Be sure to check injury reports as these picks may change!
Boston Celtics at San Antonio Spurs
The Celtics come into San Antonio 2nd in the Eastern Conference and have a record of 10-6. They are on a two-game winning streak and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
The Celtics will be without Langford and is the only injury on the report for the Celtics. They have gotten point guard Walker back from injury and are 2-2 since his return. However, both of the losses came from the 76ers on the road. Since his return, he has seen limited minutes of around 23 MPG. They are slowly working him back into the rotation so they don’t aggravate his injury and he can catch up on his conditioning. He is averaging 17.0 PPG, 4.8 APG, and 3.3 RPG.
The Celtics are being led by Tatum and Brown who are both having excellent seasons. Brown is seeing a major jump in play and is leading the Celtics with 27.3 PPG. He is also averaging 3.4 APG, and 5.8 RPG. His counterpart Tatum is right there with him in scoring averaging 26.6 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 6.8 RPG. This duo is rapidly becoming one of the most effective in the league.
The Spurs will always be competitive under the coaching of Popovich. The Spurs are 9-8 and sit 9th in the Western Conference while going 6-4 in their last 10 games.
The Spurs will certainly need to focus most of their effort on shutting down Tatum and Brown. The Spurs have notoriously been one of the best defensive teams in the league.
While the Spurs do not boast a ton of star talent, Popovich is getting the most out of the talent he does have. The offense is lead by star shooting guard DeRozan averaging 20.1 PPG, 6.8 APG, and 5.3 RPG. The Spurs also tout seven players that are averaging double digits in scoring. The offense severely drops off after that.
Despite having the home-court advantage, the Celtics are the -3.5 favorite. I believe this number to be off as the Spurs will have a tough time matching up against the Celtics with their aging talent. The play here is Celtics -3.5 as they will look to further develop their chemistry with Walker.
Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz
The Mavericks are certainly seeing a dip in play from last year. They are 8-9 in the season and are on a two-game losing streak while going 5-5 in their last 10 games.
The dip in play from last season can be attributed to all of the injuries they are facing this season. They have finally gotten back big man Porzingis who is averaging 19.7 PPG and 8.3 RPG. They have certainly missed his ability to score from anywhere and opening up the lane for Doncic to drive. While the overall play of the Mavericks is down from last year, Doncic has elevated his play making triple-doubles look easy. Doncic is nearly averaging a triple-double on 27.3 PPG, 9.9 APG, and 9.8 RPG. Once the Mavericks get healthy, they should get more wins.
The Mavericks have three players listed as game-time decisions, these players include Richardson, Powell, and Finney-Smith.
The Utah Jazz is on a league-best nine-game winning streak. They are showing the league that they are finally championship contenders as every team will love to be the team to knock them off their streak.
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The Jazz is the -4.0 favorites at home and will look to extend their streak behind one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the league. However, no matter how good a team is, no one will forever and it’s time to start betting against their streak. This is why the Mavericks +4.0 is the play and a wager on the Mavericks ML is worth a wager as well.
Detroit Pistons at Cleveland Cavaliers
Due to time constraints on my part, this will be a very short analysis. The Cavaliers are on a two-game losing streak and are 4-6 in their last 10 games. Love and Delladova are listed as out and Nance is a game-time decision.
The Pistons are coming to Cleveland after winning their last game bringing their record to 4-13 on the season. The Pistons will be without Griffin and Hayes.
The chance of the Pistons winning back to back games is very unlikely without Griffin making the Cavaliers -2.5 the play.
Celtics -3.5
Mavericks +4.0
Cavaliers -2.5
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