NBA Picks, Predictions & Best Basketball Betting Odds [Wednesday, Jan 4th]

Ski:

Did I watch the game? No. Once I saw the Celtics were getting absolutely destroyed, I go ahead and turn my attention to something else. But I’m not surprised. We talked about it plenty times on the show. You get the star player ruled out for OKC, maybe nobody wants to play anymore for Boston. They lose by 30.

Alex Christensen:

It’s wild. We’ve had a lot of injury report nonsense in the year. I think it was a Bucks game, maybe, two weeks ago that true Holiday goes from probable to out. I think that actually happened while we were on the show, which is always all sorts of fun, and we might have something like that again, in a few minutes.

But how was your night last night, Chris? We did pretty good as a show, won all three of our bets. What more can you ask for?

Chris:

Yeah, I went one on one because I bet on the Jazz and they just didn’t really show up like I thought they would. Man, Kings are in a tough spot tonight, though. I don’t think we’re talking about that game, but we can talk about it later.

But yeah, Thunder are a strange case with the Celtics, they just always play them hard. It’s just weird when that happens in sports. It’s some kind of matchup thing or whatever. But it also commendable that the Thunder kept that lead, too, right? Celtics never really kept it within distance once they got up by a double digit, so impressive by an SGA-less Thunder team at home.

Alex Christensen:

Let’s take a look at our best bet record. A little better than it was yesterday. Still some work to do, but New Year and everybody’s starting to get it together here. As a group, we’re just about 19 games under 500. Josh carrying most of the load there. Five games of five, 500, the rest of us doing the work. We’ll get back up there, soon.

Let’s jump into our first game where again, the Oklahoma City Thunder on a back to back. We’re two point favorites here just a minute ago. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, not on the injury report for the Thunders. This line is flipped, the Thunder are now one point favorites. The total, I believe, still sitting right there around 227 and a half. Apologies, that’s actually jumped up but we’re hitting, we’re getting the 230s, now. So again, always a lot of injury nonsense, but I took the Magic this morning, minus two, and I’m going to go back and fix a little bit more of the Magic, now.

This is a really weird schedule spot for Oklahoma City. They come off a big win last night at home. They then come quickly to Orlando tonight, and then have to go back home for a game Friday, and then Sunday night against Eastern Conference opponents. So maybe not that much of a focus, but the Oklahoma City has been one of those teams, totally different home and road. They’ve been pretty terrible on the road this year. And again, back to back spot here, the Magic, pretty much fully healthy. I believe no Jalen Suggs tonight, but they’ve got their point guards, they’ve got Paolo Banchero, as I’ve talked about. You’ve got to sift through all those Magic results and really focus on those games. They’ve been a much better team when they have one and two ball handlers on the floor.

So even with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in here, I had the Magic of about three and a half, four point favorites. So I played the minus two and I’m going to go back and take some more, probably on the money line of plus money. What do you think, Chris?

Chris:

Yeah, this just feels like one of those bets that I don’t know how it doesn’t hit, but we’ve seen that a lot in the NBA, recently, and then it doesn’t hit, something happens. Because when it came out this morning, thought almost just a little too obvious, right? The Magic, vastly improved team. Thunder, that was about as much of an aberration as there is in the NBA last night, dropping 150 on the Boston Celtics. I know they were at home but they were without SGA, and if you break down the Thunder, offensively, they really don’t do anything well. They just don’t. They’re a pretty good rebounding team, but without SGA, especially, it’s just remarkable that they scored 150 points. It makes you just want to say, at the end of the day, oh these are pro basketball players and that’s why that happened because it just doesn’t happen very often.

Back to back Alex, I just can’t talk you off this play on the Magic. Obviously, it’s concerning that we’re seeing some line movement, now, and stuff, but I think you do have to question, at this point in the season, just something that we’re looking out for, I know Jay mentioned it yesterday. How invested are these teams going to be for the rest of the NBA season? It’s not the halfway point just yet, but this is the time period where usually, teams start to show a little bit more of what they’re planning on doing for the rest of the season.

