One of our marquee games from Saturday’s NBA slate features the Los Angeles Lakers (25-21) taking on the defending champion Golden State Warriors (28-27). LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer earlier this week.Â
COLUMN: FLAGRANT FACTS
By: Jack Fredericks
A weekly NBA column where we go buzzer to buzzer to buzzer with the book.
One of our marquee games from Saturday’s NBA slate features the Los Angeles Lakers (25-21) taking on the defending champion Golden State Warriors (28-27). LeBron James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer earlier this week.Â
The Dallas Mavericks (31-26) are taking on the Sacramento Kings (31-24) in a showdown between two of the top teams in the western conference. While Dallas has been a playoff contender over the past few seasons, Sacramento has not been to the postseason since the 2005-06 campaign. So, the fact that the Kings currently have the third-best record in the conference is surprising.Â
The college basketball slate on Thursday isn’t as exciting as it usually is.
Nonetheless, there are a few interesting matchups, and Iowa hitting the road against top-ranked Purdue is a thrilling Big Ten battle. Let’s get to the odds, analysis, and my pick.Â
The NBA slate for Monday night features one game with two Western Conference playoff teams. The Oklahoma City Thunder (25-27) head to the Bay Area to face the Warriors (27-26) in a battle between two high-powered offenses.Â
The Pelicans are owners of an eight game losing streak after losing superstar, Zion Williamson, to an ankle injury. New Orleans is coming off a 25-point loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in which Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 50 points.
The Washington Wizards (22-26) travel to Smoothie King Center to face the New Orleans Pelicans (26-23) on Saturday in a terribly fun game with great value.
The Utah Jazz (25-25) travel to Portland to face the Trail Blazers (22-25) on Wednesday night, January 25th. While Utah boasts the better record, the Trail Blazers are favored by 3.5 points, because of the Jazz’s streaky play since their hot start to the beginning of the season.Â
Our weekly NBA marquee matchup features a pair of western conference foes: the Memphis Grizzlies going on the road to face the Phoenix Suns. These two clubs finished with the top two records in the league last season. However, both teams are going in different directions right now. That said, let us dive right into this matchup.