NFL
By: Greg Rector
Your weekly look at the past weeks NBA action and trends to look for this upcoming week of hoops.
Zion Impressive
Now I was never huge on Zion Williamson, as he went to that toxic waste site of a school. I will give him his kudos, he’s playing at a very high level along with his Pelicans teammates. Outside of the Celtics not sure there’s a better TEAM right now in the association. Everyone in New Orleans is doing their job and they have a focus as a group that’s fun to watch. This is also happening minus Brandon Ingram. When he returns this Pelicans team is going to be a problem.
Raptors Roster
If you see social media and the Raptors trending, you’ll know there’s an all-out attack on the team, Nick Nurse, and most especially Scottie Barnes. It just might be that Nurse has lost the locker room. Masia Ujuri had a heart-to-heart with Barnes recently and while there were a couple of better games this past weekend, they lost twice to Orlando. It was two gruesome games in a row and as the saying goes “the natives are getting restless,”, especially on Twitter. Fred Van Vleet trade rumors have started and a few others have as well. The bottom line for me they are shooting miserably from three and take too many of them when they aren’t falling. As for Barnes, I wrote about the criticism, and simply put as many other players have gone through, season two is a struggle as he learns the league now has him scouted. I look at the veterans as more of the problem along with Nick Nurse. They better figure it out because the knives are out.
Lakers Losing Again
The Lakers’ recent resurgence came back down to earth this past week. Like the Raptors as soon as the losses come so do the same criticisms and rumors. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Once Anthony Davis had a recent illness things fell apart. They showed against the Sixers and the comeback to force overtime when down by nine with a minute left they can still be a dangerous group.
Boston Out West
The Celtics looked just so good in beating the Suns this week. With all the turmoil prior to the season getting started it hasn’t affected this group at all. They only care about the results on the floor and one another. That’s a dangerous combination. The only thing that will stop the Celtics would be a rash of injuries. As good as they looked against Phoenix, they really had their first bad game of the year in my opinion as they were thumped by the Warriors last night. The Bucks may or may not have to live without Kris Middleton again after seeing him sprain his ankle against the Rockets. That would make keeping pace with Boston no easy task for Milwaukee.
Betting On Games
If you’re still trying to win by playing outright win bets, and or having your pick cover the point spread you’re losing money. Stick with prop bets because the end results all over the league are just far too volatile. Expected wins turn out badly every night. The prop bets and parlays are the way to go. Look no further than The Houston Rockets beating Milwaukee last night.
Hawks Hurting
Will be interesting to see if the Hawks can put together a string of good games without Dejounte Murray as he deals with his injury. Sometimes teams rally together when a big piece is missing. They managed an exciting last-second overtime win against the Bulls, but let’s see if they can keep that going.
Kawhi Watch
Leonard has returned to the Clippers. Does anyone really think it will be for long? They certainly hope he avoids another injury but you just get that feeling something will derail him yet again. He needs a stretch of games before he will resemble the player we used to see and there’s a very real possibility he doesn’t get back to that level.
Christmas Day Games
Of the five games to be played on Christmas Day, there are really two games that will stand out. The Milwaukee Bucks travel to play the Boston Celtics and the Memphis Grizzlies go out to California and face the Golden State Warriors. The other three games will be filler. I expect lower ratings than we have seen in the past few years.
That’s it for this week in the association.
