Detroit’s three-game win streak came to an end on Thursday as they fell to Philadelphia 106-112. It was tough going for last season’s number one seeds as they continually struggled to get their offence going, with Cade Cunningham, Paul Reed, Daniss Jenkins, and Ausar Thompson all having wonky shooting performances. It was a rather humbling game for the hosts as Philadelphia’s defence continually shut them down in the mid-range and refused to give up any easy look, making for a tough night at the office. It started in the first quarter when the visitors went on a 6-22 run, and Detroit were never able to threaten from then on. Duncan Robinson continued his hot shooting to start the season, going 7/11 from three to record 27 points, while Cunningham scored 26 points to go with seven rebounds, 11 assists, and two steals and Thompson had a monster game on the boards with 11 points and 17 rebounds.
The Lakers made it three consecutive wins on Saturday as they beat Portland 124-118. It wasn’t a good start to the night for the hosts as Portland got out to a 29-20 quarter-time lead and held a comfortable buffer all the way through to halftime. However, a miracle 3-ball on the halftime buzzer from Luka Dončić seemed to revitalize the Lakers, and they came out firing in the 3rd quarter to record a 34-15 period to storm into the lead. Portland were able to make it interesting at the death as they got within four points of the hosts, but the Lakers kept their cool and hit their free throws in the clutch to record another win and improve to 8-2 on the season. It was another magical game from Dončić, this time recording 53 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Austin Reaves came to life late to score 15 points in the fourth quarter and finish with 25 points and four steals. Walker Kessler was also important with 16 points, 12 rebounds and two assists as the Lakers used their offence to power their way to another win.
Los Angeles will need to show off all of their offensive firepower on Monday as they go up against the league’s best defensive unit, and the questionable tag on Dončić (back) adds real doubts to LA’s chances. The Slovenian is averaging 40 points per game and if he’s to sit this one out, the Lakers will need to find a lot of scoring from elsewhere, which is going to be a huge challenge against this Detroit defence. Even if Dončić plays, I don’t expect him to be at the top of his play, which has me happy to side with the hosts.
Best
Detroit -4.5 ($1.90)
Minnesota have now won three on the bounce after beating New Orleans 115-109 on Saturday. It was a bit of a dog fight at Smoothie King Arena, but Minnesota prevailed on the back of a 15-5 run that gave them an unassailable 102-94 lead late in the fourth. It was a real spread effort offensively, led by LaMelo Ball and Ayo Dosunmu. Ball was Minnesota’s best, with 22 points and eight assists to finish as a +23, while Dosunmu top-scored with 26 points and four assists on a very efficient shooting night. Jaden McDaniels wrapped up 40 minutes as he posted 23 points, six rebounds, five assists and two blocks, while Rudy Gobert helped Minnesota’s defence again do its job to keep New Orleans at bay in the 4th quarter.
Utah’s season could hardly have gotten off to a worse start as they now find themselves with a 1-8 record after a 100-112 defeat in Dallas on Saturday. It’s now seven consecutive defeats for Will Hardy’s men, and they didn’t look particularly promising in Saturday’s showdown as they quickly fell behind in the third quarter, scoring just six points in the final 7:30 minutes to allow Dallas to run away with the game by three-quarter time. That contributed to what was another awful offensive display from the league’s second worst offence. Even with their 3-point percentage coming in at a season-high 38.5%, they struggled to produce on the offensive glass, shot just 9/18 at the rim and had 21 turnovers, continually shooting themselves in the foot. Rookie guard Darryn Peterson had one of his best games of the season with 21 points, five assists, two steals and 3 blocks, while Lauri Markkanen top-scored with 24 points and eight rebounds but their bench was simply awful and Keyonte George had a forgetful shooting display, resulting in another loss for Utah.
The visitors are going to produce their best offensive performance of the season if they are to get past the league’s third-ranked defence, but I can’t see it happening. To make matters worse, Markkanen (wrist) is questionable and with Minnesota set to get Terrence Shannon Jr (hip) back, their defence is going to be locked and loaded. Utah will produce a low total and Minnesota’s offence has been mediocre (114.8 offensive rating) without Anthony Edwards on the floor, meaning the under is my pick.
Best
Under 223.5 ($1.94)
Sacramento are back on a losing streak following home defeats to the Lakers and San Antonio in their last two contests. After picking up their first win of the season against Dallas on Tuesday, they suffered a 103-116 loss to Los Angeles and 109-124 in-season tournament defeat to San Antonio on Saturday. As expected, this game was never close as San Antonio put their feet on the accelerator in the first quarter to score 38 points, and by halftime their lead was out to 56-75, leaving the hosts with no chance to get back into the fight. It was another poor defensive showing from Sacramento’s 28th-ranked defence, but they at least showed some positives on the offensive end against a very good SA defence. Their 114.7 offensive rating was their third-best display of the season, as rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr again showed a lot of promise with 22 points, eight assists and two steals. Domantas Sabonis was also improved on the offensive end with 17 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, but his defence was awful, as was Acuff’s and Malik Monk’s.
Miami were well outclassed again on Friday as they fell to Golden State 100-120. Now 3-6, there are clear signs of frustration building in the Miami locker room as Giannis Antetokounmpo skipped his postgame media requirements, with the team’s struggles on both ends of the floor obviously weighing on the playing group. It was their offence that looked particularly clunky in San Francisco as the team shot a 47.7% eFG% with the likes of, with Klay Thompson (3/10 FGs) and Andrew Wiggins (1/6 FGs) in particular struggling in their respective returns to Golden State. Antetokounmpo was solid again in this one with 20 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, but his turnover woes continued as he threw the ball away on four occasions, while Bam Adebayo had 18 points, 10 rebounds, one steal and one block. Davion Mitchell tried to get the team going late with 16 points in the fourth quarter to end the night with 22 points and eight assists, but the task was too tall as Miami’s 23-38 third quarter left too much of a hole to dig themselves out of.
Fortunately for Miami, they are all but guaranteed a win against this sorry Sacramento outfit, but I don’t expect it to be all that pretty. Neither side has had a good offence this season and while Giannis will certainly get his points against this flaky frontcourt, I don’t expect the rest of the team to get into an easy scoring flow. The under is 2-1 in both of these teams’ last three games and that’s the way I am going again in this matchup.
Best
Under 238.5 ($1.90)
