• Friday was a quiet little tidy 1-0. Cool.

    #Blazers @ #Knicks

    The Blazers set the cavalry and somehow beat the Sixers, and wouldn’t it be fitting to roll into MSG and then lose to the Knicks? Basketball is just so… this is a super early start so it would be hard to get this one on the card (considering no early line), but I’m looking for a reason to back the home team. If we’re all alert in time and the line is right, the Knicks have a tasty little revenge spot against a team they nearly toppled on the road.

    #Nuggets (-3.5) @ #Kings (229.5)

    The Kings and Nuggets have already faced off twice and the Kings won ’em both! The Nuggets roll into Sac off a demoralizing loss to the Lakers, and now we have to check resiliency. The Kings are on a little bit of a heater, so they’d be a tough fade right now, and my hope was for a Nuggets win on Thursday and then come sleepwalking into this one, but I can’t imagine they didn’t get chewed out after the loss on Thursday. Competing angles make this one tough.

    #Grizzlies @ #Pelicans (-1.5) (227)

    I think you guys know by now how little I can read Memphis. I’m inclined to look at the Pels, since they’ve been playing a bit better, but that’s just the moment the suddenly slumping Grizzlies wake back up. Memphis hasn’t spent many moments in games inside 10-15 points since coming back from the covid layoff, so who the hell knows.

    #Bulls (-2.5) @ #Magic (224)

    Game one of the Rematch Set went to Orlando behind a colossal game from Nikola Vucevic, and frankly, he could do it again against a fairly cushy Bulls frontcourt, at least in terms of defense. Lauri Markkanen hurt his shoulder on Friday so the Bulls are even weaker up front, though at the same time, Orlando isn’t likely to get that level of shot-making from everyone else, too. I think this is a spot to potentially fade the repeat.

    #Nets @ #Sixers

    No line yet, and KD’s weird exposure-related status is the clear hold-up. And he’s a big deal. KD’s efficiency is what makes that monster top-level dangerous on offense. If he’s out, the Nets are probably short dogs and I’d at least give them a look, but I don’t think we can make a call on this one without knowing more about KD. I think it’s a spot where I’d look to back the Nets but we need Durant in to do it.

    #Raptors @ #Hawks

    Do the Raps have the gasoline left after beating Brooklyn on Friday night and traveling to Atlanta? Let’s get a look at the line, but the rest advantage might be worth more than the usual 2 points, here. Still, Toronto is very slowly improving, and they have the pieces to slow down Trae Young, especially if they run a defense anything like what the Mavs did (force others to beat ’em). I have good reasons to look at both sides, so let’s have a look at the line and go from there. Lean to the slightly undervalued Raps.

    #Bucks @ #Cavaliers

    Milwaukee’s a machine when they want to be, at least in the regular season. They beat up on Cleveland on Friday to the tune of an 18-point win and they did it while not even playing all that well. That’s the concerning part. I generally find it hard to beat a team by double digits two games in a row but the Cavs have no offense at all right now, and you simply can’t beat the Bucks with only defense.

    #Wolves @ #Thunder

    Another Rematch, and these are my favorite ones, when the teams are pretty evenly matched. The Thunder are down a ridiculous number of players and if Al Horford sits on the back to back that would make backing them tough, but that’s still the direction I’d look given how tight the game was on Friday and the odds that Beasley and D’Lo both have strong shooting games two nights in a row…

    #Spurs @ #Rockets (-3.5) (224.5)

    The Spurs seem to have issues with younger, faster teams, and Houston might fall into that category… if Christian Wood was healthy. But he’s not. So Boogie is going to be lumbering around and missing defensive assignments. He’ll post huge fantasy numbers but the Spurs know exactly how to exploit that type of misfire. I think we get a high scoring game that the Spurs grab late to bust out of their little mini-slump. And no, I don’t care that Aldridge is out.

    #Warriors @ #Mavericks (-4) (231)

    Yeah, it’s a rematch, but the Mavs shouldn’t be laying 4 points to the Dubs no matter the situation. The Warriors are the better team right now and it’s not that close. The blowout nature of the first meeting does make me wonder, though, if this thing doesn’t stabilize a bit. I’m expecting a closer game, and in those spots I’d lean to the dog. But damn I hate fading an instant revenge game.

    #Pistons @ #Lakers

    Detroit is having some issues right now. They can’t score. And they just beat the Lakers, what, 10 days ago? This is going to be an albatross of a line, and while I’d love to back the Lakers to run away with it, it’ll undoubtedly be such a massive number that I can’t possibly bring myself to bet it. Still, that loss in Detroit is a hell of a reason for LeBron and company to not take this game lightly. You guys know the NBA, though; this is just the time Detroit wakes up.

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