Adding one play:
Magic under 105 or more (it should be 106.5), to win 1 unit
- This isn’t out yet but it will be tomorrow morning
- The Magic are 29th in ppg, but they’re a growing defense and they play horrendously slow. That’s a great under team.
- The Raptors are a top 10 defensive team and they’re healthy, which means all the length should be there and in Orlando’s face at every turn
- In regulation, Orlando only eclipsed 107 points in three different games
- One of those games was against Toronto, where they shot nearly 50% from the field. I don’t see that happening in this contest
Knicks/Hornets under 224.5 (-110), to win 1.5 units
- The Hornets are largely inept at scoring these days
- And they play a lot slower than they used to. No LaMelo Ball, no tempo. No Dennis Smith Jr. slows them down, too
- The Knicks are emphasizing defense and it’s starting to click. They’ve allowed only 82 and 89 points in their last two games, against much better offenses.
- The Knicks are a slow-tempo team again.
- The Knicks, on the road, shoot poorly. They’re effective FG % is dead last away from MSG
Cavs 1H -2.5 (-110), to win 1.5 units
- The Cavaliers are the #1 defense in the NBA right now and they’ll ride that confidence into this game
- This is a revenge game for Cleveland, who got run off the floor early against Sacramento in their 1st game, which was at the Golden 1 Center
- Jarrett Allen, a superior defender, had one of his worst days against Sacramento in game one. He’ll correct that tonight.
- At home, winning 8 of their last 11 games and riding that momentum into this, I love Cleveland to come out hot on both sides of the court
- Full game Sacramento can come back and -5.5 feels like a lot. I have this game at -5
- But I want to play on the Cavaliers, so we’ll take the 1H.
- In the first game they were outscored 69-58 in the first half of game 1, and that was a big reason why they lost.
Suns -1.5 (-110), to win 1.5 units
- New Orleans isn’t an easy place for teams to play lately, but apparently the Pelicans will still be without Brandon Ingram
- I’m not all that impressed by the Pelicans’ lately. Sure, they’ve won 5 straight and 7 of their last 8, but none of those teams were elite
- And they struggled against Detroit
- And their most recent games against more elite teams (MEM, BOS), they were humbled real quick
- I love a great coach like Monte Williams to coach up his team to respond after such an embarrassing loss to Boston
- I’d rather bet on the Suns not losing 3 in a row than betting on the Pelicans to win 6 in a row. Which is more likely?
- Plus, these teams meet again at New Orleans on Sunday- maybe that’s a spot for the Pels– not this one!
