NBA 1/7

Kyle Kirms
4 days ago
5 min read

RAPTORS @ HORNETS - 7:10 PM

Betting on the Hornets has been extremely profitable. The Hornets have one of the hottest offenses in the NBA right now.

They've been doing this without a center recently.

Raptors don't really have a center right now either.

Raptors have been playing. RJ Barrett is back. We're even seeing the offense come around a little. They came back from down 21 against Orlando last week.

The offensive rating drops 10 points against zone coverage. Bottom 5 offensive team in the NBA against zone defenses... Hawks didn't show us much zone defense at all.

All 5 of these games were at home.

Toronto's defense has been great down low... but the Hornets are the best 3PT shooting team in the NBA right now.

I'm just worried... cuz the Hawks could not get an open shot against this team.

1st leg of a back to back for Charlotte.

Both of these teams are much better than their record shows.

BULLS @ PISTONS - 7:10 PM

Coby White came back and played in the Boston game. They got absolutely destroyed. Seems like the injuries are catching up to Chicago. They had a couple good games initially but it seems to be falling apart.

Detroit's missing their frontcourt... but Isaiah Stewart's played well (Bulls offense is kinda running through Vucevic right now 15-15-7 against BOS)... and the Bulls are missing Jalen Smith, Zach Collins.

Coby White is gonna sit one of the games in this back to back. This one or the game against Miami tomorrow. Buzelis is also listed as questionable... they might be resting him as well.

Detroit's been elite defensively and I think that should continue here... especially if the Bulls are resting guys.

The Bulls run their offense inside-out... the Pistons defense has been elite down low. They tried switching it up and attempted 46 3's against Boston.. it was terrible.

One of the Bulls strengths has been keeping opponents off the offensive glass. Without Jalen Smith, the Celtics grabbed 20 offensive rebounds the other night.

DETROIT IS 19-6 AGAINST EASTERN CONFERENCE OPPONENTS.

Detroit should control this game start to finish... and if the Bulls rest Coby White and Buzelis... yeah this should be a blowout.

WIZARDS @ 76ERS - 7:10 PM

Oubre hasn't played since November 13th. He's questionable. Trendon Watford also might be back. He's been out since November 25th.

We know we're not gonna see Middleton cuz he doesn't play back to backs... and we've seen the Wizards offense really struggle to score in these games.

We've seen the Sixers' defense fall off recently... but they've played an insane schedule. Knicks, Thunder, Grizzlies... when they saw the Mavs, we saw that elite defense again. When they saw the Bulls, we saw elite defense. So this should be a good matchup for Philly to lock in defensively.

I like Philadelphia here but Washington's scary right now.

Maxey, Paul George, Embiid.. they all love those pull up jump shots... Washington's done a great job defensively.

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NUGGETS @ CELTICS - 7:10 PM

Tough to make a call here.

Tough to bet against Boston right now.

Denver has figured out a way to hang around in these games without Jokic... but the defense has been bad.

Boston's been strong defensively as well... but the SOS worries me a bit. Outside of the Clippers... they haven't played a good basketball team in over 3 weeks.

Boston should win comfortably here.

CLIPPERS @ KNICKS - 7:40 PM

You guys know the drill. Trying to run Towns and Robinson on the court at the same time isn't really working.

Knicks really need Josh Hart back. Offense is even dipping... Brunson had 0 assists and 6 turnovers against the Pistons who were on a back to back.

Not sure if we're gonna see Harden. He was a late scratch against Golden State so I think he might play.

Clips coming off the huge win over Golden State... flying across the country to play a Knicks team that needs a win badly.

I think we'll see a slower paced game. The Knicks tend to match the pace of their opponent and the Clippers run the slowest pace in the NBA.

I'm on Clippers +6. Good spot for the Knicks but Clippers can't afford to let up.

MAGIC @ NETS - 7:40 PM

This doesn't include tonight's game.

Brooklyn getting Claxton back. Michaal Porter Jr. also came back last game.

Cam Thomas is coming off the bench and he's not happy about it.

Nets need to get this defense back on track. They played GSW and HOU... then played two games without their best defensive player.

Home game against Orlando should be the perfect spot for the Nets to get back on track defensively.

With back to back western conference opponents on deck, this is definitely a game the Nets have circled as winnable.

Brooklyn.

PELICANS @ HAWKS - 7:40 PM

The Hawks offense has taken a dip but if you look at their recent opponents, it makes complete sense. In their last 5 games, they've played TORx2, MIN, OKC. It doesn't get more perfect than this... a home game against the Pelicans defense... coming off a back to back with a travel. I very seriously doubt Herb Jones is gonna play on a back to back.

Hawks.

SUNS @ GRIZZLIES - 8:10 PM

This Suns team is very impressive right now. They beat OKC then on a back to back, went on the road to Houston and played the Rockets down to the wire.

They're coming into this one rested against a Grizzlies team that has struggled on the defensive glass.

JAZZ @ THUNDER - 8:10 PM

Oklahoma City is looking mediocre.

They are dealing with injuries.

Now you would think a home game against the Jazz would be the perfect opportunity to get your shit together offensively. If you can't score points at home against the Jazz defense... we need to have a conversation.

Utah's coming off their most embarrassing performance of the season. Markannen played in this game.

The scary part is... I think Utah wins the battle on the boards. Remember... the Jazz have played a lotta games without Markannen and Nurkic. Looks like they're both playing in this one and OKC is missing Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams.

I'd probably go Jazz or pass here.

LAKERS @ SPURS - 9:40 PM

Didn't look.

ROCKETS @ BLAZERS - 10:10 PM

Rockets have been winning games but I think the SOS needs to be mentioned. They've won 5 of their last 6 but it's not overly impressive.

The toughest opponent they've seen recently is Phoenix. It was a home game against a Suns team that just played OKC down to the wire. Such a great spot to catch the Suns. They got Steven Adams back for this game also. Still no Sengun. Capela's dealing with an illness right now.

Without Sengun, the Rockets offense is really reliant on Kevin Durant... Portland's play solid defense against jumpshooters. If Durant has an off-night, who is giving the Rockets offense here?

The question is... do we trust what we're seeing from Portland right now? They're been hitting 3's against some really bad perimeter defenses. Eason and Thompson should have plenty of flexibility to put a ton of pressure on the perimeter.

Portland is 3-0 in 2026... we've seen a slow pace. I think this is a slow paced low scoring game. UNDER 225.5.

I'm worried about turnovers... neither of these teams can protect the ball.

BUCKS @ WARRIORS - 10:10 PM