12-17-21 NBA Blog Train Friday
Look at this, the Blog Train is really rollin’ now!
Eight games on Friday night means eight game capsules.
All aboard!
Heat -9 at Magic OVER 203
Our Friday night began down in Orlando where we had the Heat -9 because the Magic were going to be playing the likes of BJ Johnson, Hassani Gravett and Aleem Ford. That’s right, an entire bench unit of G-League WHO HE!? characters that played a combined 51 minutes.
#13 BJ Johnson — nicknamed Bean on his Basketball-Reference page — actually played 10 games for the Magic back in the 2019-20 season as well as six games for the Hawks and one game for the Kings in 2018-29. He’s a 6-7, 200 lb lefty who went to college at Syracuse and La Selle and attended high school at… Lower Merion! WAIT, is that how he got the nickname Bean?!?
#12 Hassani Gravett we actually recognized from the preseason. He kinda jumps off the screen. A rookie from South Carolina, you would probably recognize him too if you watch college hoops.
#11 Aleem Ford, a rookie from Wisconsin, is such a WHO HE!? that he doesn’t have a Basketball-Reference page yet, and he has no picture on ESPN.com.
Congrats to Gravett (pictured above) and Ford on their NBA debuts tonight, but shoo wee did they get torched by Max Strus! Strus was dialed ALL the way in, scoring a career-high 32 points that included 8-of-11 from 3. Eight 3s for Strus!
Who else had a career-high for a second straight game? Our guy Gabe Vincent! After 26 points against Philly on Wednesday, Vincent added one for good measure to get to 27 tonight.
Even so, Heat -9 somehow came down to the wire at the end… The Heat were up right around 10 for most of the game, and the Magic were persistent: it was still a 10-point game after a Gary Harris layup with 1:36 to go.
Chuma Okeke left his man to double-team Kyle Lowry who found a WIDE open P.J. Tucker under the basket for the easiest layup off the glass. Heat up 12!
Gary Harris missed a 3 on the next Magic possession, followed by a pair of missed Dewayne Dedmon free throws that we sure could have used.
Then Franz Wagner missed a running floater off the glass, but Robin Lopez was there to tip it in right over Dedmon. The Heat lead went back to 10, leaving us covering by one measly point.
The Heat let the 24-second shot clock run out to give the Magic the ball back with 13 seconds left, our bet (life) hanging in the balance of the last garbage-time play of the game. And…
The Magic let the clock run out!
Heat 115, Magic 105.
Heat -9 turned out to be Squeaky Lock.
This Over 203 would have been a Pure Lock, but we don’t touch Magic Overs with a 10-foot pole.
In case you are wondering about our Magic WHO HE!? fellas, BJ Johnson scored 5 points, Gravett hit two 3s and Aleem Ford got one basket. Gravett and Ford’s first ever NBA points. Welcome to the game!
____________________________________
Nuggets +3.5 at Hawks OVER 225.5
No action for us here, but Nuggets +3.5 and this Over 225.5 would have been a double Pure Lock.
The Nuggets had four players score 20+ points. The high-man was Bones with a career-high 24! Joined by Monte Morris with 21, and Jokic and Jeff Green both put in 20.
Nuggets 133, Hawks 115.
Three-pointers: Nuggets 17-of-38. Hawks 7-of-24.
Remember when the Hawks had lost 8 out of 9 games, and then they won 7 in a row? Well, they have followed up that 7-game winning streak by losing 6 out of 9. Most concerning is that they have lost six games in a row at home. The last game they won was when we were at State Farm Arena for the Thunder game.
____________________________________
Warriors at Celtics +4.5 Over 216.5
Jordan Poole in the protocols meant that Steph played the entire 1st quarter. He scored 16 points and it looked like the Warriors were going to trounce the C’s.
But the Celtics outscored the Warriors 27-14 in the 3rd quarter. Yes, the THIRD quarter — it was the Warriors worst 3rd quarter of the season.
Steph was there to float them away late, but the Celtics were determined to cover the final-game spread of 4.5. If you took the Warriors, hopefully you got in early when it was -3 and -4 for most of the day.
Warriors 111, Celtics 107.
This Over was looking like a Solid Lock for most of the game but ended up being super squeaky thanks to that insanely low scoring 3rd quarter.
Steph totaled 30 points, 5-of-14 from 3. Andrew Wiggins had a splendidly nice game with 27 points.
We were ecstatic to see Aaron Nesmith getting 23 minutes! Nesmith made two 3s and was +7! Whoop whoop.
____________________________________
Bucks at Pelicans -1.5 Over 215
The Bucks appeared to be in control early. The Pellies looked to pull away in the 3rd. And then it was so even that this ended up in OT. (Keep in mind, no Giannis and no Middleton again for Milwaukee.)
Folks, we have no problem at all saying what is true: Devonte’ Graham is CLUTCH. Graham hit eight 3s! He was 8-of-12 from 3 and 8-of-12 from the field. That’s right, nothing but 3s for Golden Graham!
Pelicans 116, Bucks 112. OT
This Over 215 hit only because of OT.
He tried his damndest with 40 points back at his old stomping grounds, but this was not a Jrue Holiday Revenge Game.
