Tonight the legend of big hand returns to the Spurs lineup, he has been sorely missed. My hope is that he is not on a minutes restriction, but even his presence for a 25 minutes can make a huge difference. Basically the Spurs are at full strength except for Marco and Baynes. I hope that Joseph and Mills can continue playing together with Cory sliding over to the 2 guard spot. At 6'4 he can handle it but he will have to go against Wes if he does play tonight. The way I see it, the Spurs can matchup with the Blazers starters fairly well. Timmy vs Big L is a wicked matchup, Tony back, will play his first game vs D Lil this season, Danny Green caused Wes fits and his defence on him will will be key tonight. Batum continues to struggle with his shot and Kawhi will not make things any easier for the frenchman. The bench for the Champs is far superior in every aspect. San An's bench ranks 3rd in the NBA in points and defensive efficiency while the Blazers rank 26th in the league. It is now time for the champs to step up and prove all you doubters wrong. This team is still a legit threat to go back to back. With age comes wisdom, experience and pride. Tonight the champs exact sweet revenge from the overtime thriller. In the illustrious words of Rudy Tomjonovich, "Never underestimate the heart of a champion".
I was expecting the Griz/Magic line to be close to 8.5. When I saw 6, I jumped on it like a giddy schoolgirl. I love the Magic, I think once Tobias comes back, Aaron Gordon (who is active now) and if Vaughn continues to run a 10 man rotation, the Magic can really surprise a lot of teams. They key to their 2 game winnign streak has been Oladipo and Vucevic. They have taken over and shown that they are ready to be star players. But tonight, they will face two of the best individual defenders at their positions in the NBA. Lee will not guard Victor, instead he will slide over and guard Marble who will start at SF for the injured Tobias. Victor will have to go against Tony Allen. Allen will be an irritant all game long. Marc Gasol is the most underrated 5 man defender in the NBA, he is so good on screen and roll coverages and does not allow big men to get anything easy in the paint which is where Nikola lives. These two defenders are key to an easy cover tonight. Jeff Green has a practice in with his new team and I like him coming off the bench as a 6th man, he will do just fine in this system. Along with Vince, Beno, Koufos and now Calethes, the Griz bench is very underrated on both ends of the floor. Memphis ranks 1st in the NBA in points in the paint and the Magic cannot defend inside, they do not have any rim protectors, Frye is soft (and starting now), he will get owned by Zach who is on a tear since his return from injury. The Griz rank 6th in the NBA at shooting % and the Magic rank 23rd in the NBA at defending, I just do not see how the Griz drop this game if Oladipo and Nikola do not tear up the floor which I just do not see them doing tonight against Allen and Gasol. I'll take Griz by two possessions over a an Eastern opponent who is out of the playoffs any day, all day, every day.
The Bulls are just lost right now, tonight they will be without their defensive catalyst down low and Noah will not suit up. Gasol will move to the 5 spot with Gibson starting at the 4. Zeller and Sully will struggle to keep up with the more agile, longer, taller and stronger big men. Snell is doing an admiral job starting in place of Mike Dunleavy but his inability to hit that long ball causes problems when it comes to spacing the floor. He is actually a very long 6'7 forward, but will give up about 40 pounds to Crowder who should take advantage of him on the block. Rose coming off his best game of the season, albeit a loss, should have the confidence to duplicate that performance but will have to do it against an outstanding defender in Bradley. Butler really seems as though he is tired. He is number 1 in the league in minutes played and Thibs had ridden him to hard, I do think he gets it going tonight and the Bulls desperately need him to score and defend as he had been doing all season. The bench of the Celts can contend with the Bulls, but Brooks, Mirotic and Kirk will have to score the basketball for the Bulls to have any chance at a cover. If Thibs plays a hard 8 man rotation, rides half court possessions for Gasol, Butler and Rose only, if Taj rebounds and defends, the Bulls should narrowly cover this game and get things back on track at the Garden of basketball Eden.
The Mavs have no chance at winning the division and I have bet heavily on that in future bets. They have no bench, but their no names actually played solid against the Nugs in Denver and that confidence should carry over. I suspect some new rotations for Charlise tonight. Look for Powell to take some time away from Smith and Charlie V as the big man off the bench. Harris and J.J will be the 1 and 2 off the bench with RJ and I hope Aminu playing the 3 and 4. The Manimal is back and better than ever, but at 6'8, has no chance at stopping the 7 ft German future hall of famer. Tyson, rested and ready, will show the rook Nurkic what a real 5 man vet can do. Ellis, after a dismal 1-11 shooting night, and after being benched in the 4th, may come out with some gusto, but Afflalo is as good as it gets on defence and should lock him up. Rondo will end up guarding Aaron with Ellis shifting over to guard the lightning quick Ty Lawson. Look for Jameer Nelson to play well in his Nugs debut vs his old team, Lawson and Nelson will be seen together on the court when Harris and J.J are on the floor. The Nugs bench is still suspect. Any team with a resemblance of a bench can beat the Mavs and I will be fading them often against deep teams, but tonight the line says it all, this is a game where the Mavs can really dictate the flow of the game and the matchups favour them in almost every aspect.
It is early, but...
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