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Friday 1/8/21 Free Plays / Trends / Betting Info / Etc
Friday night free play winner will be the Suns and the Pistons to get the points heated-up in the Motor City as this battle of West versus East lands Over the posted total.
Phoenix had played the first 6 games of their new season Under the posted total, but they hit the road for this 3 game swing having played their last pair of games Over the total.
That bodes well against a Detroit team that has trended Over for the early portion of this season as the Pistons have seen each of their last 3 games and 5 of their last 7 games overall end up in the Over column.
You factor in series Overs played in the last pair of meetings and in 6 of the last 9 overall between the teams and you get the feeling this Friday night game could well keep the scoresheet statisticians fairly occupied.
Utah's long road trip started off on a high-note, as the Jazz were able to pummel the Spurs, 130-109 on Sunday, but the Jazz Men have fallen flat their last pair of games on this road trek as they were blown out in Brooklyn by the Nets and then coughed up a double-digit first half lead at the New York Knicks in a loss on Wednesday night.
The task gets no easier tonight as Utah makes the stop in Milwaukee to face a Bucks team that has enjoyed their current home stand with 3 straight wins and are fresh off a 15-point blowout of the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.
The Bucks explosive offense brings in a 125.3 points per game average, while the Jazz are floundering with just 108.5 points per game averaged.
Milwaukee has made good in 3 of their 4 tries when favored by -5 to -12 points already this season and they have won each of the last 3 homes games played against Utah with covers in 2 of the 3.
My free pick for Friday night is the Orlando Magic plus the points at the Houston Rockets.
Nobody could've predicted that by this point in the season the Magic would look like the better team, but they've certainly performed better overall. They roll in on two game win streak, but more importantly, a 3-0 road mark that saw them produce their best effort offensively. Their two wins in Washington and a third in Oklahoma City saw the Magic average 122.7 points per game, 20.3 points better than their home average (102.4).
Houston, on the other hand, is a hot mess with what is supposed to be one of the league's most dangerous offenses. The Rockets rank 16th with a 111.3 scoring average, their 30th with 21.5 assists per game, 29th in rebounding (41.2 pg) and 28th from 3-point range (32.6%).
Defensively, the Rockets might get eaten alive, as they ranks 22nd in allowing 115.3 points per game, 27th in allowing the opposition to snatch 11.2 offensive rebounds per game, and 20th in allowing teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor.
Dog is in play here, as Houston has no business laying this much as long as it is struggling on offense.
Let's get after it in hoops again for this Friday night!
Yes, Kevin Durant is still out and now Kyrie Irving is listed as questionable, but I am going to lay the basket on the road with the Nets tonight as they face an even more depleted team in the Memphis Grizzlies.
Memphis is still minus Jaren Jackson and Ja Morant and the results show, as the Grizzlies come into this home game riding a 3 game losing streak and they have failed the point spread in 2 of those 3 losses.
The Nets do have one of the deeper benches in the league, so even if Kyrie decides to sit this one out, their 8-3 road spread mark their last 11 should still win out.
The Grizzlies happen to be on a 5-11 spread slide that dates back to last season and right now with all of their stars injured are a definite go-against.
My free play is on the Los Angeles Lakers, who will be looking to bounce back from last night's loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Not sure how that happened, perhaps because LeBron James was mentally dislodged with all that took place at The Capitol and judging from his post-game thoughts.
It's not like the Lakers to thud twice in a row, so I'm thinking after the Chicago Bulls pulled off the unthinkable in Portland the other night - winning outright with a shortage of players due to COVID-19 - tonight is a ripe spot for a letdown.
With the loss, the Lakers dipped to a second-place tie with the Clippers in the Western Conference, both behind the Suns. Amazing all three reside in the Pacific Division, but shows where the power is at.
And catching an angry Lakers team is probably not good for the Bulls, who allow the third-most points per game (120.6) in the NBA. They also allow the fifth-highest shooting percentage inside the arc, a 55.4% clip. Overall the Bulls' defense allows 47.6% shooting.
None of that bodes well when the Lakers have the third-highest shooting percentage (49.0%) in the NBA.
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