So hopefully the Magic want to win this game because if they do, I think they win a cover for you, Alex.

Alex Christensen:

One other little note I just noticed, Bol Bal looks like he’s going to be out, as well, so could have been a combination of Bol Bol and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Again, either way, I looked at this Orlando roster, still see enough talent here, I’m happy to bet them tonight. What do you think of this game, Ski? Any angles you saw?

Ski:

Well, I’ll just try to give people a reason to choose between your side and the other side. And what I’ll say is, in my mind, when I think about NBA basketball, rest is always a good thing, but sometimes, too much rest can equal rust, and I think when you have more than three days rest, that’s where I think it turns into rust, so.

And OKC coming off that game yesterday, how hard was it? They won by 30 and they’re a pretty young team. I think they’ll be ready to turn around on a back to back. Last five game stats, as far as offensive rating, defensive rating, and rebound percentage, all favor the Thunder side. So I would probably lean towards them. I looked up the exact situation that these teams are in tonight, or that the Magic, or both teams, I guess you could say, it’s a home team with more than three days rest versus an unrested opponent, and the last time that they met, this team was up by more than 10 points and they end up losing the game.

And when I think about that, I would think they get some revenge, but the stats say this happened 15 times, they’re 4 and 11 straight up, and they’re 10 and 4 to the under. So if I think about all that, it makes sense to what I was saying about, maybe, Orlando comes out a little bit rusty here. So I will lean towards OKC side and probably more so towards the under in the game.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, that is a bit of a funky spot. Again, Orlando on three, four days rest, basically, back to back for Oklahoma City after a blowout. I’ll go back and dig in a little bit more. Maybe it’s a quick start for Oklahoma City, maybe I’ll add some more Orlando live, something like that. But I’m just happy to bet the better team at home, here. Again, I’m a funky one game road trip with Thunder, so I’ll take the Magic minus two. Congrats to you guys, you’ll get a better number than me.

Let’s jump into the next game. The Memphis Grizzlies visit the Charlotte Hornets here. The Grizzlies seven and a half point favorites, the total 236. As you look down the board here, Memphis finally is getting to be healthy. The Charlotte Hornets, I believe, have everyone tonight except Gordon Hayward, looks like he’s doubtful. Should be an interesting game. Chris, you have a player prop for us.

Chris:

Yeah, Farley bets with the player prop. Not very often, but I wanted to take Memphis in this game, but I think the number’s just about right, obviously, they’re on the road. That’s a pretty huge number for any team on the road, even if an upper echelon team is facing a lower echelon team like the Hornets. And the Hornets have been playing slightly better defense lately.

In fact, they’ve been defending the rim, in particular, a lot better. And we all know that’s what John Moran does. He attacks the rim, attacks the rim. But I think he’s still going to get plenty of opportunities tonight. I think he’s still going to get plenty of points. He’s got over 30 points in 5 of his last 7 games.

And the Memphis Grizzly’s injury report starting to stack up a little bit. You got guys like Brandon Clark out, Tyus Jones could be out tonight, is questionable right now. John Moran is going to have to handle a little bit more of the load, I think, than what he would usually do with a fully healthy lineup game to game. And let’s be honest, it’s still the Charlotte Hornets and they’re going to want to run fast. They’re going to want to beat you with offense, especially at home. Usually, when John Moran faces teams like that, and we saw it recently against a team like the Warriors, against a team like the Pelicans, and some other teams that are in the back of my mind right now, that’s when he scores his highest points, right? Because one catalyzes the other.

So instead of taking the Grizzlies tonight, I think, maybe a team total on them is a good look, too. But I’m going to go with John Moran. John Moran takeover game, once again, against what is still a very porous defense, for the most part.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, not a lot of good defensive guards there, in Charlotte. And again, bit of a funky spot for Memphis. First game of a road trip and it’s a back to back there, in Charlotte tonight, Orlando tomorrow. Ski, there was an angle you had, here, on one of the team totals.

