The Washington Muggles

Let’s all take a moment of silence for Mark.

How is that even possible? He needed two buckets in seven and a half minutes. That’s gotta be as close to a sure thing as you can get. I have half a mind to add the Wizards to our Shit List and we didn’t even bet on them — that’s how hard they fucked this guy over, whom neither of us have ever met, keep in mind. Our hearts go out to Mark and his family.

Now onto an even more depressing subject: our performance.

I hate making excuses, but we are so close. Bilal Coulibaly was a long shot for 12 points last night (+475), but he finished with ten and missed two free throws early on in the game. That would’ve been a nice hit. Scottie Barnes finished with 19 points — one bucket away from hitting the over 20.5. He also finished with 32 PRA, just three off of his over 34.5 line Ani liked. We have to be getting trolled at this point.

Marvin Mims? That’s another story.

We couldn’t be more due for a big night.

Mitch’s Favorite Picks

Nuggets -4.5 (-112 / FanDuel) — 1.5 units

Clippers @ Nuggets, 10 PM EST

Are the Clippers terrible? Maybe, but probably not. Are the Clippers terrible right now? Without a shadow of a doubt.

I was confident they could find some semblance of rhythm against the Mavericks the other night; they lost by 18. Then they lost at home to the bare-bones Grizzlies who had one win on the season.

I don’t think an In-Season Tournament Game against the defending champions is the game to bet on the Clippers to break out of this horrendous slump, especially when the team still hasn’t figured out how to play with James Harden. The Clippers are 0-5 since acquiring The Beard, and the team is noticeably better when Harden is off the floor.

With Harden on the court (253 possessions), the Clippers are scoring 102.4 points per 100 possessions and allowing 128. With Harden on the bench (592 possessions), they’re scoring 117.4 points per 100 possession and allowing just 102.7.

I’d go as far to take the Nuggets on an alternate line up to -7.5 (+134).

Nikola Jokic, 14+ REB (+115 / FanDuel) — 0.75 units

Clippers @ Nuggets, 10 PM EST

Clippers center Mason Plumlee is still recovering from an MCL sprain, and Jokic absolutely dominates Ivica Zubac. Without Plumlee, the Clippers are left with just Zubac and Moussa Diabaté to try to slow down Jokic.

Over the past two years, Jokic has played in seven games against the Clippers. In those seven games, he averaged 14.1 RPG. He hit the 14-rebound mark in four of those games. He had 13 in two of the other three.

Fourteen rebounds is definitely a lot, but it’s hard to pass this play up considering the plus money and his history against Los Angeles. As long as this game doesn’t turn into a 30-point blowout, I like our chances.

Ani’s Favorite Picks

Tyrese Haliburton, over 11.5 AST (-102 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Pacers @ Sixers, 7 PM EST

This is a pretty steep line but Hailiburton had 17 assists against the Sixers on Sunday and is averaging 12.2 APG this season. The real staggering number is the 25 potential assists he had in Sunday’s game.

The Pacers play at the third-fastest pace in the NBA, so there should be plenty of opportunities for Haliburton to record assists in this contest. His points + assists line sits at 33.5, which has some value as well.

Skylar Mays, over 8.5 AST (-120 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Trail Blazers @ Jazz, 9 PM EST

The Trail Blazers are dealing with a lot of injuries at the guard position with both Scoot Henderson and Malcolm Brogdon still sidelined. Mays has started the last two games and has recorded double-digit assists in both contests. 

Mays had 20 potential assists in the last game and a majority of that came in the fourth quarter. If Mays plays at least 30 minutes then he should easily hit this number. The game total sits at 231.5, so the books are expecting a high-scoring game, which should result in plenty of assist opportunities for Mays.

Andrew Wiggins, over 14.5 PTS (-110 / DraftKings) — 1 unit

Timberwolves @ Warriors, 10 PM EST

The Warriors will be without Steph Curry for tonight’s contest, which bumps up Wiggins’ usage in their offense. In his career with Golden State, Wiggins has averaged 19.1 points in games without Steph Curry, per StatMuse.

Wiggins has struggled this year but will need to step up for Golden State tonight against his former team. Even without Curry the Warriors are only three-point underdogs, so I expect Wiggins to have a big game. 

Other Props We Love

Nikola Jokic, 16+ REB (+250 / FanDuel) — 0.4 units

Clippers @ Nuggets, 10 PM EST

Tobias Harris, under 27.5 PTS + REB (-111 / FanDuel) — 0.75 units

Pacers @ Sixers, 7 PM EST

Nic Claxton, over 9.5 REB (+102 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Magic @ Nets, 7:30 PM EST

Bam Adebayo, double-double (-180 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Heat @ Hornets, 7 PM EST

Ausar Thompson, double-double (+110 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Hawks @ Pistons, 7 PM EST

Jalen Suggs, over 1.5 3PM (+120 / DraftKings) — 1 unit

Magic @ Nets, 7:30 PM EST

Jonas Valanciunas, over 9.5 REB (-110 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Mavericks @ Pelicans, 8 PM EST

Kyle Lowry, over 9.5 PTS (-110 / FanDuel) — 1 unit

Heat @ Hornets, 7 PM EST

Record Tracker

Please don’t read this part.

Mitch’s Favorites: 3-10 (-5.9 units)

Ani’s Favorites: 4-9 (-3.6 units)

All Picks: 17-28 (-5.9 units)