We discovered something crazy during this game: in 140 mins this season with Sato and Temple on the floor at the same time, the Pelicans net rating is -30.4 points per 100 possessions. That’s the 2nd worst 2-man lineup in the entire NBA for all 2-man lineups that have played at least 140 mins.
Mo Bamba and R.J. Hampton at -32.9 in 193 mins is the worst, and the best at +32.9 in 231 mins is… George Hill and Jrue Holiday.
____________________________________
Spurs +11.5 at Jazz OVER 225.5
After being a part of such a beauty of a Pure Lock with the Jazz Over on Wednesday night, we were back for more tonight. Junders are out, and Jovers are in? Thats right, this Jazz Over was the Pure Lock of the Night!
Gah, we LOVE it when we are in on the Pure Lock of the Night. We were at a 76% chance to hit with two minutes left in the first quarter, and this Over 222.5 hit with over 4 minutes left in the game!
It was a close game-game after the Jazz were up early, and down the stretch, there was a masterclass in back and forth crunch time buckets.
The last one and game-winner belonged to… our boy Lonnie Walker! He drove right into Gobert.
Spurs 128, Jazz 126.
The Spurs had seven players in double-digits while the Jazz had six.
San Antonio snaps Utah 8-game winning streak. The Jazz hadn’t lost since Black Friday to the Pellies when Devonte’ Graham hit that deep go-ahead 3 in the final seconds. (Told ya: that boy CLUTCH.)
____________________________________
Hornets at Blazers -2 OVER 230
Ever since we started this blog two years ago, Hornets Overs have been one of our favorite bets. So you can imagine our elation with our beloved Hornets this season, the #2 offense and #29 defense. Hornets Overs are 8-1-1 in the last 10 games coming into tonight’s matchup against the Blazers #28th defense. So taking this Over 230 was a no-brainer, and that was even before we knew that LaMelo was returning from the protocols.
LaMelo was back, but our beloved Hornets were getting straight cooked by Dame and the Blazers. Down by 29 early — at least the points were flowing! The Blazers scored 81 points in the first half.
In the 2nd half, the Hornets clawed back in it, stronger than a 90s trend (Taylor’s version). They did it with immense ball-pressure, like mad dogs at a meat market. (Eric Collins remains undefeated.)
A comeback really looked in the cards for the Hornets when the Bosnian Bear fouled out with 6 minutes left, sending him into hibernation early. (Eric Collins remains undefeated!!)
But in the end, there was just too much Dame and… Ben McLemore!? That’s right, joining Max Strus and Devonte’ Graham: Ben McLemore also hit eight 3s on Friday night.
Dame scored a season-high 43 points in a get-right game that also featured his first dunk of the season.
Blazers 125, Hornets 116.
This Over 230 was another Pure Lock!
The Hornets were down by 30 on Monday in Dallas, up by 30 on Wednesday in San Antonio and down by 29 tonight in Portland. The rollercoaster continues with three more games on this current six-game roadie: @Phoenix on Sunday, @Utah on Monday and @Denver next Thursday. Sheeeesh.
The Blazers needed this win soo bad, finally ending their 7-game losing streak.
____________________________________
Grizzlies -6.5 at Kings Over 221
The Kings were up by 15, but did you really trust it? Hell na.
This Over was hovering around 50% for most of the game but took the hell off in the 3rd quarter when the Grizzlies woke up and laid a 33-19 smackdown on the Kings.
De’Anthony Melton put the exclamation down with this splendid garbage time power dunk. Whew, he cocked that one WAY back, son!
Grizzlies 124, Kings 105.
Speaking of Melton, here is your stat of the night:
Also, the Grizz are 10-1 in the last 11 games all without Ja.
The Kings have lost 4 out of 5. Next up: Spurs, @Golden State, Clippers and Grizz.
____________________________________
Lakers at Timberwolves +1 UNDER 221.5
First of all, thoughts and prayers if you had this Over, because this game was UGLY. Gross. Disgusting.
We also had a complete oversight by taking the Lakers +1 early in the day, failing to realize that Rondo would be playing 20+ minutes. (He was -19 in 22 minutes with 4 turnovers.)
Some suggested that this was Pat Bev trying to get in the good graces with the officials, knowing that he would be getting into trouble later on. (It did not stop him from getting a tech in the 2nd quarter.)
At halftime, we were walking back from the fridge with a snack and heard Big Perk say that Karl Towns dominating the Lakers was an understatement. “He’s out there playing that DADDY ball, playing that tomato chess.”
Now, we wondered if maybe we heard that wrong. But apparently we did not:
T-Wolves 110, Lakers 92.
Tomato chess KAT: 28 points, 10 rebounds 4 assists, 3 blocks and a steal. Yelling and talking to himself all night.
LeBron tried to get others involved early, but nobody could hit a damn thing. Bron only took 13 shots and scored just 18.
Shoutout to the newest Laker Isaiah Thomas with 19 points! Great to have IT back in the league where he belongs.
____________________________________
Tomorrow’s early matinee would have been the rematch between #1 Cade and #2 Jalen, but Jalen Green hasn’t played since before Thanksgiving, still dealing with that hammy.
Will we still be watching Rockets at Pistons at noon on a Saturday? YOU CAN BET YOUR SWEET ASS.
We love this game!
