RADIO
It's been a great few days of basketball and Friday starts off the weekend with a nine game slate. The Bucks and Thunder have the highest point total heading into today, and with Milwaukee playing terribly lately, the return of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander could not have come at a better time. Giannis Antetokounmpo and company are -10.5 early in the day, but there no saying the Thunder didn't watch the Raptors last night and decide to implement a wall of their own to completely shut down the Bucks offense.
The Suns-Pelicans and Timberwolves-Raptors are both set to be high-scoring contests, but without Kyle Lowry, there is another inconsistency thrown into the mix. Production is going to come from everywhere, and that'll be the dynamic the Raptors thrive on. The only player that sees a direct and automatic boost, as witnessed last night, is Norman Powell. Normally, he sacrifices scoring for the sake of the other, better shooting, guards. Right now, that is not the case.
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GSW @ ORL
Steph Curry (GSW) MORE 30.5 Points - Nikola Vucevic (ORL) MORE 26.5 Points
It took Steph Curry going into overtime to score 23 points last game, but he kept shooting and it won Golden State the game. He didn't shoot well, but that'll change and he picked up the scoring near the end of the game. The Magic don't have any pesky defenders and despite Michael Carter-Williams length...what is he really going to do?
The return of Evan Fournier allowed Nikola Vucevic to post a huge 16-16-5 game, but until he starts scoring like he was earlier in the season, it's hard to trust just how many points he'll post nightly. Looking at the Warriors frontcourt, the more and more it seems like this is a great game for Vucevic to lead the scoring early on. Even if Draymond Green plays, the only thing that's been holding back high-scoring nights for Vucevic is himself.
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PHX @ NOP
Zion Williamson (NOP) MORE 26.5 Points - Devin Booker (PHO) MORE 26.5
Without Steven Adams, Willy Hernangomez sees the most upside, but it also changes the pace of the Pelicans offense. Zion Williamson will have better spacing with Hernangomez, and outside of having a great, all-around game, there's no reason to see downside for Williamson here. The Suns defense does pride themselves on playing tough defense against bigs, but there is only so much that Jae Crowder, Deandre Ayton, and Mikal Bridges can do while also trying to deal with Brandon Ingram.
Guards score against the Pelicans. Even if they don't score, they play well despite missing shots. The Pelicans are currently the owners of the leagues top offensive rating and worst defensive rating over the past 5 games. Hernangomez at center doesn't add anything that'll keep Booker from scoring at the rim.
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OKC @ MIL
Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL) MORE 28.5 Points - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC) MORE 23.5
Antetokounmpo is doing everything he can for the Bucks offense, but since he can't shoot, he's pretty much limited to what the defense decides to throw at him. His off-ball scoring is bound to get figured out and utilized at some point, but until the coaching can that unlock that part of his offense, he's pretty much given the ball and just told to run at the hoop. Regardless of how the Bucks are playing, Antetokounmpo is the offense.
Gilgeous-Alexander returned to the rotation with 22 points, taking 14 shots and a loss to the Grizzlies. The Raptors guards COOKED the Bucks backcourt repeatedly last night and there is no chance Donte Divincenzo, Bryn Forbes, or any other Milwaukee point guard that isn't Jrue Holiday, will be able to guard Gilegeous-Alexander on a consistent basis and come out successful.
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TOR @ MIN
Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) LESS 25.5 Points - Pascal Siakam (TOR) MORE 22.5
Pascal Siakam played well against the Bucks last night, and now that he is facing one of the weakest frontcourts in the league, his upside has actually increased despite playing his second game in two days. The Raptors are still going to try and get the most out of Norman Powell without Kyle Lowry, but the amount of times Siakam found himself with the ball in scoring positions, you have to take the over.
The Timberwolves do not really have a lack of options, it's just a matter of whether they decide to actually score that game. Ricky Rubio will find ways to incorporate Towns, but he needs to start hitting outside shots if before he gets back to high-scoring nights.
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