The NBA was a crazy scene on Monday night, as Dallas won in Charlotte, Miami barely beat Denver at home, the Cavs lost to the Jazz and three blowouts were decided by over 30 points. It was weird and mostly ugly, and we don’t even want to look back to see how we did. The Pistons, Grizzlies and Blazers were three teams to not even show up, while there were just too many upsets to count.
Tonight potentially simmers down a bit, as we drop to a six-game slate. The matchups aren’t any easier to call, however, with the only sure-fire pick might be taking the Spurs to beat the Clippers, straight up (San Antonio is undefeated at home). This slate is otherwise going to be fairly tough to gauge, so let’s dive in to find out why:
Line: Magic -2 Total: 212
Orlando has been falling apart lately, as they’ve been without stars Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic and have gone just 3-7 in their last 10 games. Their road struggles remain their biggest issue (11-21 away from home), but tonight they’re back at the Amway Center, where they tend to play their best ball. They’re probably still without Payton and Vooch tonight, however, so that could put them in a bad spot against an up-tempo Nuggets team. Luckily Denver is a joke on the road (12-20), so the Magic look like the right pick.
Pick: Magic 104, Nuggets 101
Line: Raptors -2 Total: 206.5
Toronto just dropped a bad home loss to the Bulls last night, and now they have to head out on the road on the second game of a back to back set. It’s even worse that it’s in Milwaukee, where the rising Bucks (winners of three straight) are a strong 20-12 on the year. Toronto is easily the better team, but they could be tired, are playing in a tough spot and could also be without center Jonas Valanciunas. That’s why it’s at least slightly odd that they’re still the favorite here, albeit by a small margin. Toronto has taken care of business against the Bucks thus far, but this could be the perfect opportunity for Milwaukee to keep their streak going and stave off a 4-0 season series sweep.
Pick: Bucks 102, Raptors 98
Line: Pacers -2 Total: 207
Paul George looks to pick up the pieces from his last game out, when he crumbled in an Indy blowout loss. He’s at home and the Celtics are without ace defender Jae Crowder, though, so George could have better luck tonight. Indiana has had better luck at home in general this season (19-11) and so far has a 2-1 series lead over Boston. With the Celtics a little under-manned and this one in Indy, we’ll side with the Pacers to land the narrow win.
Pick: Pacers 101, Celtics 98
Line: Nets -8 Total: 208.5
Brooklyn is a rare big favorite tonight, as they host a bad Sixers squad that should be even worse than usual. Jahlil Okafor has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season, while both Jerami Grant and Robert Covington will sit out tonight due to head injuries. That puts Philly in a really bad spot on the road against a Brooklyn team that tends to dominate them inside. Look for big games out of Thaddeus Young and Brook Lopez in a Nets win. Just don’t be shocked if the Sixers do beat the spread, just because they tend to be a little pesky and Brooklyn isn’t that great.
Pick: Nets 106, Sixers 101
Line: Spurs -9 Total: 200
Los Angeles heads into San Antonio to attempt to become the first team to beat the Spurs at home this season. With Blake Griffin still sidelined, it doesn’t figure to end as they probably hope. Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge are both playing fantastic basketball and the Spurs know they have no room for error with the Warriors winning at an even more blistering pace. I do think the Clippers will give it a fight and beat the spread, but San Antonio will get the win to move to 33-0 at home this year.
Pick: Spurs 107, Clippers 103
Line: Kings -3 Total: 217
There will be no defense to be had in the final game of the night, as both the Lakers and Kings allow over 106 points per game. DeMarcus Cousins should decimate the Lakers in this one, as he routinely owns them and has played a huge hand in Sacramento building a 3-0 season series lead thus far. The Lakers will probably keep it tight at home, plus this will be Kobe Bryant’s last gasp against the Kings ever. In the end, the Kings should earn a sweep and find one thing to go right in a season that has quickly fallen apart.
Pick: Kings 108, Lakers 104
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