Be sure to check injury reports close to game time as these picks may change!
Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Lakers
This will be a game I suggest waiting for all the injuries to be confirmed. For the Nets, Durant is listed as out and Irving is a game-time decision. Whether or not Irving plays will have a huge impact on who wins this game. Irving has been on fire recently and will give Schroder a hard time on defense, if he sits Schroder will get off easy. For the Lakers, Davis is out and James is a game-time decision. If James and Irving sits, the advantage swings to the Nets on the road as Harden should have an excellent night.
Despite Durant being out the past few games, the Nets are still a decent team and are on a four-game winning streak and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. They get a Lakers team that they might not be able to outscore with their top rated offense against the Lakers top-rated defense, especially if two of their three superstar sit.
The Lakers are 8-2 in their last 10 games despite losing Davis for the next couple of weeks. James could be on the injury report to play mind games with the Nets.
The Lakers are the slight favorite at home with a spread of -2.5. This will be a close game if Irving plays. The Nets offense will keep them in the game but I believe the Lakers will make the necessary amount of defensive stops to keep them in check late in the 4th to cover the -2.5. This pick may change if Irving is a go and James sits.
Toronto Raptors at Milwaukee Bucks
The Raptors and Bucks are playing the second game of a back to back matchup in Milwaukee. The Raptors won the first game 124-113. A decisive victory lead by Van Fleet who scored 33 points and Siakam who scored 23 points.
The Raptors have found their mojo as the mid-season approaches. Thy started off terrible but now sit 13-15 overall and 7th in the East. The Bucks, however, are on a four-game slide and are now 5-5 in their last 10 games. They have shown to be vulnerable and definitely not the Bucks team from the past two years.
The Raptors have put Lowry on the injury report as a game-time decision. Lowry dropped 18 points in their last matchup. The Bucks have downgraded Holiday to a game-time decision. A player they are certainly missing to facilitate the offense.
The Bucks are still the favorite with a spread of -6.0. They will need Giannis to copy his last game with the Raptors which saw him drop 34 points, getting 10 rebounds, and chipping in 8 assists. The player that needs to improve from last game is Middleton who only dropped 11 points. I expect him to rebound from that game and score closer to his average. I also expect the Bucks to play better defense on Van Fleet which is why the Bucks -6.0 is the play.
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