2-2 in NBA bets last night, 15-12 the last 9 days. We carry on and still hate the Nets!
Hawks/Mavs over 232.5 (-110), 1 unit: The Mavs don’t play much defense but they’re starting to click on offense. In their last 4 games, Mavericks’ totals have averaged 254 points. Yowza! The Hawks are still pretty banged up, so I lean to the Dallas side (-3.5), but Trae Young is back and their lack of depth should only mean more openings for the Mavericks’ stars. I’ll take the over for a shy 1 unit.
Nets -1.5 (-105), 1 unit & lean over 235: This is only 1 unit because Brooklyn has now screwed me more than once and also because, as you probably know, I’m just not a fan of the Nets. That being said, you can’t bet with your heart and after last night’s surprising loss against Detroit, this is a much better spot for Brooklyn. Now losers of 3 straight, the Nets were visibly distraught after that loss Tuesday night. Kyrie looked like he was going to cry, which I kind of loved, but I can’t say it means positive things for Indiana tonight. I’m a fan of the Pacers’ style, but they just don’t have the firepower to keep up with Brooklyn if the Nets play like they’re capable of. Last night Brooklyn was hitting only 20% from beyond the arc in the first half and while they drove that number to 35% by the game’s end. Detroit was able to stay ahead by shooting 56% from the field and 45% on 3s. The Nets know they need to improve on defense so I expect a better overall effort on all sides and corners of the court. Not many teams make Detroit look like the 2017 Warriors but that’s what happened last night. With chagrin, I’m betting on Brooklyn to get off the schneid, which is essentially all they have to do with this humbling line.
Nuggets -9.5 (-110), 2 units: Both the Cavaliers and Nuggets are due for significant positive regression but the Nuggets are the far better unit. Jokic has a tough battle against Andre Drummond tonight but I don’t think it’ll matter much– the “Joker” is playing elite basketball at the center position. The Nuggets get Jamal Murray back and they should be fired up after their loss against the Bucks. It was a close battle 2 days ago between two NBA titans until the Bucks pulled away in the 4th. Jokic has said before that he loves when people doubt him, and he tends to put up his best performances after a humbling game like the one Monday night. The Cavs have lost 5 straight on the road and have allowed their opponents to score 122 ppg in their last 3 games. While Cleveland is better than what they’ve shown, this isn’t the spot to get-right. Expect a walloping from Denver.
