Blazers Not at Full Strength as Spurs Visit
Chicago Bulls at Toronto Raptors* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 182 ; Raptors -2.5. INJURIES: CHI: none; TOR: none.
Two healthy squads in what will be a low-scoring game. Jimmy Butler/CHI plays major minutes and is excellent value here.
Detroit Pistons* at Charlotte Bobcats* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 182 ; Raptors -2.5. INJURIES: DET: Josh Harrellson (OUT) ; CHA:.
The second part of a home-and-home, with the first seeing the Pistons rusty after the break and losing on home court. I expect Josh Smith/DET to bounce back, but he is still too expensive.
Orlando Magic* at Cleveland Cavaliers* (7:00 pm EST); over/under 198.5; Cavs -6.5. INJURIES: ORL: ; CLE: Anderson Varejao (D), Dion Waiters (Q).
The Cavs are looking good after trouncing the Sixers last night: everyone should be rested. The Magic suffered a surprise defeat at Milwaukee. Tyler Zeller/CLE was one of the heroes for Cleveland last night, but faces a much tougher ask in defending Nikola Vucevic/ORL.
Washington Wizards* at Atlanta Hawks* (7:30 pm EST); over/under 200.5 ; Hawks -1. INJURIES: WAS: ; ATL: DeMarre Carroll (D), Pero Antic (OUT).
New York Knicks* at New Orleans Pelicans (8:00 pm EST); over/under 196 ; Pelicans -3.55. INJURIES: NYK: Kenyon Martin (OUT), Andrea Bargnani (OUT); NOP: Ryan Anderson (OUT), Jrue Holiday (OUT).
Indiana Pacers* at Minnesota Timberwolves (8:00 pm EST); over/under 197.5; Pacers -3.5. INJURIES: IND: Andrew Bynum (OUT); MIN: Kevin Martin (OUT), Nikola Pekovic (OUT)
The Wolves have the fatigue and home factor in their favor, but the Pacers didn’t use up a lot of energy as they led wire-to-wire against the Hawks. Lance Stephenson/IND will continue to be the catalyst and should rack up DraftStreet points across several categories. Paul George/IND had a great first half, but cooled off in limited minutes in the second half: he’s my top candidate for a monster game. As ever, the Wolves will rely on Kevin Love/MIN to keep them in the game and he is therefore a solid lineup anchor.
Boston Celtics at Phoenix Suns* (9:00 pm EST); over/under 204.5 ; Suns -7. INJURIES: BOS: Avery Bradley (OUT) ; PNX: Eric Bledsoe (OUT).
Brooklyn Nets at Utah Jazz (9:00 pm EST); over/under 191.5 ; Nets -3.5. INJURIES: BKN: ; UTA: Richard Jefferson (Q), Derek Favors (Q).
San Antonio Spurs* at Portland Trail Blazers (10:00 pm EST); over/under 209.5 ; Blazers -2.5. INJURIES: SAS: Tiago Splitter (Q), Tony Parker (OUT) ; POR: LaMarcus Aldridge (OUT), Meyers Leonard (OUT), Joel Freeland (OUT).
Despite the Spurs playing last night, I regard them as favorites against the Blazers tonight. The absence of Aldridge/POR creates a huge interior vacuum and jeopardizes the effectiveness of Portland’s perimeter game. The Spurs have handled Tim Duncan/SAS with kid gloves and I wouldn’t be surprised to see very limited minutes from him tonight.
Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings (10:00 pm EST); over/under 206 ; Warriors -5. INJURIES: GSW: Andrew Bogut (Q), Jermaine O’Neal (Q); SAC: DeMarcus Cousins (D), Jimmer Fredette (Q).
The Kings are in big trouble in this one. Cousins/SAC would have been a big weapon against the interior weakness of the Warriors (assuming Bogut/GSW is/would have been out), but his doubtful. To compound problems, Isaiah Thomas/SAC will play through a wrist injury. That leaves Rudy Gay/SAC to carry the Kings offense. Golden State plays effective team defense and should be able to limit Gay and win this one by double digits despite being on the road.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Lakers (10:30 pm EST); over/under 213.5 ; Rockets -8. INJURIES: HOU: Patrick Beverley (Q); LAL: Pau Gasol (Q), Steve Nash (D), Jordan Farmar (D), Nick Young, Xavier Henry, Kobe Bryant (all OUT)
Jodie Meeks/LAL returns to the lineup, and that will decrease Kendall Marshall’s/LAL value. Steve Blake/LAL is ready and is an excellent dark horse candidate for a big game.