Orlando exacted revenge on Toronto on Saturday, picking up an important victory in their in-season tournament opener after a thumping by the Canadians just two days prior. Thursday saw a 99-129 Orlando defeat in Ontario, as their offence really struggled without Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, but the visitors were able to turn the tables in Saturday’s rematch, picking up a 121-114 victory. It was a significantly better offensive performance from Sean Sweeney’s side, as they tidied up their turnover woes from the first match and, more importantly, went from a terrible shooting performance to shooting the lights out on Saturday. Desmond Bane was one of those who was on song in the shooting department, with six threes as he finished with 28 points and six assists, and Anthony Black added a few threes for 17 points and 10 assists in a complete performance from the young wing. Franz Wagner didn’t shoot as well but was also an integral part of the offence, with 26 points and 11 assists, while Wendell Carter Jr’s 20 points and Jamal Cain’s 13-point hot stint off the bench helped Orlando pick up a very important win.
Boston improved to 4-1 with an easy 125-111 triumph against Chicago on Saturday. It was never even close in this clash, with Boston racing out of the gates with a 44-point first quarter, helping them towards a 78-49 halftime lead. Chicago were able to slim down the margin in the second half, which may come back to bite Boston in the context of the in-season tournament standings, but the most important thing was they banked another win to make it four straight. It was another Payton Pritchard barrage in this one, with the bench guard dropping 30 points and three assists, while Jayson Tatum was a reliable option with 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Paul George added 18 points and eight assists and Neemias Queta had plenty of fun in his time on the floor, with 13 points, six rebounds, one steal and one block to help Boston dominate.
Banchero and Suggs remain out for Orlando, while Mitchell Robinson (rest) is questionable and will likely miss this one for Boston. That’ll likely see Queta come into the starting team, with Luka Garza getting more minutes off the bench, and that may well be a good thing for Boston’s defence. It may also see their pace of play slow down somewhat, and when you consider that Orlando have the third-slowest pace of play in the league, I fancy the under here.
Best
Under 222.5 ($1.90)
Golden State have now pulled off three impressive victories on the trot after a historic comeback against the Lakers on Saturday. It looked like we were going to see a repeat of the season opener, which LA comfortably won 105-127, as the Lakers shot out to a 38-15 quarter-time lead on Saturday. Luka Dončić looked unstoppable and it appeared that GS had no answer for him, but Draymond Green seemed to take responsibility for the team’s defence from there, as he showed plenty of energy, communication and intent to jolt Golden State’s defence to life and flip the game on its head. That saw the Lakers score just 57 points in the final three quarters, as Golden State and Steph Curry found their offensive form to record the largest margin of victory by a team that was down 25+, in a 112-95 victory. Curry was elite again, with 31 points and six assists, with eight three-pointers in the mix, and Brandin Podziemski found his form with 21 points and six assists. Green’s performance was influential, albeit humble on the box score, with two points, nine assists, three steals and one block, Georges Niang helped pick up for Yaxel Landeborg’s slack, with 11 points and five boards, and De’Anthony Melton’s 16 points were timely.
The Clippers have looked hopeless this season, outside of their opening win over the even-more-hopeless Sacramento, and they were embarrassed 127-101 by Minnesota on Saturday. The hosts looked comfortable from the early goings and they really pulled away in the fourth quarter to put LA’s point differential in a bad place after their first in-season tournament game. It was another awful offensive display from the league’s second-worst offence, finishing this one with a 102.0 offensive rating, as Darius Garland again struggled to find assistance. The point guard had 24 points and five assists but his five turnovers did no favours, as the likes of Keaton Wagler, Kris Dunn and Rui Hachimura all struggled to get going offensively.
Curry and Green will both be rested on Monday, which makes for an interesting contest in San Francisco. That’s going to leave Podziemski with a lot of offensive reps, and he is unproven in that position, while Melton and Brandon Williams will help to provide some relief. Landeborg will likely get back to putting up numbers but I think Garland will be the best player on the floor in this contest and that’s going to give the Clippers a leg up. With some decent defenders to throw at GS’ ball-handlers, I expect the visitors to wreak havoc and leave with the win.
Best
LA Clippers +2.5 ($1.87)
The Lakers will be extremely disappointed after letting a hot start against Golden State crumble into a 95-112 loss. Luka Dončić was unstoppable in the first quarter on Saturday, hitting five threes to drop 21 points and five assists in 12 minutes of play. However, it was all downhill from there for Dončić and the Lakers, with the Slovenian recording just a 47.1% TS% for the rest of the game, with 16 points, no assists and two turnovers, as the intense defence of the hosts got to him. Austin Reaves also felt the brunt of it, finishing the night with a rather inefficient 21 points and eight turnovers, and LA’s bench was almost nowhere to be seen, combining for just seven points on 3/15 shooting. That made for a very forgettable game for JJ Redick’s side, as their defence looked disorganised and led to a poor defeat.
Toronto also enter this game off a poor showing in their in-season tournament opener, losing to Orlando 114-121. After beating that very Orlando side 129-99 just two days prior, Toronto would have been wanting a similar result, but they never looked close to pulling it off. Not helped by the fact that Orlando couldn’t miss a shot, Toronto simply couldn’t get stops on the defensive end, finishing the night with a 136.0 defensive rating as Orlando recorded a 64.0 eFG% and shot an 18/34 clip from deep. On the flip side, Toronto’s offence, especially in the interior, was poor as they missed the shot-making of the injured Kawhi Leonard (knee). Scottie Barnes took on the offensive responsibilities, getting up 34 shots on his way to 41 points, five rebounds and five assists in an impressive showing before fouling out late, while Jakob Poeltl had some success with 12 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. Immanuel Quickley had 17 points and eight assists and Collin Murray-Boyles’ offence looked smooth with 15 points, but Toronto’s defence couldn’t figure out how to slow Orlando down, making for a tough loss.
Leonard is out again on Monday, while the Lakers may get Zaire Williams (foot) back. We’re in store for an entertaining battle between Barnes and Dončić, and both present very difficult matchups for the opposing defence. We’ve seen Toronto to loosen up their play a little with Leonard out and the Lakers will certainly get their points as the league’s second-best offence. It’s not a very high line here, and I am happy to take the over.
Best
Over 227.5 ($1.90)