Ski:

Yes, I can’t look to back Memphis on the side, but I’ll trust their defense tonight. And really, also afraid of this Charlotte offense. They’re the worst offensive ready team the last five games. They’ve only went over 115, 1 of those five games, and they’re also the worst three point shooting team in the league this season. On the season they average 114.1. Or, I’m sorry, on the season they average 111.4. The last two weeks they’ve been averaging 114.1, and at home, they average 109.6.

I’m looking at the flip side for the Grizzlies. They’re a top five defensive rated team, the last five games, they only allowed three of the last 16 opponents to surpass 115 points. They allow 111.1 on the season, and 110 and a half the last two weeks. So if they can keep up that defense, and with how poor Charlotte’s offense has been looking, I think they can, we stay under that 115 number for Charlotte’s team total tonight.

Alex Christensen:

I like that angle quite a bit. I know on the back to back, maybe Memphis tries to slow this game down a little bit. That’s definitely going to help you out, there, and they’ve done a good job against bad teams, like you said, locking them down. So I do like both of these bets here. John Moran should be able to do whatever he wants. Chris has over 27 and a half points for the Memphis Grizzlies’s star guard, and Ski is going to be playing the Hornets team total under 114 and a half. Again, Memphis doing really good to lockdown, especially to begin their road trip here.

Next up the San Antonio Spurs visit Madison Square Garden, the New York Knickerbockers, big favorites here. Land 9 points minus 410 on the money line. The total here sits at 226. We’ll start you with you here, Chris, you’ve got a look on a team total and I have a different team total look and maybe we should have just played the Knicks spread. I don’t know. You start.

Chris:

Yeah, Knicks spread is a little too big for me, although they are at home in this one. This is a revenge game and they faced his team a few games ago and they didn’t have Jalen Brunson in that game. So as usual, he’s just a spark for their offense and they were less efficient without him. But this is a nice spot for the Knicks to get the job done, so I’m going to take team total over 118 and a half.

The Spurs are the worst team in defensive efficiency on the road this season and they have been one of the worst, if not the worst team over the last 5 to 10 games on defense. And obviously, you’re facing a Knicks team who, they always ebb and flow throughout the season. Sometimes it feels like they’re really focused on defense and they’re really clamping down, and then other times, the defense regresses and they find themselves more on offense.

That’s what’s been happening a little bit more with the New York Knicks. Obviously, you have to the fact that they’re at home and the Spurs don’t present anything to really intimidate you, as far as being able to stop Jalen Brunson or any of the contributors on the Knicks offense. I do wish that RJ Barrett was playing tonight, but increasingly, he’s just a role player in that offense with the rest of them. It’s really all about Jalen Brunson facilitating everything out there. So I think this is a smash spot for the Knicks and they go off on offense.

Alex Christensen:

So I’m going to take a Spurs team total under. And part of it, I agree with everything you just said there, Chris. What I love is how good the Knicks have been defensively, not only at home, but against some of these bad teams. If I’ve said it once on this show, I probably said it a hundred times. Blowouts are good for overs. Not when the Knicks are playing. When they get one of these teams that really is not as good as them, they get up to a big lead, they slow the game down, really grind it out. You start to look at some of their past blowouts. A lot of their 15, 20 point wins, which they have a handful of this year, are in games where they’re really held their opponents, sometimes even less than 90 points.

Now the Spurs like to run the ball if this game gets out of hand, Popovich has no problem just letting his guys out there to run to get some minutes and get some reps in there. So happy to take the under 108 and a half here. I had it closer to 106 before, again, look at it and, maybe, adding a little bit more value on this based on how the Knicks have done, not only at home, but again, some of these bad teams that they’ve really taken care of. What do you think of those games, Ski?

