The race for the 2020 NBA Championship begins tomorrow in Orlando
We’re a long way from March 11th. I distinctly remember sitting in my apartment and getting the tweet sent to my phone that said the NBA season was being suspended. I was in disbelief. Sports seemed untouchable from the outside world. Unfortunately, I was wrong. It’s been about five months since the last meaningful NBA game was played. Tomorrow, it all goes out the window and the race to crown an NBA champion begins.
There are two games on the NBA schedule tomorrow. Both games will air on TNT. First, the New Orleans Pelicans will face off against the Utah Jazz. After that, the Lakers and Clippers will square off in a battle between the top teams in the Western Conference.
New Orleans Pelicans (-1.5) vs. Utah Jazz (+1.5) at 6:30 PM EST
Bubble play begins tomorrow when the Pelicans face off against the Jazz as 1.5 point favorites. Following the season’s suspension, the Utah Jazz were the fourth-place team in the Western Conference with a 41-23 record. On the other side, the Pelicans were an unimpressive 28-36. However, it should be known that Zion Williamson only played in 19 regular-season games this year before the season was suspended.
Zion will be a clear difference-maker in this game. In limited action, he averaged 23.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per contest. It should be noted that the former number one overall pick has never played in a regular-season game against the Jazz, so it’ll be interesting to see how the young man responds to Utah’s defensive prowess. I know Zion is going to get his numbers, but I don’t know if the rest of the Pelicans have it in them to beat the Jazz.
As things stand, the Jazz lead this series two games to one. The Jazz have usually been able to hold their own defensively in games this season, but when Utah has gone up against the Pelicans, the score has always been high. In three games, the Pelicans have averaged 128 points while the Jazz averaged 129.3 points per game. However, the total number of points scored in the series this season favors Utah just slightly 388 to 384.
I’m picking the Jazz in this one. The New Orleans Pelicans are obviously a sexy pick with Zion Williamson in the lineup. However, I am worried the young man may be a little rusty since he arrived at the bubble so late. Furthermore, I don’t know how well New Orleans will play since they’re not used to having Zion in the starting lineup. I like the Jazz to win outright because I just think they play better team ball.
Jazz 120 – Pelicans 116
Los Angeles Lakers (-4.5) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (+4.5) at 9:30 PM EST
Our second game of the NBA restart pits the Western Conference’s top two teams against each other. At 49-14, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are hoping to take the Lakers back to the promised land. Meanwhile, the second-seeded Clippers are hoping Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can bring the organization its first championship.
The Clippers currently lead the season series two games to one. The Lakers average 114.3 ppg while the Clippers put up 116.2 points per game. Furthermore, the average margin of victory in these games has been eight points. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is a pretty significant margin in the gambling world.
I really like the Bubble-based roster additions the Lakers have. Dion Waiters and JR Smith are two excellent players to have coming off the bench for your team. All you have to do is look at LA’s recent scrimmage against the Wizards. JR Smith finished with 20 points after going six for seven from beyond the arc. On top of that, Dion Waiters added 18 more points and six assists. They did all of this WITHOUT LEBRON JAMES OR ANTHONY DAVIS IN THE LINEUP! Both of those players can be incredibly effective for the purple and gold coming off the bench.
There seems to be a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Clippers’ opening night roster, which has me favoring the Lakers. It’s looking like the Clips will be without Montrezl Harrell on opening night. Furthermore, the status of Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams remains up in the air. Williams and Harrell were the third and fourth leading scorers on the team before the season was paused in March. Without those two in the lineup, I don’t see how the Clippers’ bench will be able to keep up with the Lakers. The Lakers will win this game outright and just barely cover the spread.
