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Steph Curry broke the three-point record last night against the Knicks, but not even his greatness can ignore that there's a looming cloud over the entirety of the NBA. With so many players entering health and safety protocol, it's alarming. More and more news seems to come out every day and we've already seen postponed games just over a third into the season.
With 11 games Wednesday, most of the teams playing have stable rotations, with the Hornets finally having a guard in their lineup with Terry Rozier, and the Clippers potentially getting Paul George back. With quite a few players still holding 'questionable' tags, waiting a couple hours before placing any bets shouldn't hurt your chances in most of these contests.
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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HOU @ CLE
Darius Garland (CLE) MORE 18.5 Points - Christian Wood (HOU) MORE 17.5 Points
You can tell a point guard is doing his job when his stats take significant hits but the team is winning at a higher rate. Currently, that's the case with Darius Garland, but that doesn't mean you should just resort to going with the under. Garland is still averaging near 15 shot attempts a game over the last week and that's him on a downtrend. He's setting himself up to have big nights, but isn't forcing the issue. Against the Rockets, teams have had a harder time failing to score, but Houston has been able to keep up with their own brand of offense. In a high-scoring game you can't deny Garland will be the focal point for Cleveland.
If Christian Wood plays, he's going up against one of the league's newest and toughest defenses. Anchored by Jarrett Allen, the Cavaliers combination of Evan Mobley, Allen, and Isaac Okoro has been one of the more imposing frontcourts lately. There's been no consistency to Wood's stats this season and only playing 25 minutes against the Hawks in a six point game Monday is slightly concerning. There's no reason to take the over here unless you are just feeling it.
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ATL @ ORL
Trae Young (ATL) MORE 27.5 Points - Cole Anthony (ORL) MORE 22.5 Points
Trae Young scored 41 points last game and the Hawks still lost to the Rockets. A few players came out publicly and addressed the defensive side of the ball, but we're talking about Trae Young here. The Magic defense is much better equipped to stop frontcourt players like Clint Capela and John Collins, so most of the upside here lies in both backcourts. This should be a high-scoring game kept competitive by backcourt production, but be wary that the paint is going to be a warzone of personal fouls.
Cole Anthony had a huge game last time out against the Hawks, but Orlando still lost handily and Anthony's 29-point, 11-assist game was ultimately pointless. With the Magic playing better every game and most of the offense going through Anthony, there's much more upside this time around. Atlanta is struggling currently and they are playing without a few key secondary playmakers. It might not be the difference, but it does push more even usage on both teams point guards.
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NOP @ OKC
Brandon Ingram (NOP) MORE 25.5 Points - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) MORE 23.5 Points
Since this is a battle between two of the worst teams in the Western Conference, it's no doubt that both teams best players are going to produce. Brandon Ingram has been playing much better as of lately and playing against the Thunder defense is just another chance to find a groove. He's scored at least 25 points three of his last four games, but take note that the one game he failed to score came against the only quality defense of the bunch.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been on the receiving end of quite a few blowouts lately and it's what is holding him back statistically. This will be the first time in three games that he will face a bad defense and not only get the chance to score, but he might even get a full workload. After playing just over 30 minutes in two blowout games, the Pelicans defense, albeit unwillingly, should make it fairly easy for him to get to his spots.
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MIN @ DEN
Nikola Jokic (DEN) MORE 26.5 Points - Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) LESS 24.5 Points
Undoubtedly, the best player playing right now is Nikola Jokic and he's facing the Timberwolves frontcourt. There's not much more you can say about his past performances that don't speak for themselves. The Nuggets bench isn't good enough to hold leads and that's allowed Jokic to have some truly massive games. Denver is a really good team until Jokic steps off the court and Minnesota has players able to score. Jokic has no choice but to have another huge night against a conference rival.
Karl-Anthony Towns doesn't carry the same gravity and his high-scoring nights are much more dependent on the team he is playing and whether or not he's actually hitting his jumpshot. Even with the Nuggets lacking the players capable of creating a strong frontcourt presence, Towns hasn't shown the ability to get up a ton of shots against a Jokic-led defense. Until he shows that he will aggressively try to score every night, there's no real guarantee he will score enough against a defense that is capable of disrupting his style of offense, especially when Minnesota has other options.
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