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Monday’s eight game slate features four teams on the second night of a back-to-back. The Hawks and Clippers should be relatively fresh with their starters playing lower-end minutes, and the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers will desperately want to win at least one leg of their back-to-back, after both teams had chances to win their Sunday matchups, but failed to close it out.
There haven’t been a ton of injury updates this morning, with the main Pelicans, Brandon Ingram, Jonas Valanciunas, and Josh Hart, still holding questionable tags. Any one of those three players being available changes the entire dynamic of their game against Cleveland, especially if there is any fatigue showing on the side of this young Cavaliers team. There are only three games posted so far, so look in the NBA Chat Room for further updates that come throughout the day. I also keep forgetting I'm not supposed to be doing Monday articles anymore, so for any editor that sees this. Sorry.
MonkeyKnifeFight.com is always ahead of the curve with their canceling of contests amid postponements, so don't worry about wasting money on a player or game that might not play. As always, you can find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter with any questions, especially since lines and players are subject to change throughout the day.
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MEM @ PHI
Joel Embiid (PHI) MORE 32.5 Points – Ja Morant (MEM) MORE 27.5 Points
It’s safe to say that both of these players are capable of hitting the over every single night. These are two, MVP-caliber talents, playing at their peak against moderately tough matchups. Normally, role players in this situation cave-in and trip up, but Joel Embiid and Ja Morant have both, on multiple occasions, rose above and beyond, laughing in the face of adversity and proving why they have become household names in their own right.
Embiid faces Steven Adams, who counter-attacks but putting pressure on Embiid’s defense, but ultimately the matchup will favor Philadelphia’s ability to space the floor. The Grizzlies force teams to hit shots, and Embiid is one of the few that has proven capable to do so nightly, so even against a defense aimed at shutting him down, that likely won’t happen unless he does it to himself. The same can almost be said for Ja Morant, except for the fact that Morant doesn’t miss shots around the rim and he’s going to score around the rim.
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LAC @ IND
Domantas Sabonis (IND) OVER 19.5 Points – Reggie Jackson (LAC) OVER 15.5 Points
When the Pacers have any of their main contributors back in the lineup, it’s almost comical how many stats they simply absorb. When Domantas Sabonis plays, he’s putting up 20-points along with at least 12 rebounds to go with numerous assists. Indiana is desperate for offense, so even if Sabonis isn’t hitting his shot, it shouldn’t matter because of how naturally he creates room around the rim. Ivica Zubac might have his work cut out for him against Indiana’s frontcourt defense, but Sabonis is going to be a handful to contain and likely going to keep Zubac from hitting any overs tonight.
Reggie Jackson is the epitome of Katy Perry’s song title, Hot-N-Cold. There is no tracking or trend that gives you the upper hand on what exactly will happen with Reggie Jackson’s stat line, but you can be promised one thing, it’ll be one heck of a sweat. Either you’ll take the over and he’ll hit in the first quarter, or you’re going to watch him limp to a measly 11 points, all 11 coming in the last quarter, just to give you some dying hope… OR you take the under and he proceeds to drop 30-points in a half, questioning who you think might just be the best player to ever set foot on a basketball court. Either way, a disgusting bet to take.
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TOR @ ATL
Trae Young (ATL) MORE 26.5 Points – Fred VanVleet (TOR) MORE 21.5 Points
Trae Young was the only Hawks starter to play over 30 minutes yesterday, but scoring 36 points and adding 12 assists makes you more than deserving of that type of minutes disparity. There was already an injury tag next to his name against the Lakers and it’s sure to follow him tonight, especially since the injury was hip soreness. The extra minutes last night could mean he gets rest tonight, but that's unlikely since the Raptors are an inter-conference opponent. However, as long as Young is playing, he’s going to be looking to score 30 points, just keep an eye on updates.
Fred VanVleet and the Raptors are coming off a triple overtime victory over the Heat, where every starter played at least 53 minutes, VanVleet playing the least. After somehow only scoring 19 points, it was still enough to come away with the win and that’s was against one of the league’s more treacherous backcourt defenses. He might not get another 53 minutes of game time to hit the over tonight, but he shouldn’t need it with this backcourt defense being significantly worse. With these teams surging, we should see plenty of production from all levels of the court.
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