After a nice break on Easter Sunday, we’re back at it riding a 122-89 (58%) record into another week of action in the NBA. My apologies ahead of time for a shorter article today– I’ll be out of town and I have a short window of time to write this out. I also admittedly don’t love a lot of these games on the slate. Onto the picks!
Nets -5.5 (-110), 2 units: This is a trap game for the Knicks. New York will head into this matchup fired up with their heart-breaking loss against Brooklyn not yet lost in their memory. Julius Randle almost blew up the court at the end of that contest and I wouldn’t want to be his opposition tonight. That being said, Randle had his way with the Nets in the last contest and I think that changes drastically Monday. The Knicks are healthy, but so are the Nets. Harden, Kyrie, and most importantly– LeMarcus Aldridge will suit up tonight and face-off against Randle and that tough front court for New York. Randle won’t have the same output and success against Aldridge, and the Nets dynamic shooters should be able to control the pace of this game. Even worse for New York– there’s a chance Kevin Durant could suit up in this one. Yikes. Either way, I think the Nets show no mercy and no intimidation against the Knicks, who lately haven’t looked very crisp. I’ll take the villain to cover and I really think it could get ugly.
Avoid Wizards/Raptors: It’s early so forgive me if I’m not seeing a more crystallized angle here, but I really think you should avoid this game. Are there any two teams more up and down than the Wizards and Raptors? Toronto was on a mile-long losing streak and then they beat the Curry-less Warriors by 50? What the heck? The Wizards contend and look feisty against elite teams at times and then get absolutely crushed in other moments. Is Beal playing tonight? Who knows. Both teams are injured and volatile. Naa– AVOID.
Mavericks +5.5 (-110), 1.5 units: The Jazz are the Jazz, they’re elite, we get it, borrriiinnggg. But let’s talk about Dallas. The Mavericks have now won 7 of their last 10 games and ride a 4 game winning streak into this showdown on Monday night. Even with Kristap Porzingis (he should return tonight) absent in a few spots, they’re finding ways to win on both offense and defense. That’s a good sign for a team that was really struggling to stop anyone from scoring in the first half of the season. In their 4 game win streak, Luka Doncic has averaged over 28 points and 6 assists per game. Dallas is at home and they travel to Houston in 2 days to play the fledgling Rockets. In other words, all hands on deck and complete focus will be on this game. The Jazz host the Western Conference enigma Phoenix Suns in two days– will they be looking over their shoulder? I’m not sure but with the way Doncic and the Mavericks have played lately, I have to look their way. This is too many points in a game that should be very contentious. Give me the dog!
