JutPicks
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Pickswise was nice enough to give me the opportunity to write my plays up for you all. For those of you who don’t know me, they refer to me as JutPicks on Twitter. I post all my plays with brief write-ups every day. Now I get to write even more with no character limit!
I pride myself in being as transparent as they come. My NBA record from last season and this season are listed in my bio alongside my MLB record. Without further ado, let’s dive into my favorite plays for Friday.
Luguentz Dort (Thunder) over 20.5 points + assists points (-115)
Line available at DraftKings at time of publishing.
Lu Dort is known to be among the best 2-way players in the league. He always takes on the challenge of guarding the opponents’ best perimeter scorer and provides a spark for the Oklahoma City Thunder on the offensive end. He is averaging a career-high 16.7 points per game while shooting over 40% from the field.
The Thunder will again be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and will have to lean on Dort to make up the 23 points that Alexander was providing. In 6 games without Alexander, Dort is averaging 19 points and attempting 16 field goals.
Dort gets a phenomenal matchup against the 28th-ranked defense of the Portland Trail Blazers. They are allowing more than 112 points per game and opponents are shooting 37% from 3-point range against them — the highest rate in the association. These teams squared off on Monday and Dort shot 6 of 16 from the field on his way to 18 points and 3 assists.
Dort is coming off a 30-point performance against a great Dallas defense. I expect him to carry that momentum over in to this matchup versus Portland.
Check out our full game preview of Thunder vs Trail Blazers
Christian Wood (Rockets) over 19.5 points (-120)
Line available at DraftKings at time of publishing. Playable up to 20.5.
Christian Wood continues to be one of the few bright spots for the Houston Rockets. After a a slow start to the season, Wood has scored over 20 points in 20 of his last 30 games. He is a matchup nightmare against big men with his ability to stretch the floor and take them off the dribble.
We backed Wood the last time he played the San Antonio Spurs. He scored 15 points in only 24 minutes due to a blowout win for the Spurs. Since then, he has scored at least 21 points in all 3 games. The Spurs allow the 7th-most points to the center position and Wood has great track history against the Spurs in the last 2 seasons. As a member of the Rockets, Wood has gone over this line in 4 of 5 games.
Houston had a surprising win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday and I expect them to keep this game close against the 19-34 Spurs.
Check out our full game preview of Rockets vs Spurs
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