Wednesday presents us with our first regular season look at most of the teams in the NBA. What better way to celebrate than by betting some unders?!?
Thunder vs T'wolves u228 (-110)
Last year the Timberwolves scored, a lot. 115.9 points per game to be exact. The Thunder, not so much. They managed a measley 103.7. Minnesota remade their roster in the offseason, with the crown jewel being three-time DPOY Rudy Gobert. They paid a price more inflated than drinks in Vegas, but that's a topic for another day. The Jazz had a defensive rating 7 points better with Gobert than without him last year. I expect him to add defense and to slow the Wolves down a bit. On the other side, the Thunder should look similar to last year. I look for Minnesota to stay under 118 and this total stays under.
Hornets vs Spurs u226.5 (-105)
That's right, this is a picture of freaking Jacob Poeltl. You know why it's there? Because the Spurs have NO ONE on their team. It's tanking to the bottom or bust. The Hornets are just a little bit better. Bridges is gone. Ball is out. In the preseason these teams managed to crawl over 100 points in four of ten games. I know it's the preseason, but that's gross. Not to mention the total has gone under in 8 of the last 11 between these teams. In Dennis Smith vs Jacob Poeltl, I'm willing to ride the under.
Utah Jazz Team Total u106.5 (estimated)
Team totals aren't out on my books yet, but I'll be jumping on this one as soon as they are. The Jazz turned over their roster in the offseason--and not in the good way. Mitchell, Gobert, and Bogdanovic have been replaced by Malik Beasley, THT, and Colin Sexton. They managed just 101.25 points per game in the preseason. The Jazz could be fun at times, but they'll struggle with actual NBA teams. The Nuggets defense will be bolstered by the arrival of KCP and Bruce Brown. (By the way, I like the Nuggets team total over in this one as well.)
Trailblazers Team Total u112.5 (estimated)
Portland was bad last year, so they went out and added Jerami Grant. Problem solved. Dame is back too, but I don't think he can lead a team to victory as the #1 anymore. In the preseason they went 0-4, averaging 97.5 points per game. Yeah, yeah, preseason doesn't matter (and it doesn't, too much) but I still think it's a sign of things to come for this team. They face an up-and-coming Sacramento Kings team that allowed 89.75 points per game in the preseason. Lest you think I love preseason stats, this is mostly just a game one fade on team I think will be worse than current perceptions.
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