The Nets Are 0-8 Vs. The Top-8 Teams In The NBA

Yesterday’s newsletter headline was about Baylor and USC, who were both undefeated. Well, they both lost. But, our Iowa State and Auburn parlay hit 😅

Best Of The East

In tonight’s marquee NBA matchup, the top two teams in the East will battle in Chicago, with the Nets trying to close the 2.5-game gap between them and the Bulls

Nets @ Bulls Odds (subject to change)

• Where to watch: ESPN, 10PM EST

• Spread: Bulls -1

• Moneyline: Bulls -116 (bet $116, win $100), Nets EVEN

• Over/under: 231

Coming into the game, the Nets have lost four of their last 10, while the Bulls saw the Mavericks snap their nine-game winning streak on the road before beating the Pistons last night

NBA Preseason Win Totals

• However, if you bet the over on the Bulls’ preseason win total of 42.5, you’d be in luck, since they’ve already won 27 out of 38 games

• The Nets, alternatively, came into the season with the NBA’s highest projected win total of 56.5 (.689 win %), but at 25-14 (.641 win %), are just behind schedule

Brooklyn’s Engine

Now that Kyrie can join the team for road games, the Nets should have two of their Big Three. Who might be missing? Statistically, the most important of the three, as James Harden is likely out with a knee injury. Although KD might be their best player, nobody drives regular season winning like The Beard 🧔🏼

In Brooklyn’s Harden-era:

• Nets’ record with Harden: 51-13

• Nets’ record without Harden: 22-19

An offensive motor all by himself, Harden is second in the NBA in potential assists (18.1) and third in assist points created (23.5). Combined with his own scoring output (22.4 PPG), Harden is worth almost 50 points per game to his team

Trivia question: James Harden averages 25 PPG in his career. Since 2012, which season and what team do you think Harden has averaged the least PPG with? (answer below)

DeMVP?

Although the Nets have a pair of MVP candidates on their roster, the No. 1 seeded Bulls have their own surprise star currently working his way up many ballots

• Reminder: the Bulls acquired DeRozan from the Spurs for a future first round pick, two second round picks, Thaddeus Young and Al-Farouq Aminu

• The sign-and-trade and eventual 3-year/$85M contract was risky, as DeRozan was 32 years old and, at the time, hadn’t been an All-Star since his 2017 season in Toronto

It worked though — DeMar is having what is likely the best season of his career, while the Bulls continue to play winning basketball for the first time since 2016

DeRozan’s Stats 👇

• 26.4 points per game (2nd-best of his career)

• 51.0 effective field goal percentage (2nd-best of his career)

• 35.2 3PT% (career-high)

The big question though, is can DeMar continue his excellence into a postseason run? In his past All-Star seasons, he was known to fade come playoff time. This year feels different though 🤷🏻‍♂️

For My Parlay Gurus

With Harden potentially sitting out, I expect the Bulls to take care of business at home against the shorthanded Nets. Need even more data? The Nets have yet to beat a team with a top-8 record — for context, the Pistons have three of those wins. Here’s my Chicago parlay 👇

• Bulls -1 vs. the Nets: -110

• Under 231 total points: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $264 — if we hit, make sure to email [email protected] for $100**. First come, first serve 😉

Trivia answer: Harden is averaging the least amount of PPG (22.4) this season since 2012, when is scored 16.8 PPG as a sixth-man for the Thunder