The NBA is terrible about announcing injuries early so be careful and check before the game! These picks may change with the injury report!
Orlando Magic at Houston Rockets
The Rockets are off to a slow start going just 2-4. They don’t seem to be the same electric team we saw in past seasons.
Their pace has slowed tremendously. They are currently ranked 18th in the NBA in this category. This could be due to a lack of threes and three field goal percentage which they are ranked 21st and 26th, respectively. Other team’s erasing their three-point game has proved to pay dividends.
John Wall isn’t a known three shooter but can easily hit them given space. Wall has been a catalyst for this team avgerging 23.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 5.0 RPG. After a year off due to injury and on a new team, Wall is proving he is still an elite point guard in this league.
Outside Wall, Gordon, Harden, and Wood. The Rockets are seriously plagued by lacking scoring and assists from everyone else. It seems their main players will get their points no matter what, but clamping down on everyone else can lead to wins.
On the other side, the Magic have had an excellent start to the season going 6-2. A lot better than what they were projected to start.
However, injury seems to find this team every year. They recently just lost a helpful piece to their lineup, Fultz, who is out for the season. He’s the second player to go out for the season, the other is Isaac. In his short play this season, Fultz averaged 12.9 PPG, 5.4 APG, and 3.1 RPG. Not bad after his hiccup of a start to his career. He should come back swinging next season. Aminu and Carter-Williams are also listed as out for this game. Fournier is a game-time decision.
The Magic are still talented even with all of these injuries. They are getting excellent play from Vucevic who is averaging a double-double on 21.0 PPG, 3.5 APG, and 10.5 PPG on 50.4% shooting, and 44.2% shooting from range. He’s a beast this season who is noticeable on the court and demands defenders’ attention.
They are also seeing great play from Gordon who has been plagued with injuries but is a force on the court when healthy. Ross and Fournier are a duo scoring threat off the bench. They are deep when healthy, but these players are capable of elevating their play if they must.
The Rockets defense isn’t the best which can allow decently talented teams to stay in the game, especially if they shut down the three-point game or have an off shooting night. I believe the Rockets should win this game if Fournier sits with a Magic cover of +5.5.
Phoenix Suns at Detroit Pistons
The Suns are off to an excellent start which shouldn’t be surprising given their offseason acquisitions. The addition of Chris Paul was game-changing. Playing with four other team’s before his arrival to Phoenix, he meshed with all teams seamlessly. So it shouldn’t be a shock to see him playing well.
Paul’s best feature is what the Suns lacked last season. The inability to control the pace of the game and lack of defense. Paul slows the game down allowing Booker to get open and find easy shots assuming more of a shooting guard role. Acquiring Crowder brings in some scoring but he mainly brings it every night on the defensive end and can limit the scoring of the top forwards in this game.
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The Suns scoring has been their strong suit and it has remained this season. They are getting scoring up and down the lineup with seven players averaging over 10.0 PPG. This makes the Suns hard to guard if everyone is a threat.
The Pistons are off to a orrible start with a record of 1-7. The lack of all-star talent on this is glaring. The Pistons are clearly in full rebuild mode and will most likely finish last in the NBA this season. Time to brace fans.
Their main talent that they possess is Griffin and Rose. Both extremely injury prone and have missed games this season already. Rose and Jackson are a game-time decision.
Despite the Suns being 6-2 with quality wins under their belt, Vegas has listed them as a -6.5 favorite, which I believe to be a mistake. The Pistons do not have the talent to match up against everyone, especially if Rose sits out. The Suns should easily cover this spread and win outright.
Oklahoma City Thunder at New York Knicks
The Knicks have taken the league by storm this season. Head Coach Thibodeau has got these Knicks players playing their hearts out every game. They are getting the most out of their players as they are taking down top-tier teams despite lack of all-stars.
They are seeing a new face to the franchise emerge in Randle. He has been absolutely on fire this season and cannot be stopped. The notable defensive center Gobert couldn’t even contain him. Randle dropped 30 points with 16 rebounds and 7 assists. On the season he is averaging a monstrous double-double of 23.1 PPG, 7.4 APG and 12.0 RPG. Seems like their is nothing he cannot do on the court.
The Knicks have come across a little injury bug. Burks is listed as out, which Rivers has filled the void with excellent play of late. Knox, Noel, and Bullock are listed as a game-time decision.
The Thunder have also been competitive this season after they were written off before the start of the season. The Thunder do have talented veterans on their roster such as Horford and Hill who still have plenty of juice left.
The Thunder are being lead by young star guard Gilgeous-Alexander. He emerged onto the scene last year as a serious scoring threat which has continued this season averaging 19.0 PPG, 6.7 APG, and 4.6 RPG.
The Thunder are remaining competitive due to everyone contributing. They tout six players scoring double digits and are getting scoring off the bench from everyone.
The Knicks are a -2.5 favorite at home. The injuries that the Knicks are facing will make all the difference. Horford should be able to stop Randle from a high scoring outing of more than 30 points forcing other players to step up in a big way. If Knox, Noel, and Bullock sit, Thunder +2.5 is the play.
Magic +5.5
Suns -6.5
Thunder +2.5
Parley of the Day
Suns ML
Lakers ML
Clippers ML
Pelicans ML
Odds: Unknown as lines are not established
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