On the second night of back NBA players are said to be playing more from their spinal cords than their heads, so often the teams that conquer that situations are the fives who’ve played together a lot. Due to a lot of injuries Dallas has put a lot of different starting fives on the floor, and I believe this is why in their second games they’re a league-worst 1-6 ATS. Tonight the fatigue thing will be compounded by both last night’s over-time frame in Denver (of all places), and the dreaded forth-game-in-five-nights scenario.
Minnesota is also on the back end of two, but their 3-1 ATS reflects a core four that has now been together for three and more years. They might not think much of each other’s games, but they know them in the deep way that lets them stay connected when fatigued.
There’s also an X and O thing to like about this match-up. The recipe to beat the Timberwolves is to have a good on-ball defender take away dribble penetration so you can commit three guys to stopping Sczerbiak and Garnett. Dallas can’t follow this recipe because both Harris and Terry get more help than they give. Last week when the two teams played Dallas tried to follow the recipe and Jaric had his best game of the season. So the adjustment ball is in Coach Johnson’s court, and I would look for him to give help to his point leaving the big two with enough breathing space to make this one go to the wire.
YTD +3.50
1/6 Atlanta +285 W +2.85
1/5 Houston +275 W +2.75
¼ Orlando +800 L -1.0
1/3 Portland +2.5, 4Q L -1.1
Minnesota is also on the back end of two, but their 3-1 ATS reflects a core four that has now been together for three and more years. They might not think much of each other’s games, but they know them in the deep way that lets them stay connected when fatigued.
There’s also an X and O thing to like about this match-up. The recipe to beat the Timberwolves is to have a good on-ball defender take away dribble penetration so you can commit three guys to stopping Sczerbiak and Garnett. Dallas can’t follow this recipe because both Harris and Terry get more help than they give. Last week when the two teams played Dallas tried to follow the recipe and Jaric had his best game of the season. So the adjustment ball is in Coach Johnson’s court, and I would look for him to give help to his point leaving the big two with enough breathing space to make this one go to the wire.
YTD +3.50
1/6 Atlanta +285 W +2.85
1/5 Houston +275 W +2.75
¼ Orlando +800 L -1.0
1/3 Portland +2.5, 4Q L -1.1
