If you enjoy watching young, up-and-coming teams, then tonight is your night! Even with only three games scheduled today, we have a ton of young talent playing. Wemby will take on Scoot Henderson and the Blazers, Anthony Edwards will go against a hot Zach LaVine, and Giannis and Dame will try to claim their second win of the season. This might not be the peak of basketball talent, but oh well, it will be entertaining!
Out of all the games tonight, this one might be our favorite. It’s a bottom-of-the-West matchup with two intriguing young rosters. Obviously, the star of the show tonight will be Wembanyama as the Spurs remain competitive. Even though Wemby hasn’t taken the early leap people expected out of him this season, he’s still been must-watch TV. As a leader for the defensive player of the year, he’s been a brick wall inside, averaging 3.8 blocks a game! However, he’s settled for too many three-pointers instead of converting inside. Shooting only 42% from the field and 21% from 3, he needs to regain his footing in the paint.
Overall, the additions of some veteran talent, Chris Paul and Harrison Barnes, have helped to round out this roster. Even though they’re not a team competing for a playoff spot this year, they’re a strong competitor every night and excellent to watch.
Portland has been a surprise for most as they have also started the year 3-5. Many expect this team to win less than 20 games, which they still might do, but they’ve come a long way quickly. The Blazer’s defense has been the bright spot. Their roster is full of long, athletic wings, and they all hustle on defense. With one of the tallest starting lineups in the league, they press the ball handlers constantly and instigate a physical game. Wembanyama might struggle against this group with a deep lineup of big physical centers. The Spurs will have to rely on the outside shot, which has been hit or miss. Especially with Devon Vassel out tonight, Portland could easily take this one with their physicality and dominant size.
Props:
Deandre Ayton Under 15.5 Points: Ayton has been a significant factor in Portland’s scoring, but going against Wemby might be tricky. With a lack of emphasis attacking the rim, instead settling for close jumpers, Wemby could tear him up. We expect him to struggle tonight offensively.
Victor Wembanyama Under 35.5 Points + Rebounds: We expect Wemby to have a good game, but he’s been shy about playing inside the paint. He'll struggle to put points on the board if he’s unwilling to challenge Portland’s bigs down low and falls back in his jumper. Considering Portland has Ayton, Clingan, and Rob Will to use in the paint, we expect Wemby to avoid the physicality down low tonight.
This could be an exciting matchup for Minnesota. The Bulls have been a challenging team this year. They push the pace on nearly every possession, making up for raw talent in their speed. Zach LaVine has been excellent this year, helping this team achieve a modest 3-5 record. However, he remains questionable for tonight's game, missing yesterday’s matchup against Dallas. We’ll wait and see, but we believe Minnesota will take this game either way. It should be closer than people expect, though.
If everything goes according to plan, Minnesota should be able to control this game. Despite the incredible pace the Bulls play at, the Wolves have a better team. All they need to do is not get lured into a foot race with the Bulls. They'll be fine with if they play their game, slow the Bulls down, and hit their outside shots. However, we’ve seen Minnesota slip up before, and if they take the bait, this explosive Bulls team is more than capable of stealing tonight's game.
Props:
Rudy Gobert Over 1.5 Blocks: Gobert hasn’t been racking up the blocks like he has in the past. However, we think that will change tonight. With the pace of the Bulls and their willingness to attack the rim, Gobert will have plenty of opportunities to reject some shots!
Josh Giddey Under 25.5 Points + Assists + Rebounds: We don’t think this is a great matchup for Giddey. He’ll have to battle through good defenders constantly, and with his perimeter shot hit or miss this season, he’ll have to get hot from range to beat this number. We specifically think he could struggle to rebound against the size of Minnesota, which will hope his overall numbers back.
We knew one of these teams would be at the bottom of the league this year, but not both. Milwaukee is desperate for a win tonight, as their season struggles have been epic. This group doesn’t work, especially with Khris Middleton out. They can’t play defense, and their scoring only comes from two players, Dame and Giannis. We had high hopes for a comeback season from this team, but now, with the season looking dire, we don’t know if this roster should even remain together. They have no tradeable pieces left, and with a 1-6 record to start the year, this might be the end of Milwaukee’s excellence in the East. The season is still young, and a win tonight over another 1-6 team would be a small victory.
On the other hand, Utah is completely fine losing this year. They resigned Lauri Markkanen and, with a young roster, are looking at their draft odds more than their record. Fortunately, Markkanen may return from injury this game, which could make them an exciting matchup for the Bucks. Especially with Giannis questionable for tonight's matchup, the Jazz have enough talent to win this game. We still think the Bucks have a stronger case to take this game, but with the money line sitting heavy in the Buck's favor, the disparity between these two teams isn’t massive. Currently set at +300 for Utah on the money line, we can’t help but take the big plus money tonight!
Props:
Damian Lillard Over 26.5 Points: Dame has been the workhorse of this offense. Despite the lack of team success, Dame is still putting up solid numbers. He’s averaging 27 points this year, and facing a weak Utah defense, he could thrive. Especially if Giannis isn’t full strength, Dame will have the green light all game tonight!
Walker Kessler Over 18.5 Points + Rebounds: This one is a bit of a hedge on if Lauri is unavailable tonight, but regardless, Kessler has been a force on the boards. We could easily see him pull in 12+ in this game, making this 18.5 number very doable.