Ski:

Yeah, I was closest to backing the New York Knicks to go over their team total. The thing that held me up is I just don’t like the pace that they’ve been playing at, it’s been extremely slow. But the Spurs defense has just been terrible. The worst defensive rated team, the last five games. Well, last two weeks I think they’re allowing 127 points per game, and if you look, specifically, on the road, it’s like 132 points per game they’re allowing. It’s just absolutely pathetic. They’re the worst team defended in three so far this season. So if I have to pick a play in this game, I’d ride with Chris on that New York Knicks team, total over.

Alex Christensen:

I can dig it. Two team total plays for us. Chris likes the Knicks team total over 117 and a half. I’ll take the Spurs, team total under 108 and a half. One more game for us to cover. Make sure you jump in with some questions, we’d be happy to answer when we get done talking about the Brooklyn Nets visiting the Chicago Bulls. The Nets favorites here, in this matchup by 4 and a half points. The total sits at 235 and a half, which looks a little too high for me. We know that overs have been really, really great the last 10 days or so, but if you start to look at the last three or four offensive efficiency, shooting averages, all those things that really peaked at the end of December, have started to cool down and we’ve seen totals start to lower a little bit in actuality, and catch up with where the market is.

And this specific game, here, looks like just, again, I had this in the low 230s. As I start to think about the matchup a little bit, it is generally scary for me to bet an under in a Brooklyn Nets game, especially with how suspect the Chicago Bulls defense has been. But when it comes to the style and the pace of this game, I don’t see either team wanting to run up down the floor trying to get as many shots up as possible. The Nets have been a much lower pace team than they were in the past, and I think that’s what we’re seeing with some of the help in the defense, trying to get more control of the pace of the game.

At the same time, the Bulls have been a pretty solid under team all year. They really don’t shoot a lot of 3s. The offense has moments where they go completely out here. So as much as I’m a little bit worried about the Nets putting up a huge number tonight, again, I just total closer to the 230s, so I’m going to take under 235 and a half here. What do you think, Ski?

Ski:

The pace they’ve been playing at the last five games, extremely slow, so that bodes well for your under. I was thinking about this game, and I feel like the spread should be a lot higher. It feels like almost trappish to try to get you to get the Nets, but they’ve won 12 games in a row. Obviously, all the recent performance stats are going to be better than the Bulls. It’s not a lot of reasons for me to look the other way. I just feel like, I don’t know, I don’t like to bet these games when I feel like they’re begging me to take a team. So I feel like the Chicago Bulls are the contrarian play of the day, and because of that, I didn’t put my money on the Net’s side, but if I had to, that’s the way that I lean. Brooklyn,

Alex Christensen:

Maybe a little bit of a funky schedule spot for the Nets. Three road games, they were home on Monday, another back out on the road for another three games. Again, just grasping it. Straws, I, too, have had maybe the spread a little bit deeper here for Brooklyn, but hard to get a good read on this Bulls team. What do you think, Chris?

Chris:

Yeah, no, a lot of the things that Ski said is what I think. This line, when it came out, essentially, it’s saying that Brooklyn’s 6 to 7 points better than the Bulls on a neutral court. Which that adds up, I guess. But you’re depending on, if you want to take the Bulls tonight, then you’re depending on a team that you really just can’t depend on. Every handicapper probably has those teams. They just don’t like to bet, they don’t like to bet even when they just have a game against another team. And now I want to take the Bulls because you would feel like variance is on your side.

This Nets run has to end at some point. They’re playing incredibly well on offense. The Bulls have played a little bit better on defense, I guess, but I just don’t trust the Bulls because they don’t do anything consistently. It’s like 10 game stretches of everything. So that goes back to last season, but 3 of the 4 last games have resulted in points that are not even close to where this total is. So I would definitely lean towards the under. I think it’s just a more contested matchup than people think. I think they match up well, defensively, against each other.

But then there’s also that pride stamper. DeRozen is playing really well. Superstar verse superstar, sometimes that amounts to a high total, too, so there’s just a lot of competing thoughts about this game that I don’t like. Would not be surprised if the Bulls won this game straight up, though. Because to Ski’s point, it’s a weird line. It’s right there in 5, just hanging around that 2, 3 possession, it’s weird.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, it’s a little bit funky. So let’s avoid the spread all together. Give me an under here, tonight. Under 235 and a half. Let’s jump into some questions and just so heads up, Ski, Jay is lurking so get ready for a Lakers drive-by, at some point.

