NBA Preview: The 1-2 Warriors are coming off a frustrating loss at Memphis and are poised to take their frustrations out on the Mavs.
Golden State Warriors (1-2) at Dallas Mavericks (0-3), Monday, 8:30 p.m. EST
Line: Warriors -13. Total 215.5.
The Vegas line and total have not been released for this game because linemakers are waiting to see if Stephen Curry will be suspended on Monday. If Curry avoids a suspension and plays, I expect the Warriors to be favored by 12 points.
Golden State walloped the Mavericks in 2 of their 3 wins. The Warriors defeated Dallas 116-95 on November 9 and beat them 108-99 on December 30 at home. The Warriors shellacked Dallas 112-87 on March 21.
There is not a lot to talk about with this game. The Warriors have struggled during their first three games of the regular season. I expect Golden State to take out some frustrations against a Dallas squad who is not good enough to stop them.
NBA Fantasy Information
Players to look at: Stephen Curry (Warriors), PG, $9200. Curry is worth picking at that price if you can afford him since he is averaging 41.4 fantasy points per game. Of course, you will need to make sure Curry is playing Monday night.
Dennis Smith Jr. (Mavericks), PG, $6500. Smith is questionable with a knee injury. He scored 31.6 fantasy points in the Mavericks opener against Atlanta.
JJ Barea (Mavericks) PG, $5000. Barea is averaging 26.9 fantasy points per game. He has been consistently scoring 24.1 fantasy points to 30.2 fantasy points a game. Consequently, he is worth a look at that salary.
Klay Thompson (Warriors), SG, $7200. Thompson is off to a scorching hot start this season. He averaged over 40 fantasy points a game before getting just on October 21 against Memphis. Thompson is still averaging 34 fantasy points per game.
Kevin Durant (Warriors), SF, $10,200. Durant is worth taking if you can afford him because he is averaging 49.7 fantasy points per game.
Nerlens Noel (Mavericks), C, $5000. Noel averaged 34.7 fantasy points per game over his first 2 games before scoring only 8 points at Houston in his last game.
Edit: 6:49 p.m. EST:
I will have a bet or two posted in 45 to 60 minutes. Here are some quick thoughts and then my picks for Monday.
Stephen Curry will play tonight for Golden State due to avoiding a suspension tonight. The Warriors should be able to romp in this game despite Dennis Smith Jr. being listed as probable now.
Phoenix Suns head coach Earl Watson was fired today after just three games, all losses. However, two of those three losses were horrific. The Suns suffered their worst loss in franchise history at home opening night 124-76 to the Portland Trail Blazers. The 48-point loss was the Suns worst loss in franchise history. Two games later, Phoenix lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 130-88 at Staples Arena. Suns guard Eric Bledsoe is asking for a trade.
From a handicapping perspective, we have the new coach angle in play here tonight. This is an angle that has done great over the last 10 years in the NBA and at times in the NFL. The angle states that teams will rise up in their first game for a new coach to not only cover the spread, but win the game outright. In most instances, when a coach is fired, it is because the team is bad, therefore the team with the fired coach is usually an underdog and a fairly big dog in some instances.
However, I do not think this angle applies to this game. Most of the time, the players will tune out, quit on, or simply do not like the coach who has been fired and they rise up to play hard for their new coach during his first game as head coach. We do not have this situation here because this is a young team who does not hate their coach. There was no player unrest in Phoenix. This is just a young team for the most part, trying to find their way. They will play hard tonight, but this is a different situation than the typical coach-firing spots.
Sides: (1) GS, (2) Phi, (3) Mem, (4) Cha, (5) Tor, (6) Sac, (7) Was, (8) Mia
Totals: (1) Sac un, (2) Was ov, (3) Mem un, (4) Mia ov, (5) Cha un, (6) Tor ov, (7) Phi ov, (8) GS un
Edit: 7:28 p.m. EST:
Golden State Warriors -13, laying $110 to win $100 – The Warriors mauled Dallas twice in three games last season. All the talking heads on television are asking what is wrong with Golden State this year? I do not believe there is anything wrong with them. Their loss to Houston on opening night was a game where they lead from start to (almost) finish. They led by 13 points after 3 quarters. However, Draymond Green missed the fourth quarter due to injury.
Dallas is rebuilding while Dirk Nowitzki plays his 20th season, all with the Mavs. Rookie Dennis Smith, from North Carolina State, the #9 overall pick in this year’s draft, scored 16 points and added 10 assists. Smith looks like a very good player for the Mavs to build around.
In the Warriors loss at Memphis, Curry and Durant were in foul trouble during the game. Curry had 4 fouls in the first half. The talking heads should watch the games. Look for Golden State to come out with a lot of vim and vigor and take it to this winless Dallas squad.
Sacramento / Phoenix under 205, laying $110 to win $100 – As I predicted last week, the Kings are now dead last in the league in PACE, playing at a pace of 92.1 per game. Phoenix has a new coach tonight and they suspended Eric Bledsoe. The Suns have injury woes. Phoenix is 24th in the league in points scored per game, and if you throw out the 130 points they scored against the defenseless Los Angeles Lakers, they are averaging 82 points per game, which is easily dead last in the league. Vegas has adjusted the total downward significantly as I knew they would after the last Sacramento game that went almost 40 points under the total.
Good Luck.
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