Wednesday's Best

Tonight's slate of NBA action features two matchups with considerable intrigue, boasting star offseason acquisitions and battles of generational talent. We kick the night off in the East, where the Celtics are traveling to Cleveland to face the red-hot Cavaliers at 7:30PM EST. Boston has shown flashes of the two-way dominance, but appeared surprisingly mortal in an overtime loss vs. these Cleveland Cavaliers only five days ago 👀

• Donovan Mitchell and Caris LeVert poured in 41 points apiece in that victory, evoking memories of another famous Cleveland duo

• Mitchell has looked like a fully-fledged superstar with his new squad, collecting some of the most ridiculous highlights in the league 🎥

Out West, the floundering Lakers take on the Pelicans at 10:30PM, a team that looks like it's on the fast track to perennial contention behind the star trio of Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum. The irony in this matchup is obvious — the Lakers sent every asset they had to NOLA in return for Anthony Davis, only to now look like a markedly inferior squad just three years later 😬

Celtics vs. Cavs Betting Preview (odds subject to change)

• Spread: Celtics -1.5

• Moneyline: Celtics -122 (bet $122, win $100), Cavs +104 (bet $100, win $104)

• O/U: 220.5

Pelicans vs. Lakers Betting Preview

• Spread: Pelicans -3

• Moneyline: Pelicans -146, Lakers +124

• O/U: 229.5

Eastern Contenders

Few teams generated more hype this offseason than Cleveland, which added a proven All-Star in Mitchell to an already extremely talented young core. Darius Garland and Mitchell have the potential to be one of the league's top backcourts — what's shocking is that Cleveland has racked up a 5-1 record, despite Garland playing only a few minutes in the season opener before sustaining an eye laceration 🥽

• Mitchell has immediately proven himself to be the game-breaking scorer that Cleveland, and frankly nearly every team in the league, was missing

• He's clearly more than capably of carrying the load, starting his Cleveland career off with historic numbers ⭐️

Up against Cleveland is the title favorite Celtics (+480). The Cavs showed themselves to be a worthy adversary in their recent matchup, but Boston is still the top dog in the East until someone knocks them off their perch 👑

• The Celtics have weathered the abrupt loss of Ime Udoka (who was just hired by the Nets), and haven't missed a beat under Joe Mazzulla

• At the end of the day, the Celtics will remain contenders as long they have Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown 💪

Sad, Sad Lakers

I think it's safe to say that when the Pelicans traded AD to the Lakers back in 2019, no one could foresee NOLA being the superior team in 2022. It would be wrong to call that trade a failure, as championships are the ultimate goal. But the Lakers' roster moves and Davis' health have been flat-out disastrous since that bubble run 👇

• They dismantled a group of veteran 3-and-D pieces that fit perfectly alongside LeBron with...whatever you could call this poorly assembled group

• The most infamous move has, of course, been the acquisition of Russell Westbrook, and his monster contract

• However, coach Darvin Ham's recent decision to move Westbrook to a sixth man role has been paying dividends 👀

Meanwhile, the team that traded away Davis has seemingly made all of the right moves to surround their duo of young stars with solid complementary pieces. Acquiring CJ McCollum provided a proven perimeter scorer who can also create opportunities for Zion in the pick-and-roll. They've also drafted young talents like Herb Jones and Trey Murphy who have NBA-ready skill sets 💪

• Of course, the primary reason to take New Orleans seriously is Zion, who looks to be fully healthy again after a rough sophomore season in which he never took the floor

• When Zion's body is right, he's perhaps the most awe-inspiring physical specimen in the league 😳

For My Parlay Gurus

I don't think Boston will allow the Cavs to take two straight matchups...Tatum and Brown will be hungry for revenge after last week's OT loss. Meanwhile, I like the Pelicans to beat the hapless Lakers, regardless of Ingram's injury status. Take a look 👇

• Celtics -1.5 vs. Cavs: -112

• Pelicans -3 @ Lakers: -110

$100 on this bet would win you $261 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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