Detroit slipped to perhaps their worst loss of the season on Friday, losing to Washington 117-126. Perhaps the worst part about the loss was that Washington very much rolled out their second-string lineup in the second half, with the likes of Will Riley and Sharife Cooper playing big minutes. Cade Cunningham was Detroit’s best, with 30 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Ausar Thompson provided 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Ron Holland II provided his trademark energy off the bench for 11 points, 10 rebounds and one block but a rough 125.0 defensive rating from the team saw them fall behind in the third quarter and never recover.
New York have won eight consecutive games after a double overtime thriller against Denver. The 134-127 victory saw plenty of shaky moments from the hosts, as well as 27 lead changes across the game, but a 15-8 2OT from New York saw them wrestle control of the game to leave Madison Square Garden with the win. It was a solid offensive night from NY, with a 121.8 offensive rating on the back of 42 points, eight rebounds and nine assists in a superb evening for the All-Star guard. Karl-Anthony Towns was also impressive, with 24 points and 12 boards, and OG Anunoby racked up 48 minutes for 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
This is an Eastern Conference blockbuster, as first hosts second, but NY will go into this game potentially undermanned, with Karl-Anthony Towns and Josh Hart both questionable. However, Detroit will have niggles of their own to contend with on night two of a tough back-to-back, and that has me leaning towards NY. They are in great form at the moment and have found their defensive identity, which, in my opinion, makes them the best team in the East. They will show that on Saturday.
Boston are on fire at the moment on the back of four consecutive double-digit victories, with the latest coming in a 114-93 demolition of Houston. The road win was an emphatic ending to their two-game Texas road trip, putting their foot down in the third quarter to really get away from Houston and seal the victory. It was an elite two-way performance from Boston and Neemias Queta stole the show with 10 points, 19 rebounds, two assists, two steals and five blocks to give Alperen Şengün hell. Derrick White hit six threes to record 28 points and eight assists, while Payton Pritchard had 27 points and seven dimes. Luka Garza also got hot for 19 points and Baylor Scheierman had 15 points, 10 rebounds and four assists to cap off an excellent night for Boston without both Jaylen Brown and Sam Hauser.
Miami fell to a 115-127 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday in another poor offensive game. It continued a concerning trend for Erik Spoelstra’s team, who have quietly been declining across the last month, with just a 111.5 offensive rating which is seventh-worst in the league in that span. With a poor 104.8 offensive rating on Wednesday, it was another tough shooting night from the hosts, led by Bam Adebayo’s 4/16 shooting. The big man finished the game with 16 points and 14 rebounds, while Jaime Jaquez Jr top-scored with 21 points and eight boards. Pelle Larsson continued his hot run with 18 points and five assists and rookie Myron Gardner continued to show some signs with 14 points, six rebounds and two steals, but it wasn’t to be for Miami.
Brown and Hauser are back for Boston in this clash and I really like the hosts’ chances here. Their offence has been getting plenty of deserved attention of late but their defence has also been impressive — sixth best in the league over the last 30 days — and that will help them win this game well against a declining Miami side.
Sacramento picked up their 10th loss on the trot on Thursday, losing 125-129 to Memphis. It was a continuation of this hellish season of Sacramento’s, as they again showed nothing on the defensive end with a 125.5 defensive rating. Things were more encouraging on the other end of the floor, as Domantas Sabonis had 24 points and 15 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan notched up another 20-piece but there was little else to get excited about for the hosts. De’Andre Hunter looked sluggish in his Sacramento debut, shooting just 3/11 for nine points, with Doug Christie’s side failing to move the needle at the trade deadline, setting themselves up for a long remaining 30 games.
The Clippers, on the other hand, were one of the big movers of the trade deadline, headlined by their move to trade a pair of stars, guard James Harden and centre Ivica Zubac. Darius Garland was the only star to come LA’s way, with draft picks and role players making up much of their return, setting up an uncertain ending to the regular season for Ty Lue and co. There weren’t many positive signs on Thursday in their first game following the Harden trade, falling to a 91-124 loss at home, as Kawhi Leonard and John Collins appeared to be the only ones with signs of life. Leonard had 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while Collins notched up 19 points and seven boards. Young centre Konan Niederhauser showed some athleticism in his minutes with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, and he will compete for the starting role with Brook Lopez going forward.
Keegan Murray remains out for Sacramento and Sabonis is questionable, and that hurts Sacramento’s offence. More importantly, LA’s offence will look lost again without Harden or Garland, and that sets this game up for the under.