First question up here, Aiden Ross asked, “What do we think about the New York Knicks first quarter, first half?”

They’ve been a great team. First quarter, first half, pretty much all season. They start quickly and just finish the game well. It didn’t get a chance to look at those numbers, myself. I know Chris, you looked at some of the first quarter and first half, what do you think of that look?

Chris:

Yeah, I didn’t look at it in this game. I’m not sure why, to be honest, but it’s probably around 5 in the first half. I think that’s a better angle. I wouldn’t want to take the next full game. The Spurs are still, you could say, I guess, a well-coached team. For what it’s worth, I think the Knicks are going to cover all these lines tonight. I think this is a blowout spot for New York, but I do think you’re getting more value if you take it early. So I like that angle, I still like the team total even more.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, first quarter I’m seeing 3 and a half; first half, 5 and a half, you basically need two baskets there for either one. That’s not too bad. What do you think, Ski?

Ski:

Yeah, I would lean towards the Knicks in the first half. I think it’s a little bit of revenge game too, right? They lost the last matchup versus Spurs. But the only thing I don’t like about it is the number. Yes, the New York Knicks have been a great first half team, but how many of those games that they’ve been expected to be up by 6 or more points, it’s usually they’re an underdog or a little bit close to a pick them. And if you like the Knicks side and you don’t want to roll with the team total, then yes, I would prefer the first half over the full game.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Next question here, Aaron Rogers asked us, “Any thoughts, here, on the Toronto Raptors hosting the Milwaukee Bucks?”

Looks like right now, the Raptors at home, 4 and a half moving to 5 point favorites, or maybe 5 moving, now, to 4 and a half, actually. Let’s call 4 and a half, the total right around 225 and a half. Ski, did you have any thoughts on that game?

Ski:

Well, I just think that if you wanted the Raptors, you should have bet this game last night or early this morning. You’re getting the worst of the number. They were, I want to say, underdogs last night, and then now, you got to lay, expect them to win by a few possessions. So it’s just not good NBA betting practice. The Bucks also, on a back to back, so far this season, they’re 3 and 0 against the spread, and they still have advantages in this game.

I feel like Raptors defense hasn’t been as good as the Raptor’s defense of old, and that’s when they really had success versus Bucks team. So I trust Milwaukee defense, and Milwaukee’s a better rebounding team. Off the top of my head, I think the Raptors are the second worst rebounding team over the last 5 games, and Bucks should be top 5. You know they have all that size, they can still get a lot of offensive rebounds and get second chance points in this game, and things like that can keep it close, if not help them win. So at the current number I would no longer look at the Raptors, I would look at the Bucks.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, honestly, I’m happy not to bet either one of these stinking teams. What do you think of this game Chris? They’ve just been a mess, in my opinion.

Chris:

Yeah, well that’s the thing. And now you have a bunch of people, Drew holiday’s going to be out this one, I guess, at least that’s what it says in the NBA injury report. Who knows, at this point. But yeah, Bucks off of back to back, they looked good last night against the Wizards team that’s been playing pretty well, they asserted themselves when they needed to, especially Giannis.

And now you got a Raptors team who really, it’s just really Pascal Siakam who’s the only consistent player on that team right now, really not anyone else. I’m higher on the Raptors, probably, than most people, I think they’re going to still find their footing, but they’re still stumbling around. So these spots become more and more desperate. They should certainly be motivated tonight facing the Bucks, obviously, a perennial playoff team in the Bucks. But again, you got to expect respect Giannis and what they did last night.

