week adds to the drama. Unfortunately, the Suns played the Pistons to a close game last night and won't be as fresh as they would like to be when trying to defend their longest-win streak in franchise history against the second-best team in basketball, but here we are. Deandre Ayton put up 20 points on this frontcourt last outing and now that the Suns will have to resort even more to the pick-and-roll between Ayton and Paul, it's hard to bet the under here, even against a stout defender like Draymond Green.
Stephen Curry had a horrible shooting night last game against the Suns, and although the matchup with Chris Paul is always seeming to become some outlier game, twelve points on 21 shots in extremely uncharacteristic. Even the best shooters miss, but for some reason, there's some comfort even if Curry misses shots. He never stops shooting and it's pretty much a guarantee Curry has an idea of how the last game went, and how important he will be this time around.
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