RADIO
It's safe now, faithfuls. We can come out from under our rock. Our sacred sport has returned. With two games Tuesday, the Nets and Bucks lead off the season, leaving us with similar 30.5-point lines from both Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Following that, is a matchup between the Warriors and Lakers, which as of right now, has an insane 34.5 point line for Stephen Curry and LeBron James at 24.5 points tonight. None of the lines are expected to change.
Even with Giannis looking like he is about to hit the ground running, it's the first game of the season, giving us with a ton of variables. In any case, we'll discover more and more about each team with each game, but to start off the season, targeting fantasy points feels safer than attacking just points specifically.
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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BKN @ MIL
Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) LESS 30.5 Points - Kevin Durant (BKN) LESS 30.5 Points
Antetokounmpo looked great in preseason, but you know, it's preseason. Now that games officially "matter," we need to start taking note of the path each team is carving out for themselves and who they use to do most of that carving. We know Giannis is getting the ball and is going to do his fair share every single night, but there is no saying Jrue Holiday or Khris Middleton simply take the reigns on offense and go against a team like the Nets, who lack that consistent backcourt defensive pressure. It's happened before, it will happen again, but this is still the Antetokounmpo-show and he will leave an imprint on this game, it might just not be points.
For Kevin Durant and the Nets, there has to be some type of aftertaste left in their mouths after last years playoff loss, and it's hard to see Brooklyn not trying to make a statement with this game. The issues surrounding this team and their roster availability have already caused a stir and you can be sure both Durant and James Harden are going to look to silence the Milwaukee crowd in their home opener. Between Durant and Antetokounmpo, Durant has the edge to score more points, but James Harden is going to be my dark-horse candidate to run away with the statistical goodies.
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GSW @ LAL
Stephen Curry (GSW) LESS 34.5 Points - LeBron James (LAL) LESS 24.5 Points
Don't get me wrong, Stephen Curry is nearly impossible to hate, but my confidence meter goes haywire when it comes to taking the over/under on his nightly output. It's similar for LeBron James, except you don't have an inner-monolougue that repeatedly expresses, "this is the greatest shooter to ever step on the court." Unfortunately, it's not just a matter of just looking at the matchup either, it's not even whether the Warriors will keep games close. It's literally all about Curry. He's scored 40-points in landslide losses and 17-points in narrow victories. However, the last time Curry scored over 34-points in a season-opener was against the Pelicans in 2015 where he dropped 40-points. Granted, he still has little help heading into this game, but little help versus this year's Lakers doesn't necessarily make me think, "35-points, easy."
For LeBron James, he can be equally as frustrating. Being as great a player as he is, he understands it's not about stats which can be really annoying for someone like you or me...someone betting on stats. There have been games where he has a 24.5 point line, scores 22 points in the first half, and then fails to surpass 24-points and the Lakers lose. It's happened. (I watched.) With the amount of weapons he has now, it's not really clear who is going to be the one doing most of the damage nightly, and since we know neither Russell Westbrook or LeBron is a spot-up shooter, it would makes sense that both are going to look to pass first, then score. Even though both can penetrate the paint easily, the top scorer for the Lakers is going to be shifting consistently based on whoever is hitting. After tonight, we'll see more about both these teams, but look for the Lakers to get the entire team involved rather than force-feed one player to beat Golden State.
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