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Last night in the NBA went mostly as expected, with the exception of the Hawks boat-racing the Thunder. While tonight offers a few more competitive matchups, there should be no shortage of lopsided affairs as well.
With that being said, let's dive into tonight's action.
Orlando Magic @ Detroit Pistons - 7pm ET
These two teams have matchup up once before on the year with the Magic getting the best of the Pistons at home in a tightly contested matchup throughout.
The Magic have faced a who's who of the NBA over the past two weeks and have notched extremely impressive wins over Toronto, Boston, and Houston. Despite being a young and inexperienced squad, the Magic have showed that their unconventional lineup approach and slow tempo is capable of taking even the best teams out of their element. While they aren't the most reliable team, you can't deny the fact that they have some impressive wins on their resume.
The Pistons are a brutal 2-8 over their last 10 games and coming off a loss to Utah. Griffin has been inconsistent and unimpressive as of late, but when fully healthy and motivated, proved against the Clippers that he can still will this team to victory every now and then.
All of that said, the Pistons struggle without Griffin on the court and despite having Andre Drummond pull down every rebound in sight, they don't have enough offensive support for their star big man.
Prediction: The Magic are rolling right now and even considering they might be missing their promising rookie Mo Bamba, they've picked up back to back impressive wins without him. Look for that trend to continue as the Magic continue their stingy play against a reeling Pistons squad.
Toronto Raptors @ Boston Celtics - 8pm ET
In what should be the marquee matchup on the evening, the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors do battle as a pair of Eastern Conference heavyweights.
Toronto are winners of five straight and unquestionably one of the best teams in the NBA, much less the Eastern Conference. Despite coming into the matchup a little banged up, the Raptors still trot out the deadly duo of Leonard and Lowry. Kawhi has seamlessly fit into the Raptors scheme and has the team playing at an entirely different level than years past.
The Celtics are a powerhouse team on the complete other end of the spectrum than the Raptors. Losers of three straight to Miami, Orlando, and Brooklyn; the Celtics and their fans are rightfully worried as to what seems to be the issue. The bench for Boston has been a complete mess the past few games and considering the amount of minutes dedicated to the second unit, that mess is seeing a lot of floor time.
Prediction: It goes against everything in my fiber to say a Brad Stevens coached team is going to lose a 4th straight game, but the fact of the matter is something is very wrong with the Celtics and a matchup against one of the best teams in the league isn't the antidote to fix that.
The Celtics will undoubtedly figure things out and find themselves deep in the playoffs, but they won't figure it out tonight against the Raptors.
Milwaukee Bucks @ Memphis Grizzlies - 8pm ET
The Bucks and Grizzlies go head to head for the second time on the season. The Grizzlies actually handed the Bucks one of their first losses of the year back in November, however, the Grizzlies have stumbled hard since then and are not playing remotely close to the same level of basketball.
Giannis is the core of this Bucks team and his presence alone makes this team incredibly dangerous. While he does have a solid supporting cast in Brogdan, Bledsoe, Lopez, and Middleton; their production relies heavily on the defense-altering presence of the Greek Freak.
A true generational talent, Antetokounmpo continually improves his game and is reaching a borderline unguardable level. The Bucks are on the tail end of a back to back, but the starters got a ton of rest in last night's blowout against the Heat.
Meanwhile, the Grizzlies continue their free fall. With a blowout loss against the Rockets, the Grizzlies drop to just 2-8 over their last 10 games and haven't been able to find any rhythm on the offensive end. The defense and slow-pace is still there, but the Grizzlies have been scoring at a highly inefficient clip which is a deadly flaw for a team with their scheme.
Prediction: This game really shouldn't be close. Expect the Bucks to avenge their early-season loss and dominate the Grizzlies from wire to wire. It might be interesting to see how rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. performs on defense should he get the opportunity to try and handle Giannis.
A naturally gifted defensive player with excellent size and athleticism, he may offer the Grizzlies a potential option to help neutralize Giannis moving forward. As Jackson is a rookie, don't expect him to do much now, but it may be worth watching to see if the kid could give the Greek Freak fits down the road.
Brooklyn Nets @ Houston Rockets - 8:30pm ET
These two teams have met up once before on the year with Houston winning comfortably against the Nets. This time around however, both teams come limping into this matchup as ket contributors on both sides are sidelined with injuries.
The Nets lost offensive spark Caris LaVert a while back to a nasty ankle injury and have done an admirable job of treading water in his absence. De'Angelo Russell has stepped up and showcased why he was taken #2 overall by the Lakers as his play has taken a huge leap forward with his increased responsibilities. Jarrett Allen offers a potential star down low, but without their heartbeat in LaVert, the Nets haven't been able to make do with much since he went down.
