NBA Wednesday: Heat vs. Knicks headline value selctions

NBA Wednesday: Heat vs. Knicks headline value selctions article feature image

The injuries just won't stop piling up in the NBA.

Having already expressed the need to proceed with caution when tipping the Clippers, Blake Griffin gets ruled out for up to two months.

No structural damage in left knee with sprained MCL for Clippers All-Star Blake Griffin, league source tells ESPN. Recovery could take two months, source says.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 28, 2017

It's a massive blow for the Clips, who lost Patrick Beverley for the season last week.

Here's hoping we don't have anybody carried off the court across tonight's 10-game slate.

Heat (10-10) @ Knicks (10-10)

Kristaps Porzingis continues to determine whether the Knicks win or lose. He's scoring 30.8 points in their wins and just 22.3 points in their losses.

An elbow injury has been plaguing him, but tonight is a prime opportunity to get himself back into form and snap New York's three-game losing streak.

The Heat are short at the power forward position. Not just for talent, but literally short. Justice Winslow has started Miami's last 11 games, and at just 6-foot-7, he's going to struggle to contain the 7-foot-3 Porzingis. James Johnson is another alternative, but he isn't much taller at 6-foot-9.

With Hassan Whiteside ruled out, Spoelstra loses the option to drop Kelly Olynyk down to the position, as he will be occupied by the returning Enes Kanter.

#NBA#Heat – Hassan Whiteside, Knee – is out Wednesday (11/29) at New York

— Sports Insights (@SportsInsights) November 29, 2017

New York's frontcourt already had me siding with them when the line was at +2. They're an impressive 10-3 against the spread, and Miami is coming off a tough loss in Cleveland last night.

The Whiteside news has turned the Knicks from an underdog to the favorite, but I still like them even if they're giving up a couple of points.

Small sample size alert: The Heat have only played one back-to-back so far this season, and they were awful. It was against the Warriors, but their 36.1 percent shooting wasn't beating anybody.

Pick: Knicks -1.5

Porzingis vs. Winslow/Johnson

Doubling down on the Heat vs. Knicks game, Porzingis is looking good to go big. The Latvian is scoring 28.5 points per game at home and comes up against an undersized pair in Winslow and Johnson.

Miami is giving up 22.5 points to opposing power forwards. It's the most at any position for their team, and second most at the position across all 30 teams in the league.

Porzingis is a bit of a slump right now, sowhat appears to be a favorable matchup comes at the perfect time.

Pick: Porzingis over 25.5 points

Pacers (12-9) @ Rockets (16-4)

The Rockets are brilliant. They've won 11 of their last 12 straight up going 8-4 against the spread in that time. Ten of the 11 wins have come by double figures, but tonight they face a Pacers team that never goes down without a fight.

Houston scores 42.5 percent of their points from beyond the arc. They shoot the most and make the most. The Pacers could go toe-to-toe with them, though.

Indiana shoots the best 3-point clip in the league at 40.9 percent. They don't throw up many attempts (25.1 per game), but they will be able to compete if this becomes a shootout.

The battle between James Harden and Victor Oladipo is the best of the night for me. Oladipo isn't anywhere near Harden's level, but he's playing well enough that the gap between them won't be gargantuan.

Victor Oladipo is currently 10-10 with 23 points against his former team 🔥 (via @Pacers) pic.twitter.com/Nuggv5qYj0

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) November 28, 2017

Indy has performed well against the spread in their last 10 (7-3), and I like them to push Houston close tonight.

Pick: Pacers +12

Remaining games:

Thunder (8-11) @ Magic (8-13)
Suns (8-14) @ Pistons (13-6)
Wizards (11-9) @ 76ers (11-8)
Hornets (8-11) @ Raptors (12-7)
Timberwolves (12-9) @ Pelican (11-9)
Nets (7-13) @ Mavericks (5-16)
Grizzlies (7-12) @ Spurs (13-7)
Warriors (15-6) @ Lakers (8-12)

All stats provided by Basketball Reference and NBA Stats

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Sean Treppedi
Mar 28, 2024 UTC