12-27-20 NBA Blog Train Sunday
Ah yes, the Sunday after Christmas with the Monday of all Monday’s looming…
Have no fear, the Blog Train is here! 10 games today, so let’s get it!
Mavericks +3 at Clippers Under 226.5
Coach asked if we had any Locks today.
WCS power dunk! He caught the rim nicely and went right through Zubac. Not much on the height or the pull back, though. 2.8 out 5 power dunk rating.
Mavs 124, Clippers 73.
The Mavs were up 62-18 and the 50-point lead at the half was the largest halftime deficit in NBA history.
_____________________________________
Nets at Hornets +11.5 UNDER 233
Welp, we went against our very own beloved Hornets in this one, taking the Nets -6.5 in the first half. Why? KD and Kyrie looked fantastic in their first two games, wins over the Warriors and Celtics, while the Hornets did not, losing to the Cavs and Thunder. Hornets also on the second night of a back-to-back after a Saturday night thriller.
This game was deadlocked throughout most of the first two frames, with the Hornets hanging right with the Nets. With five minutes left in the second quarter, KD hit a couple of pull-up jumpers off Kyrie assists and then Joe Harris drained a 3 to give the Nets a 5-point lead with 3:36 to go. We were looking good! But the Hornets fought and really seemed like they wanted it more, crashing the offensive boards and dominating second chance points, points in the paint and points in transition. And that’s what ultimately did us in. The Nets only lead 50 to 48 at the half. So we won the Hornets Over on Opening Night Round II and we lost this Hornets first half taking the bad guys. The Hornets giveth and the Hornets taketh away.
Meanwhile in the second half:
Rozier transtion power dunk in Durant’s grill! A 4.0 out of 5 power dunk rating, not much attack on the rim but flawless in most other categories, and just a truly gorgeous poster.
Hornets 106, Nets 104.
The Hornets played sound team ball, just like we told you they would in our season preview. Six players with double-digit points, including all five starters. Gordon Hayward led the way with 28 points, doing work in the mid-range. LaMelo played 20 minutes and hit two 3’s!
Landry Shamet had about the worst game you can have. The Shamster played 13 minutes and finished with 0 points on 0 for 9 shooting from the field and 0 for 8 from 3. He’s a huge reason why we lost our bet! The fuckin’ Shamster. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, on the other hand, came in and knocked down all three of his three-point attempts. We would advocate that Luwawu-Cabarrot get more run than Shamet, but surely he can never be that bad again. (Until the next time we bet on the Nets.)
The Hornets MoneyLine was +458!
_____________________________________
Spurs +5 at Pelicans UNDER 227.5
Losing the first bet of the night is never fun. Naturally, we got right back in the game, hammering a Spurs +5.5 Live line in the third quarter of a close one, Pelicans up by 5 with just under 6 minutes to go in the third.
The Pelicans proceeded to go on a 9-0 run highlighted by… Lonzo BALL! Lonzo drilled a deep jumper (looking smooth as hell?) and then had a very slick give-and-go with Ingram that resulted in an easy lay-in:
Thankfully, the fourth quarter was much better, Dejounte Murray and Rudy Gay had our backs.
It looked like we were probably in the clear… yet with 52 seconds left in the game, a Lonzo free throw gave the Pelicans a five-point lead, the same five-point lead from when we initially made the bet! Lonzo missed the second free throw (phew!), but then Keldon Johnson missed a driving lay up (fuck!). More Lonzo free throws seemed likely, but he tried to pass out of the double team and Denjounte deflected it, Lonnie Walker snatched the interception and cruised in for an easy lay up! Time eventually ran out after Steven Adams missed a pair of free throws and we covered!
Zion wasn’t the only one smiling after this one.
Pelicans 98, Spurs 95.
SVG only deployed 8 Pelicans tonight. Zion played a game-high 38 minutes! 18 points, 11 rebounds, 5 steals and a block. Brandon Ingram 28 points on 9 of 23 shooting.
_____________________________________
Magic -2 at Wizards Over 230.5
No Westbrook on the second night of a back-to-back. Raul Neto got the start in his place and Neto scored 22 points. Color us surprised.
Kareem, that you?
Blue Panda with a lethal step-back on Fournier. Beal finished with 39 points but was 0 for 7 from 3.
Shaqtin’! Thomas Bryant had another Squaqtin’ moment when he dunked on the wrong basket…
Magic 120, Wizards 113.