I’m not going to fade the Bucks, but I’m also not going to play on the Bucks on a back to back, so it’s just a no play for me. And yes, to Ski’s point, you could have got the Raptors as the underdog last night, so that’s when you wouldn’t want to take the bet.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, again, it must be injury and news moving out pretty quickly this morning. So tough game to bet. Stop Geoengineering asked about the Grizz Hornet’s over. Now Ski, we know that you’re on the Hornet’s team total under, would you, maybe, want to bet om Memphis Grizzlies team total over? What do you think of that angle? And my guess is you don’t like the full game over based on that team total under.

Ski:

Well, the pace that both teams have been playing has been there. And if you like some kind of over, it has to be the Grizzlies. Hornets, they’ve still been giving up, I think, close to 120 points per game the last two weeks. So if you do like an over kind of game, I would expect it from the Grizzlies. But both of these teams are bottom 5 offensive rated teams, the last 5 games, and top 10 defensive rated teams. So I prefer a lower scoring game.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, and again, first night of a back to back, we know Milwaukee’s going to try to keep their legs fresh and maybe keep the pace down. What do you think there, Chris?

Chris:

Yeah, no I agree with what Ski said. I would lean towards under in this one. People tend to forget, I think, because they see John Moran postering everybody with his dunks, but this has been a good defensive team. They’re a top 5 defensive team this season, and that and transition buckets are how they blow teams out, and you can do that, I think, probably pretty easily against the Charlotte Hornets.

If you’re looking for an over, I would only look at the Grizzlies side, but I wouldn’t trust an over on the game and I wouldn’t trust any kind of overs associated with Charlotte.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, it makes perfect sense to me. Two questions here about the Lakers game. Mark Holmes asked, “What do you guys think the Lakers line tonight would be with LeBron, without LeBron?” And then, USMC asked, “What do you guys think about the Lakers money line?”

LeBron has been playing very well, but again, looks like he is out tonight, based on what we’ve seen in this line move. In terms of the value of LeBron to the Lakers, it’s obviously huge. As I start to look at some of the numbers here, this line opened, the Miami Heat is 3 point favorites when, I think, LeBron was questionable or something like that. It’s now moved out to 7. And a lot of times what we see the books do when they’re not sure of what’s going to happen, they’ll move half the value. So my guess is if we’re seeing 4 points, now, that it looks like LeBron’s out, I have them close to 7, 8 points, especially with Anthony Davis here, and that lines up with the half move that we’re seeing there.

Ski, you’re our resident Lakers expert. What do you think about the value of LeBron, when it comes to the Lakers spread?

Ski:

My opinion, if you like the Lakers, just you’re saying you like LeBron, just go bet his point prop. He’s killing it every single night, why would you look any other way, or even just bet his points, rebounds, and assists? I don’t, I’m not sure if he’s going to go tonight. I think it’s interesting that the line is going towards the Heat, but the total is going up, too. Would you expect more points because LeBron is sitting> I don’t know too much about that, so I would be in wait-and-see mode, just to see for sure if he’s in.

And my thought process is, I would just bet on LeBron, specifically, because it’s a flat spot for the Lakers, first game back home after the long road trip, I’m not sure. Usually, that’s a spot where I try to fade those teams, so I’ll be betting on the Miami side, and if you like anything about Lakers, it’s LeBron.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, I think LeBron being out helps the total move up because that just means it’s the Russell Westbrook show tonight, and, maybe, Darvin Hamlets. These guys just run, maybe the pace is through the roof because LeBron usually slows that down a little bit. But Chris, what do you think the value of LeBron is?

Chris:

He’s 3 to 4 points, at this point, especially without Anthony Davis in lineup. And I just have to say, I forget what show it was on, I don’t know who said it, it might have been me that said it, but we’ve definitely chuckled about LeBron James already this season. Like wow, I don’t know how much value he has, at this point. And now, here we are, three months in and he is flying around the court. My goodness, he looks like he’s 24 years old, sometimes. So he still has the energy, he still brings it, he’s still a leader on the court, very important piece.

