San Antonio is 0-2 already, and the reason for it has been their defense. The Spurs are usually one of the best defensive teams in the NBA year in and year out, but obviously that hasn’t been the case so far. In their two losses, the Spurs have given up 103 and 100 points while allowing 47.8% from the field and 37.5% from behind the arc. And allowing 100 points or more is something San Antonio doesn’t do too often. In fact, they allowed 100 points or more only 14 times during the regular season last year. And in games following a poor defensive effort like that, the Spurs went 10-4 to the under in their next game. And their defense should snap back tonight as they’ll face a Dallas offense that is going through a lot of changes. Under new head coach Rick Carlisle, the Mavs want to play more of an up-tempo game. But they are struggling mightily shooting only 42.4% from the floor and hitting just 25.5% of their three’s. After their 19-point home loss to Cleveland on Monday night, Jason Terry said the team had, "a funky rhythm,” while Dirk Nowitzki said "We looked slow and sluggish.” With this being Dallas’ fourth game in six days, don’t expect their offense to breakout tonight. Go Under the Total.
This is where doing a radio show twice a week down in Nashville, TN will pay off. Every Monday and Thursday, I faithfully go on air to talk about the Monday night game and preview the upcoming weekend. And following me on Monday night’s are two Titans’ players. And on the Monday before last week, all they were talking about was that they couldn’t wait to get to the following Monday and play the Colts. Then after they won that game 31-21, all they were talking about on the following show was how they proved to everybody that they were a legit football team. There were many doubters heading into that game, and the fact that the Titans put everything they had into that game to prove they are the real deal means they will not be able to match that intensity in this game. It’s only human nature that it will happen, so we’ll step in and grab the points with the Packers who are in a good situation. Green Bay enters off their bye week so they are fresher and they also have a ton of confidence after winning back-to-back games before their off week. Tennessee has been outstanding this year in all phases of the game, but they are just in a bad spot here. Play Packers plus the points.
I went to the Celtics game on Tuesday night. The C’s got their championship rings and raised banner # 17. It was an awesome night all around, and the Celtics capped it off with a 90-85 win over Cleveland after being down by 7 at the half.
And here’s one observation from what I watched that you may want to follow if you plan on betting the NBA this season.
Mo Williams looks like a nice pickup for Cleveland. When he was on the court, the offense was smooth. He was in foul trouble all night (refs called everything), and when he was off the court, their offense had no flow.
He might be a guy to keep an eye on. If he ever goes out for an extended time, the Cavs may be a good fade as a favorite because their offense was out of sync. I know it was only the first game of the year, but from what I watched, Williams is a nice fit for Cleveland and they need him on the floor.
