Eyyyy! We got a 5-1, +5.5 unit night Thursday. More of that, please! Like a few things on today’s slate, let’s keep it going for God’s sake!
More incoming, but getting this first email out so you can put in plays:
Hornets -2 (-110), to win 1.5 units
Hornets win + under 237 parlay, 0.5 units to win 1.18 units
Hornets coach Steve Clifford sounded off in his press conference following Charlotte’s recent OT defeat at the hands of the Pistons, saying “NO ONE is playing defense right now, there’s not ONE bright spot.” Usually anticipating regression is really hard to do for any NBA team, but this is a great spot for the Hornets to practice better defense. The Hawks are a disparate mess right now and tonight is the last leg of their little road trip. Charlotte’s been at home and this is their final leg before they hit the road– ATL is more likely to give up, as we’ve seen from them, while the Hornets can snag a win and gain some confidence with LaMelo back before they leave the comforts of home. Charlotte saw an explosion of offense in their last contest, but I expect much better results from their defense tonight. Over their last 6 games, of which they only won 5, the Hawks are LAST in the NBA in offensive rating. Their most important components on defense: Collins, Murray, and now Capela will ALL be out today. Charlotte should be able to get ahead fast at home and if they play better defense, this shouldn’t even be close. This will be the Hawks 5th game in 7 days and it feels like Nate McMillan is losing his team. Go Hornets!
Kings 1Q -1.5 (-112 at FD), to win 1.5 units
Kings -5.5 (-105), to win 1 unit
The Sacramento Kings finally found their rhythm again in an impressive showing in Toronto two nights ago. I think they take that momentum into this game. The Pistons got a fortunate OT win against the Hawks but that had to tire out their most important players (Isaiah Stewart played 41 min, for example), but the Kings played Sabonis and Fox for 40 minutes in their recent game too, so maybe that’s not too much of an edge, but Detroit completely exhausted its bench, too. The Pistons are back home after a lot of road games the past week, which is never an ideal spot for a tired team, whereas the Kings will get off all weekend at home if they can come out the victor. And let’s face it, the Pistons are nowhere near the outfit that Sacramento is this year. The Kings have moved from one of the NBA’s worst defenses last year to a mid-tier unit and it’s been consistent. That’s huge, considering how explosive their offense can be. The Kings are too much for Detroit tonight, and I think they step up at the margins (1st QTR and end of game) as the better team and cover.