But something about the Heat, they’ve been thriving against these faster paced teams and just try to get out in transition. Teams like the Pacers just really limiting them on offense, and they did the same thing to the Lakers a few games ago. So I wouldn’t trust the Lakers tonight, with or without LeBron. The Heat are a team that’s starting to find their footing. They’re a lot healthier recently, too, so this isn’t, and then, again, too, what Ski said, this is a dead spot for the Lakers, finally back home.

Alex Christensen:

Yeah, a funky game there. One final question, JaMarcus Dorsey asked, “What do we think about the Phoenix Suns game tonight?” The Phoenix Suns visiting the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cavalier’s 5 and a half point favorite, still some 5s out there, total right around 217. Did you have any thoughts on this game, Chris?

Chris:

Just that too many injuries for me to be concerned about. I think Darius Garland’s out of this game, right? I think that’s what it said earlier.

Alex Christensen:

I believe so.

Chris:

Yeah, doubtful. Evan Mobley is questionable. I guess he’ll play. Against this version of the Suns, which really, they’re just without Devin Booker, at this point. They’re just tough to figure out because better teams, if the Cavs are fully healthy, they are at home, the Cavs are better team than the Suns right now. I’m pretty sure about that. But the Suns are just so well coached that they can put it all together, and they have been floundering a little bit, so it’s just one of those games where I want to stay away from because this could be a Sun’s game where just because the way they’re coached, the way they fly up and down the floor, the way that everybody contributes, they can really throw the Cavs off.

But that being said, Donovan Mitchell’s scoring over 70 points, guys, so if he keeps on doing that, then the Cavs going to win a lot of these games.

Alex Christensen:

Not just 70 points, but scored and assist on 99 points, the second most since Will Chamberlain 104, he had a 100 points and 2 assists, I guess, in that game. Ski, what did you think of this matchup?

Ski:

I don’t like the defense that the Cavaliers are playing lately. That’s a big reason why they were good this season, and they’re not really playing that defense anymore. Garland out is a blow, Mobley still game time decision, I don’t like that. And they’re off of an overtime win that they probably should not have gotten. I like to fade teams off overtime wins, in general, so.

And then the flip side, Suns are off of a blowout loss, so I think they may be a little more a motivated team tonight, and I’d probably grab them plus the points.

Chris:

Ski.

Ski:

Go ahead.

Chris:

I was going to say that, that’s a good point about the overtime win. That was about my only good beat in a month. I was on the Cavs in that game, so I will take it, my friend.

Alex Christensen:

I love it. I like what you said, Ski, about the defense. Something we talk about all the time, the biggest advantage the Cavaliers have is having two big guys that are room protectors that can be out on the perimeter. When you go from Mobley and Allen to just Allen or Mobley, it’s still pretty good, but it unwinds that great system they have there. I would look to unders in this game, again, especially if Mobley is in, I think this is just going to be a slow, clunky game. Again, Cavaliers, maybe a Sun’s team total under, something like that. So should be an interesting game. But again, a lot depends on who’s actually playing.

Thanks everybody for the questions. That was really great. While you’re hanging around there, give us a thumbs up, a like, drop a comment in the bottom. It all helps.

Let’s get into our best bets tonight. Of course, if you need a place, there’s no better than BetUS, where the game begins. Lots of great sign up offers and deposit bonuses and things like that.

Two looks for Chris tonight, a player prop, John Moran over 27 and a half points. The New York Knicks team total over 117 and a half.

I’ve got 3 bets tonight. The Magic minus 2, but again, you can get that at plus 1 right now. Just take the money line. Spurs team total under 108 and a half, and the Nets Bulls under 235 and a half.

Just one play for Ski. I don’t think he’s sick, folks. Maybe just too busy. Hornets team total under 114 and a half. Try to be a little more selective, here, as we continue to get better.

Again, thanks everybody, for watching. Be sure you follow the show on Twitter, as well as all of us. You can find Chris at Farley Bets, Ski at Ski Prophet and myself, Alex, at underscore nukes. Best of luck to everybody and the gang will be back. You don’t have to listen to me tomorrow. I got the day off. See ya Friday.