Hassan Whiteside ( C, Miami Heat)
Miami Heat are not in a form they wish to be in at the moment. They have lost the last 4 matches and the whole team needs to improve if they wish to break the spell. Hassan Whiteside played a huge part in most of the matches Miami won, but his performance went south quickly after defeat against NY Knicks. In the next 2 games that followed, Hassan scored only 16 points combined. Those 2 matches are without a doubt 2 of the worst showings from him this season. Hassan Whiteside is averaging 17.2ppg, 14.6 trb and 0.7ast this season, but looking at his last performances he is nowhere near these points. It seems as the bad showings from his team resulted in drop of his form. In the upcoming match, Miami Heat will try to defeat Chicago Bulls. How will Miami fare against Bulls is yet to be seen, but as far as Hassan Whiteside performance goes, I do not believe he will shine tonight. He might score double digit, but in my opinion he will not go over 18 points.
Prediction: Hassan Whiteside Under 18.5
Draymond Green (PF/SF, Golden State Warriors)
With 22 games behind him, Draymon Green is averaging 10.8ppg, 8.5trb and 7.3ast, which is an improvement compared to his career average (8.8ppg, 6.6trb and 3.7ast). Looking at his past performances it has been up and down in scoring department. One day he scored 20 points, but only 9 points the next match and even 2 pts the game after. The next match Green racked up 22 points and in his last game against Utah, Green ended the match with 13 points. In the upcoming match, Golden State Warriors visit Memphis Grizzlies at FedEx Forum. If Memphis is known for anything is their defence. They are ranked No.1 in defensive efficiency this season and you can be sure they know how to protect their basket. Grizzlies defend their paint exceptionally well, only letting opponents score 36.8 ppg, which might spell trouble for Green. The key factor here is also Green’s ankle injury in Thursday’s match. He seemed to be fine, but if ankle swells up overnight, he might be in trouble.
Prediction: Draymon Green Under 11
Bojan Bogdanovic (SF, Brooklyn Nets)
Brooklyn Nets have ended their 3 game losing streak with a win over Nuggets on Wednesday. Now they are facing a hard match against San Antonio Spurs. Bojan Bogdanovic has been performing well in the past few matches. In the last 3 matches he averaged 20 points, which is higher than his career average . This season number show, he is averaging 15ppg, 3.3trb and 1.5ast. He really is a player relying solely on his scoring as he does not offer much in any other category. Will he be able to do what he does best against Spurs? Spurs are a well organised team and they excel on both sides of the pitch. Scoring against them, is not an easy task, as they held their opponents under the 100 point line for 3 games in a row now. In the paint, San Antonio Spurs let opponent score 39.8 ppg, which is 6th lowest number in the league. Bojan Bogdanovic has also suffered a minor ankle sprain, which just might slow him down if San Antonio’s defence won’t be enough. Betting on under 14.5 gives us a great value.
Prediction: Bojan Bogdanovic Under 14.5
Brook Lopez (C, Brooklyn Nets)
We have already quickly covered Brooklyn Nets when we mentioned Bojan Bogdanovic, so repeating it would be senseless. Brook Lopez has had a rocky start of the season, but quickly started showing his true potential. This season Brook Lopez is averaging 20.1 ppg, 5.4 trb and 2.3ast. Going into his next match, he has had 2 great games against Washington (25pts, 6trb and 5ast) and Denver (24pts, 8trb and 4ast). He was without the doubt one of the main factors to Nets win over Nuggets, with team-high 24pts. He helped his team pile up 58 points under the basket with strong performance in that area. For the upcoming match, I do not see him going pass 20 points as Spurs do a lot of work in the paint. The reasons why I’m picking this prediction are quite similar to ones for Bojan Bogdanovic.
Prediction: Brook Lopez Under 20