Meanwhile, the Rockets were already missing Chris Paul and recently found out that center Clint Capela would be out for an extended period of time as well. A large part of what helps allow Harden to be so deadly on offense is the bone-rattling screen ability and rim-running prowess of Capela.
As teams have to respect Capela's elite ability to roll to the rim, it often gives Harden the room he needs to operate (or at the very least gives him an easy outlet if Capela's defender gets caught sleeping).
Prediction: In this matchup between two banged-up teams, give me the scorching hot James Harden. Harden has carried this Rockets team through the Paul injury so far and he has showed no signs of slowing down his incredible scoring run. The Nets should make this one close, but expect Harden to have another exceptional performance and will his team to victory.
San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks - 8:30pm ET
The last time these two Texan teams met up, the Spurs edged out a close win over the upstart Mavericks.
The Spurs are coming off back to back losses and while in years past it would be unfathomable to think a Gregg Popovich coached team could lose 3 straight games, that has already happened on the season. Aldridge has been quietly brilliant, but new addition DeMar DeRozan has been struggling in recent games. In order for the Spurs to contend in the West, they need DeRozan to be a reliable second option for them behind Aldridge.
The Mavericks continue their surprise 2018-2019 campaign as they gave the Warriors everything they could handle for 48 minutes in their last outing. Luka Doncic has been playing some fantastic basketball and despite a recent run of tough luck, the Mavs continue to claw their way up the ladder towards a playoff spot in the West.
Prediction: Despite the dazzling play of rookie Luka Doncic, I can't imagine the Spurs dropping a third straight game, even if it may be on the road. The Mavs are still young and that inexperience will show against a well-coached and disciplined Spurs squad.
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Portland Trail Blazers - 10pm ET
Cleveland takes to the road to face Portland for the first time on the season. On paper, this game has all the signs of our second blowout of the evening.
Cleveland miraculously beat the lacklustre Lakers in their last outing to snap their ridiculously long losing streak. Don't expect them to continue those winning ways though. The Lakers were down LeBron and Rondo and didn't expect any sort of fight from the Cavs. Watching the game, it felt as if the Lakers didn't respect the Cavs as a real NBA team until it was a little too late.
Don't expect the Blazers to make that same mistake. Veterans Damian Lillard and CJ McCullom know what the grind of an NBA regular season is like and understand they can't take a night off, no matter how bad a team may be. Cleveland won't have an answer for the guard duo and the two should absolutely feast in this matchup.
Prediction: I'll keep this one short. There is almost no shot the Cavs pull this one out. The Blazers are by far the better team and should run the Cavs out of the state of Oregon in this one.
New Orleans Pelicans @ Golden State Warriors - 10:30pm ET
The Pelicans and Warriors match up for the second time this year, with the Warriors having won the first meeting.
The Pelicans come into the game fresh off the heels of a quality win over the Clippers. Behind the MVP caliber play of Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are another team fighting their way back up into the playoff picture. The Pelicans had their biggest successes last year on the back of a relentless defense, but that hasn't been the case so far this season. Clearly missing the veteran on-court coaching of Rondo, the Pelicans have been slow to adapt defensively in his absence.
Do I really even need to talk about the Warriors at this point? Everyone knows what they bring to the table and how they are basically an NBA 2k roster you build with "forced trades" on. Klay is good again, Steph is a god, KD is a walking bucket, and Boogie's return is right around the corner. All things are coming up Golden State.
Prediction: The Pelicans played the Warriors tough in their playoff series last season, but without the same level of defense, don't match up too well. Davis is a problem for the Warriors as they lack someone with the size, strength, and speed to keep up with him; but the Warriors offer too many mismatches of their own to expect them to lose. Warriors should win this one easily at home.
Utah Jazz @ Los Angeles Clippers - 10:30pm ET
Our last matchup on the evening is the first showdown of the year between the Jazz and Clippers.
The Jazz are back to their old ways on the back of great team defense. Donovan Mitchell has stepped up as well and is seemingly shaking his sophomore slump. That is big news for the Jazz who sorely lacked his scoring punch. When the Jazz defense and Mitchell are both clicking, the Jazz present one of the most difficult teams to beat in the NBA.
The Clippers meanwhile are struggling a bit, having lost three straight games. The Clippers don't excel offensively or defensively, but instead, beat teams with their balanced play and quality depth. Tobias Harris has been on and off in his past few outings which helps to explain their recent struggles. If Harris is on, he makes the rest of the team around him considerably better.
Prediction: The Jazz are simply playing too good of basketball right now. Look for another strong defensive performance from the Jazz and yet another resurgent game from Donovan Mitchell as the Jazz roll to yet another win.
That's all for tonight in the NBA! We're back tomorrow with a six game slate highlighted by an Eastern Conference contender showdown between the Sixers and Pacers. As always, enjoy the games!
