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If you haven’t been able to tell by the excess of commercials and advertisements being thrusted in your face, we are nearly half-way through the season and All-Star voting is well under way. The point totals for Friday’s nine games aren’t eye-popping and looking at each lineup individually, you’d be surprised why they are so low. With the Magic missing a ton of players, it’s hard not to like betting on both starting lineups since Orlando is relying on a limited rotation and the Wizards are going to have a field day running those few players into the ground.
Joel Embiid and Zion Williamson headline the early games with Damian Lillard and Jordan Poole in the late game. Sadly, there is no way to take all four overs in a single bet, but at least the matchups between the two groups should provide enough pace for each superstar to tack-on another quality performance.
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DET @ CHI
DeMar DeRozan (CHI) LESS 27.5 Points – Bojan Bogdanovic (DET) MORE 20.5 Points
Assuming the Bulls should win this game and Bojan Bogdanovic will need to take an excess of shots, both overs looks great. Which ultimately means Bogdanovic will have an off game and DeMar DeRozan will get to hang back and relax this game while Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic dismantle Detroit’s defense.
Playing the Pistons offers so much variance since their entire offense comes from a random source each night. Regardless of who is taking shots there isn’t a single player who is producing at a consistent rate. Bogdanovic should get plenty of shots tonight, but that really isn’t saying much.
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PHI @ NOP
Joel Embiid (PHI) MORE 30.5 Points – Zion Williamson (NOP) MORE 25.5 Points
Zion Williamson is coming off a career-high 43-point game and his ridiculous 41% usage rate was more than deserved. He propelled the Pelicans to their most recent win over the Timberwolves and the 76ers don’t have a ton of toughness to combat Williamson’s strength.
While New Orleans won’t have much answer for Joel Embiid, Jonas Valanciunas at least provides a big-body to help keep the pressure up on defense. Valanciunas has been notorious accumulating fouls quick, so there’s a ton of upside for Embiid up against the Pelicans frontcourt.
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UTA @ SAC
De’Aaron Fox (SAC) MORE 24.5 Points – Lauri Markkanen (UTA) MORE 23.5 Points
After a small slump throughout the middle of the season, De’Aaron Fox is clearly back and holding the reigns of this offense. He’s averaging more than 27-points over the last two weeks and he hasn’t needed extra shot attempts to keep up with this improved production. Over these last two weeks, Fox has scored 166-points on 110 shot-attempts.
In similar fashion, Lauri Markkanen was carrying the Jazz offense to start the year, had a small cold-streak and now is back at the top of the food-chain for Utah’s offense. He creates his own opportunities and his production is going to rely on how much space the Kings give him. Domantas Sabonis has potential to limit Markkanen, but the only stats that are really in jeopardy are rebounds.
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POR @ GSW
Damian Lillard (POR) MORE 29.5 Points – Jordan Poole (GSW) MORE 26.5 Points
If Lillard and Poole are healthy and playing there is no reason to take the under. The Warriors and Trail Blazers thrive in fast-paced environments and tend to provide fairly entertaining basketball for the fans. Even if neither hit the over here you can be sure they'll have tried. Poole is going to take a ton of shots tonight and Lillad is going to match.
Or Lillard is going to take a ton of shots and Poole is going to match, it can and will go both ways here. Portland might have the slight advantage with players like Jerami Grant, Jusuf Nurkic, and Anfernee Simons, but the Warriors aren’t going to go down without taking their share of shots. Poole should lead the charge in that aspect and Lillard should be needed to try and keep that production suppressed.
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