Mini-mooning and winning as we grabbed a 2-0 day in the association last night! The Hawks stepped up and brought the fight after a slow start and the Clippers showed out again like we predicted. More mini-moon relaxing and more picks for Tuesday!
Nets +5 (-110), 1.5 units and Bucks/Nets 1Q over 54 (-115), 2 units: There’s no way I can’t take the Nets at +5 here and obviously a big part of that is Kevin Durant. This is a big moment for arguably the best offensive player in the NBA right now as he’ll have to hold up his team with Kyrie nursing a new ankle injury and James Harden ruled out for game five. We’re so adapted to Durant being a part of these mega-teams that we don’t get the chance to see if he can win as the lone superstar. Expect the former MVP to play aggressive and facilitate the ball to his supporting cast when he gets the clamp down treatment from PJ Tucker and double teams. His point prop (34.5) is a little too high for me but it could be a sneaky smart play to look at his teammates’ lines– he’ll need them to provide plenty of offense if they’re going to win.
The Bucks have a new spring in their step after some stifling defense and fantastic team basketball in two games at Milwaukee. While that’s all fine and good and it caught us all by surprise (if you try to tell me you knew this series would be tied at 2-2 I’d have to see some verifiable data to support that claim), don’t expect game five to have the same outlook. The pace changes at the Barclays Center and in the first two games the Nets were off to the races right after tipoff, scoring 30 in game one and 36 in game two in the first quarters of play. Expect Durant and company to set the tone and get in a rhythm behind their home crowd. A first quarter of only 54 is way too big of an adjustment after the last two games and I’m happy to take advantage.
And let’s not downplay the home-court effect either. We’ve seen the energy completely change in this series and even without 2 of the Nets’ big 3, this is a talented team with a player capable of taking over the entire game. With a Brooklyn crowd behind Durant and Nash scheming to create more production without Kyrie and Harden, I don’t see the Bucks easily gaining a 2 possession win here. For me, the value lies with the Nets.