The Wizards led by 17 points after three quarters and then were SMOKED off the court by Orlando, 43 to 19 in the 4th. The Magic won this game with all starters having a double-digit negative net rating, pretty rare. T-Ross was the flamethrower off the bench, 4 of 7 from 3 and 26 points with a +22 net rating. Markelle Fultz continues to look like he has leveled up, scoring 26 points after 21 last night.
The Magic are 3-0 for the first time in 11 seasons!
_____________________________________
Cavaliers +6 at 76ers Under 217.5
You can ask Petey Pablo, we seriously contemplated taking the Cavs MoneyLine +209 for the game and +165 for the 1st half. Both woulda hit!
Andre Drummond Revenge Game! For all those times Embiid talked shit to Big Penguin. Embiid didn’t play tonight, but still, we are happy for Drummond.
Cavs 118, Sixers 94.
Fact or fiction? The Cavs are this year’s Young Surprise Team. Well, through three games it’s certainly a fact! We might have picked Under 22.5 wins for the Cavs, but we did say: “You know what? It actually kind of smells like some young surprise team potential a brewing…”
Philly on the road, LOL.
_____________________________________
Bucks at Knicks +13 OVER 222
Okay, this one we did not see coming in the least. Giannis always wrecks the Knicks at MSG. Not tonight.
Knicks 130, Bucks 110.
How did this happen? Three-pointers: Knicks 16 of 27. Bucks 7 of 38.
Elfrid Payton: 27 points and 3 for 3 from deep. Julius Randle: 29 points, 14 rebounds and 7 assists.
Obi Toppin did not play and is expected to miss at least 6 games with a calf strain.
The Knicks MoneyLine was +685!
_____________________________________
Celtics at Pacers +3 Under 220.5
Domas flexin’ on ‘em!
Pacers 108, Celtics 107.
Tatum took a super deep contested step-back 3 for the potential game-winner at the buzzer. Alas, she did not fall. We would have liked to see him attack the basket since the C’s were only down by 1.
_____________________________________
Warriors at Bulls +3.5 Over 229.5
We took the Warriors -3.5 because this was a must-win for the Dubs. And because Steph took his braids out. The spread turned out to be a Psuedo Lock, but the the must-win was correct with a game-winning shot from:
It wasn’t Steph… It was Damion Lee, but of course!
Warriors 129, Bulls 128.
The Warriors stole this game away from the Bulls. Literally, the Warriors had 17 steals and forced 24 Bulls turnovers.
We have talked shit in this space before about LaVine’s late-game jack it up style, but he did his thang in this one with 33 points and a go-ahead bucket at the end that was negated by Damion Lee’s 3.
_____________________________________
Suns -3.5 at Kings Under 225.5
The Suns and Kings played last night and the Kings won 106-103. Tonight, the Over/Under was 225.5… on the second night of a back-to-back after the two teams just totaled 209 points. So we had to take the Under right? YES!
The 1st quarter (Kings 33, Suns 28) started off at a much quicker pace than we had imagined, but we knew things would slow down. And they sure did! The Kings also missed 7 free throws which helped.
In his rookie season, Ayton missed all four of the three-pointers he attempted. Last season, Ayton made 3 out of 13. He’s a third of the way there!
Suns 116, Kings 100.
Suns Revenge Game. (From last night as aforementioned.)
The Suns bench unit is what really did the damage behind a tied career-high 21 points from Cam Johnson.
_____________________________________
Timberwolves at Lakers -10.5 Under 229
No AD (strained calf) and no KAT (dislocated wrist) in this one.
This is precisely the Gasol to LeBron two-man game we knew that we would get with this pair.
Lakers 127, T-Wolves 91.
The Lakers are so damn deep.
_____________________________________
Five games on the menu tomorrow night on Monday:
Pistons at Hawks -8.5 O/U 226.5 — The Pistons are looking for their first win as the Hawks look for 3-0.
Grizzlies at Nets -7.5 O/U 237.5 — Nets and Grizz both looking to get bad tastes out of their mouths.
Jazz -5 at Thunder O/U 221 — We have to take the Jazz Under against the Thunder! The JUNDER!!!
Rockets +7.5 at Nuggets O/U 225.5 — This spread feels kinda high. Also like the Under here.
Blazers at Lakers -4 O/U 226.5 — Lakers second night of a back-to-back in a rematch of the 1st Round!
Catch you next time.
We love this game!
