We went 1-1 yesterday, with an easy outright win on Oklahoma City and a loss on the Under in the Clippers/Blazers game.
Boston's lack of available guards has been an issue for them lately and that was clearly visible on their game yesterday at New Orleans. The Celtics shot a combined of 18-52 3pts on their last two games, while only dishing 16 and 17 assists in those games. They were coming from a span of 10 games where they averaged 26.2 assists per game, so this is a clear regression. Monroe is providing some offense down low off the bench, but the trade off with his poor defense is quite evident as well, with the Pelicans scoring 54 points in the paint yesterday.
Portland continued their excellent winning streak with an easy win at LA against the Clippers. The way they were able to win a tough game with such ease was very impressive. The Clippers did everything they could to limit McCollum and Lillard, something that they had some success in doing as they only combined to score 44 points. However, the Blazers' role players took advantage of the extra space and had amazing games, with Aminu, Harkless and Nurkic shooting a combined of 22-41 FG with 7-11 3pts! If their role players had this kind of performance on a consistent basis, the Blazers would be a powerhouse in the Western conference.
Minnesota continued their sequence of terrible defensive performances. Their effort on transition defense on the first quarter last night was ridiculous, something that put them in a huge early hole. They eventually made a nice comeback in the second half, but they just couldn't stop Houston down the stretch. Having Rose guarding Harden could have been a factor for that situation.
So, for tonight, I've already launched my package for tonight and it already includes a 3* Best Bet! More plays will certainly be posted throughout the day, so stay tuned!
GET MY NBA MONDAY CARD W/ 3* BEST BET HERE