Celtics set to crush a former super team, then Ja Morant looks to best Mt. Jokic amid controversy

The hometown 76ers have hit a bit of a rough patch. They’re just 8-6 over their last 14, and the schedule only gets harder as we move forward. Still, they’re not playing bad basketball. There’s a night off before they face the blistering hot Milwaukee Bucks, winners of 16 straight.

On the one hand, it’s a brutal test, and a tough matchup for Philly. Brook Lopez has defended Joel Embiid about as well as any one man this season. Jrue Holiday has been nothing short of awesome. And then there’s Giannis. But knocking them off in their building and breaking their streak would do a lot to suspend Philly fan frustrations.

Let’s make some money while we wait for Saturday night primetime.

Nets at Celtics (Boston -11, Money Line -540)

Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

I guess it was too late for ESPN to flex this game out. With options like the New York Knicks vs. the Miami Heat, or Kevin Durant’s Phoenix Suns vs. the Chicago Bulls, or even the Trae Young vs. Damian Lillard showdown, I feel like we could have done better.

Brooklyn assembled a super team back in 2020, pairing up Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Then they dismantled it, and now they’re in some sort of no man’s land of having lost four straight games. Hence, the double-digit spread as they prepare to tackle the reigning Eastern Conference champs.

With the idea this game may not be competitive, let’s see how we’ll tackle a Single Game Parlay.

We’ll start by popping on an alternative line of Celtics -4.5 (-275). It’s not a great price, but if you need multiple outcomes to all occur, you want to bake in a reasonably high level of confidence for each one. Ben Simmons, who has not been healthy since he was originally ramping up to play for the Brooklyn Nets one year ago, is out. For Boston, Malcolm Brogdan is listed as probable with an ankle, but if Joe Mazzulla is prudent, he won’t put much on the former Rookie of the Year’s plate tonight.

Newly acquired Net Cam Johnson scored 27, 19, and 33 points in his last three outings. Let’s pick him to drop 14 or more (-170). Money in the bank, especially if the Celtics get a big lead and play some reserves big minutes.

Now that I type that, I think that’s the game script we’ll go for. Boston is in command. But Brooklyn plays their studs more than Boston has to. Mikal Bridges looked like a young Kawhi the other night vs. Giannis, draining contested pull-ups right over Antetokounmpo’s Freakish wingspan. And Bridges is averaging 27 points over his last five games. I like him and his own freakish wingspan to get 19 points or more (-185) tonight.

I don’t see any props for Grant Williams right now. But if I were Joe Mazzulla, I’d try to buy Al Horford some extra rest. And while it’s trickier to pick which reserve center he might tap, Grant should get at least some of those extra minutes. Keep your eye out for G. Williams props to populate.

Robert Williams to get a single block goes for -330. Nicolas Claxton getting two blocks is (-135). Claxton has averaged more than two rejections per outing over his last 10 games. So if you’re feeling frisky, if you think he’ll feel extra motivated by Knicks’ big Mitchell Robinson tweeting then deleting he’s the best five in NYC, then pop that on.

If you pop on both big’s blocks (Clax gets two or more, Williams gets one) you’re up to +650 on your SGP.

OTTNO.

Memphis at Denver (Nuggets -4.5, Money Line -195)

Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images

The Nuggets are in first place, and with Kevin Durant in the lineup in Phoenix, winning home court throughout the Western Conference playoffs becomes all the more important for Nikola Jokic and co. If you’re a Sixers’ fan still hoping Joel Embiid can win his first ever MVP, the Nuggets nabbing a one seed won’t aid your cause.

I think that Rocky Mountain altitude helps them get a big win tonight. In a SGP, I’m taking the Nuggets money line (-215).

Ja Morant is mired in a controversy. The WashPo reported that the second overall pick in 2019 allegedly punched a 17-year-old repeatedly. Morant has already played since then, dropping 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists over the lowly, worst-record-in-the-league Houston Rockets (who for some reason want to, I guess, max James Harden for his age 34-37 seasons). I’m not sure what to expect from Ja, so I’ll stay away.

The Grizzlies give up the seventh-most fantasy points per game using DraftKings DFS scoring. So I think Aaron Gordon gets over 6.5 rebounds (-105).

Jokic has averaged 7.4 dimes against the Grizz since Ja came into the NBA. That’s held steady over the years. So our Jokic 7.5 dimes over, (-450) doesn’t feel safe.

He only had three total vs. Memphis back on Feb. 25.

His points on the other hand feel more achievable. Joker dropping over 20.5 (-240) feels doable. Desmond Bane was cold that last time they met. He shot just 1 of 7 from deep. I like Bane to hit two or more triples (-320).

We’re now at +400 on a SGP.

If you want to go truly wild, DraftKings allows you to bundle both of your SGP’s into one big bet. Doing that gives us +3650 odds.

So you can bet 10 bucks on each game stack separately. And you can also put $5 on the two-game SGP bundle to win $187.50.

Or ignore all of my recommendations and find your own. Happy hunting.

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