Washington -1 (3u) W
The Wizards may be 1-5 but aren't as bad as their record may suggest, as they have never trailed by 1 point entering the 4th quarter in all 5 of their losses this season. They severely lack bench depth, which causes the starters to play 35+ minutes and become exhausted in the final minutes of the game. Horford has yet to clear concussion protocol and Boston's defense is consequently struggling mightily, as their defense is allowing 111.8 PPG (28th in NBA). This should be great matchup between two talented young teams, and the Wizards should expose a mistake-prone Celtics team to earn a win at home tonight.
Toronto +3 (3u) W
Valanciunas is a game time decision but looks like he has a decent shot to suit up tonight in a big matchup against OKC. DeRozan has been on fire for the first two weeks of the season but faces a tough defensive team ranked top 5 in defensive efficiency. Westbrook is proving himself to be a MVP candidate with his near triple-doubles on any given day, but needs the rest of the team to step up and contribute across the board for the team to continue their hot start. I'll take the points with the road dogs in what should be a hard fought game.
Detroit -4 (2u) L
Detroit should come out with some fire today after getting stomped at Staples, facing a 30 point deficit by halftime and unable to gain any ground in the second half. Suns are playing the 2nd game of a back to back and are likely without Chandler again, who missed last night's game due to personal reasons. Detroit's frontcourt and backcourt should both have a much easier time scoring tonight with so many young players on the Suns who are prone to making mistakes. This is a good personnel matchup for the Pistons and a bounce back spot after a day of rest to continue their road trip.
LA Clippers -10 (2u) W
As mentioned above, the Clippers dominated the Pistons in embarrassing fashion at home, with 5 of their 6 wins coming by double digits. The one win that wasn't a blowout was an 8 point victory against Portland in their season opener, and they look to continue their scorching hot start tonight against a solid Blazers team. The Clippers are the best defensive team in the league, playing solid defense both on-ball and perimeter, as well as in the paint with Blake and DJ. Portland is playing a road/road back to back where Dame came through with some clutch shots but their backcourt duo each played 37 minutes to pull out a close win. This Clippers defense should jump all over a tired Portland team and cruise to a double digit win at home tonight.
Dallas +16 (2u) L
The long-awaited revenge game takes place in Oracle tonight as Barnes and Bogut make their first appearance after leaving the Warriors following their finals loss. Barnes has looked like a completely different player already this season with 22.3 PPG, more than double of his career scoring average. More impressively, he's able to do this shooting at a 50.8% clip as the first scoring option. He should be extremely motivated to come to Oracle and put on a show against his former teammates, who went with the front office behind his back to put on a recruitment pitch to KD. Bogut should also show why he led the league in DRPM last year by providing elite defense in the paint and utilizing his skills as a passer as well. Dallas is way too talented to be a 2-5 team, they're lacking chemistry but should continue to improve throughout the season as they figure out their rotations.