Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat
The Raptors find themselves a double digit underdog in Miami on Thursday night, but it’s a role they’ve thrived in this season. Jakob Poeltl finds himself in a very strong spot, both from a matchup perspective and injury news standing. Poeltl has already faced the Heat twice this season, and has had his way with the smaller lineup.
In the first matchup, Poeltl was on fire, dropping 24 points in just 32 minutes of action. That game was in Miami on a Friday, and then these teams met again two days later in Toronto. In that matchup, Poeltl went for 17 points in 37 minutes, in a game the Raptors pulled the home upset.
However, Scottie Barnes played in both of those games for Toronto, and is now set to miss extended time. Not good news for the Raptors, but it has meant a lot to Poeltl’s scoring output. In 13 games with Barnes on the floor this season, Poeltl is averging 13.4 points. In the 11 games Barnes has missed, Poeltl’s scoring jumps to 18.9 points. Between the splits with Barnes off the floor, and the positive matchup against Miami, I’ll play on the over for Poeltl’s point total in this one.
PLAY: Jakob Poeltl 15+ Points (-120) 1-unit
Detroit Pistons at Boston Celtics
The Celtics haven’t played since Saturday, and won’t play again until Sunday. They’re in almost an All-Star break type of gap in the schedule, so fully rested and coming off a bad loss at home to Memphis, I expect them to be at their best in this game. I’m considering playing a Celtics first half team total, which generally performs well against lesser teams at home. But I also like a big night for Pritchard here, who is looking to continue to build on his 6th Man of the Year case.
Toss out a weird scoreless game in just 24 minutes for Pritchard against the Bucks last Friday night, and he’s averaging over 23 points per in his last six contests. That span includes 19 points against the Pistons in 34 minutes. Pritchard also dropped 19 in Detroit earlier in the season, that time in just 19 minutes. I expect another good shooting night from Pritchard in this spot, and the Celtics to bounce-back with a win. If you want to ladder this to 20+ points I think you can fire away.
SGP PLAY: Payton Pritchard 15+ Points/Celtics ML (+130) 1-unit
Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app on Apple or Google!
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
The contents contained in this article do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment.
