12-09-19 NBA Blog Train Monday: 9 Games
Welcome to Monday night’s NBA Blog Train!
Nine games means nine game capsules:
Clippers +3 at Pacers Under 216.5
Under 216.5 was a Pure Lock and really, so was Clippers +3 in a Paul George Revenge Game. You might think it’s been too long for a Paul George - Pacers Revenge Game, but the Indiana fans were booing PG. And Paul George made them pay with 36 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 steals and a block.
Clippers 110, Pacers 99.
PG in the immediate post-game interview: “I love playing in this building.” The Clippers are now 4-1 in games without Kawhi that PG plays in.
Sweet Lou had an extremely rare off game where he did not get fuckin’ buckets: 2 of 19 shooting and 0 for 5 from three.
We heard somebody call Sabonis an All-Star and we have to agree. However, we do not foresee him being too flashy in the ASG.
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Cavaliers at Celtics -13.5 UNDER 216
Gordon Hayward’s return! Everybody (in Boston) was happy.
Previously 0 for 25, Grant Williams hit his first career three-pointer and could not stop smiling.
Celtics 110, Cavaliers 88.
The Celtics won despite only attempting 8 free throws all night.
Mostly thanks to three-pointers: Celtics 15 of 27. Cavs 7 of 31.
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Raptors at Bulls +6 UNDER 214
Bulls down 1 with 8 seconds left, you already know LaVine was putting it up.
Raptors 93, Bulls 92.
LaVine did not get it to go, and he needs to start having PASS as a possible crunch time option.
This one went way Under thanks to abysmal shooting from three: Toronto 7 of 28. Chicago 12 of 46.
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Pistons PK at Pelicans UNDER 227.5
Correctly labeled Ingram poster but not power.
See, now this is a power dunk! Jaxson Hayes is about it.
Derrick Rose game-winner just before the buzzer!
Pistons 105, Pelicans 103.
The Pelicans have now lost 9 straight. This was a game that was supposed to be on national television (NBA TV) but was removed.
Drummond did not get his 15 points (13) or his 15 boards (10).
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Kings +12 at Rockets Over 225
In a tie game with 8 seconds left, it was Westbrook, not Harden, who had the ball in his hands. Westbrook drove downhill to the basket and made the go-ahead bucket with 1 second left. Russ also made a clutch three-pointer and had a superb cross court assist to Ben McLemore on the two possessions prior. But it was all negated by…
Professor Big Shots!!! (We saw this buzzer-beater right after we saw the D-Rose game-winner in a span of about 10 seconds. #bliss)
Kings 119, Rockets 118.
Shoutout Harrison Barnes who hits tough ass shots on the reg these days.
Shoutout P.J. Tucker’s career-high 19 rebounds.
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Magic +13 at Bucks Under 217.5
Air Gordon power dunk!
Bucks 110, Magic 101.
The first game that the Bucks did not cover in the last 6 games. We picked up T-Ross in fantasy, so we knew this would happen.
An interesting thought (as always) from Zach Lowe’s 10 Things column last Friday: “LeBron has drawn tons of deserved praise for his resurgence on defense. Antetokounmpo's continued destruction is ... boring, I guess?”
We don’t find it boring. The Freak wreaks havoc everywhere. We are, however, surprised that FiveThirtyEight’s Defense Raptor rating currently lists Giannis at 32nd, but he is 3rd in Defensive Box Plus/Mins per Basketball-Reference. Third sure seems A LOT more accurate.
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Thunder +8.5 at Jazz Under 206.5
YOU GUYS, we liked this Jazz Under because we always love a good Jazz Under. But then we remembered that we have Chris Paul in fantasy, and that Jazz Unders have mostly gone by the wayside recently. So we flipped it and went Jazz Over. That turned out to be a Pseudo Lock. More of a Mirage Lock, really. We got burned by our very own Jazz UNDER!
Thunder 104, Jazz 90.
OKC blew this shit WIDE open in the 3rd quarter, outscoring Utah 34-21. And it wasn’t even that close.
So the Jazz really are going to start off slow again like this, huh. The Jazz offense is stuck in the thickest mud right now.
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Timberwolves at Suns -4 Over 233
Under 233 was a Coach’s Pick that we Advised Against! And we should have fadeddd it. Although it did only go Over by 1 point, it was on schedule to go Over from the jump.
Suns 125, T-Wolves 109.
Aron Baynes returned, playing in 15 minutes off the bench, which means our Suns are almost truly back!
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Grizzlies +3 at Warriors Under 220
Warriors -3 was a Coach’s Pick. And dammit if we didn’t roll with Coach on this one. Coach told us Ja Morant was still out and we liked the idea of the “Warriors” finally back at home.
Grizzlies 110, Warriors 102.
Ja Morant played (26p/7a/2r/1s) and the new Chase Center is not the Warriors home yet because the Warriors are not the Warriors. We’ll be at the Chase Center next week and will test this theory.
Golden State missed so many fucking bunnies in this one. *Big Sigh*
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Only four games on Tuesday night, but we are interested in all four. We love this game!