Warriors-Knicks, Grizzlies-Nuggets: can anyone slow down the Brunson train? Plus, Ja vs. Joker

Tobias Harris is a sharpshooter, so the Sixers have rattled off five wins in a row. After defeating the Toronto Raptors in overtime on Monday, they’ll now gear up to make it six in a row when they host the Pistons tomorrow. If they can force the DJ to play “Here They Come” on Wednesday, then they’ll host the Clippers on Friday, our final bout of this seven-game homestand.

Allow yourself to dream for a moment that they win both of those and then it’s Sixers take Manhattan on Christmas Day for a showdown against two potentially red-hot teams in the Atlantic.

But let’s put all that on pause and earn a few bucks on this Tuesday night TNT doubleheader.

Warriors at Knicks (NY -6, Money Line -225)

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

First up we’ve got the scorching hot seven-wins-in-a-row New York Knickerbockers sitting in the six seed in the East, half a game behind the Sixers at 17-13, hosting the beat up Golden State Warriors. Sadly, Steph Curry is out for extended time.

Steve Kerr’s shorthanded group was still sharp enough to beat up on the Toronto Raptors recently, led by Jordan Poole’s 43-point eruption up North, but as of this writing, we’re still not quite sure who’s going to play and who’s not going to play this evening.

That makes this one pretty tricky. If you feel like you have a sense of how Kerr will deploy his lineup then you might have an edge.

Some near Bill Belichickian smoke and mirrors with this injury report so far.

Because Klay Thompson is on the injury report, I feel a solid bet here to score some points is, of course, Poole again. It feels like good players always need to make a name for themselves with a big performance at Madison Square Garden, doesn’t it? Poole could be due for an eruption spot. The Knicks are the eighth-best team against shooting guards, defensively, using DK’s fantasy points, but Poole has played at an All-Star worthy clip at times. He’ll need to continue to with Steph out.

I was fortunate enough to be in attendance when a young Stephen Curry once dropped 54 points at MSG back in the day before he won all the hardware. Few of us knew the magnitude of that moment, the coming out party of one of the greatest players of all time, ‘cause we were too busy simply being blown away by his scorching hot shooting. The Knicks won that game anyway. Poole won’t do what Steph did, but we only need him to notch 26 (-160).

Unfortunately, because we’re not sure what’s going on with the Warriors we don’t have Warrior player props up yet. But keep your eye on those options to populate in the coming hours because I expect J.P. to put up some serious buckets and give the crowd a few moments of “wow.”

But for a single-game parlay we’re going Knicks here. Give me the Knicks money line -220, give me the Mainline Marauder Jalen Brunson’s over 24.5 points, (+105), and I like Tom Thibodeau’s defense here to hold the Warriors as a team under 110 total, so I’m taking the Dubs under 109.5. That $20 bet pays $84 which will help me with some of my holiday shopping. If you like Poole for 26, we can get that SGP up to +675, and if you think he tops 30, we’re up to +1200. My dad needs a new blender for his smoothies so we’re thinking big here.

That $10 dollar bet that the Knicks win, the Dubs score 109 or less, Brunson drops 25 or more, and Poole tops 30 or more pays $130. Tempting.

Grizzlies at Nuggets (Memphis -2, Money Line -125)

Nikola Jokić is probable as he’s got a right knee contusion and we think he’s going to play. But he is on the injury report so we have to at least factor in the outside possibility he doesn’t play, or guts through something a bit limiting. A likely scenario is that Michael Porter Jr. doesn’t go and then maybe one of Jamal Murray or Kentavius Caldwell-Pope winds up sitting out.

The Grizzlies have won nine of their last 11 games. I know there’s a chance that Jokić and Murray both suit up and then the Bears are on the road facing a really tough team with an MVP candidate they simply have zero answer for, all at an uncomfortable altitude, and still missing sniper Desmond Bane.

But I don’t really mind. I’m gobbling up everything I can on the Grizz here. I think there’s a good chance that someone important doesn’t suit up for Denver and that this Memphis line actually expands beyond two by tip off.

According to our friends VSIN, about 53% of the money line bets have come in on Memphis so they suggest this one is a coin flip, but also lean towards those Beastly Omnivores from Tennessee.

In an SGP I’m taking the Grizz to cover 1.5, I’m thinking Ja Morant is out for blood as he was ejected in the last game and only scored six points in an ugly loss. So I’m going to tick on his over 28.5 (he has scored 36, 27, and 38 points in his last three games in Denver).

And tack on Jokic’s over 27.5 because since Morant’s break out a couple seasons ago, The Joker has averaged 31 points per game in seven outings versus the Grizz, dating back to the beginning of the 20 20–2021 season.

Those three pics pay +675.

If you’re feeling really frisky, you can punch both of those SGP’s into DraftKings, and then put $5 bucks that they both come through at +9975, and earn $503.75. Then you can really splurge and get your brother that two-hour lunch date with Tyrese Maxey he’s been yearning for.

Check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.