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00:00Live right here on the early line on SportsGrid.
00:08This is not going to happen that many times this year, so when it does, you must appreciate
00:14it.
00:15The two premier...
00:16Actually, you know what?
00:17After football season, we might be back together a lot.
00:18The two premier NBA handicappers on the network.
00:21That's Donny Rightside and myself, Ben Stevens, DRS, an atrocious start to the year for both
00:28of the teams that face off tonight in Milwaukee.
00:31The Bucs are 1-6.
00:33The Jazz are also 1-6.
00:36Maybe we expected poor play out of Utah.
00:39Not the case for Doc Rivers and the Bucs.
00:42They are a 9-and-a-half point favorite at home tonight who gets a desperately needed
00:48win in the state of Wisconsin.
00:50Yeah, that line, as you see on the graphic, was 9 early this morning.
00:53It's actually up to 9-and-a-half.
00:54If you're just reading lines, that is a stone cold line that there is for the Milwaukee
00:58Bucs, and rightfully so.
00:59Anthony Koop will be back in the lineup.
01:00There's much more firepower in the Bucs' side, but it's crazy that they sit there with one
01:04win on the season.
01:05That one win was opening night against the horrendous Philadelphia 76ers that didn't
01:09even have Paul George at that time.
01:11So I'm looking at the...
01:13It's not even a handicap where it's like X's and O's, Countee George out of a big night,
01:16Colin Sexton.
01:17Forget about that side of it.
01:18This line is screaming.
01:20A terrible basketball team is favored by double digits.
01:23I'm going to ride the line in this one.
01:24I'll lay the 9-and-a-half.
01:26It was the first win of the year for Utah on Monday against the Chicago Bulls.
01:32They won that game outright in the Windy City, 135-126, as an underdog.
01:39In fact, they have only covered as a dog three times this year.
01:44Utah has been an underdog in all seven of their games.
01:48In two of their three covers, total over.
01:52Milwaukee covered on opening night.
01:54They have lost six straight since.
01:55They have only covered once.
01:57It was against the Cavs earlier this week, losing that game by two.
02:01It is a stone-cold Milwaukee-Bucks line, and you are right, DRX, Giannis is back.
02:07So how does Chicago respond, who's actually been off to a pretty solid start this year
02:11by Bulls' expectations after gifting the Utah Jazz their first game, or first win of the
02:18season?
02:19Tonight, inside the United Center.
02:20We only have three games in the NBA tonight.
02:22The Bulls, an eight-and-a-half-point underdog against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves.
02:27Total at .227, down by a hook.
02:29What do you like?
02:30Yeah, all at eight o'clock tonight, too.
02:32This line opened up at Fandul, minus seven, is now creeping up as high as minus eight-and-a-half
02:35that we see now in a total listed at .227.
02:38For me, just looking at the starting lineups, doesn't look bad for the Bulls.
02:41Giddy White, Levine, Williams, and Vucevic, I am going to take this and take the points
02:45at home, saying, you know what, Chicago, you should be able to stay within double digits
02:49of a Timberwolves team that is more talented.
02:52I'll take the home team Chicago Bulls tonight with the points here.
02:55The Minnesota Timberwolves, favorite in every game this year, are four-and-three and just
03:00two-and-five against the spread.
03:02Normally a defensive standout last year, the T-Wolves over in four-of-seven, Chicago over
03:07in five-of-eight.
03:08The RS, the Bulls started three-and-two, and it was the first time in nearly two years
03:13Chicago was above .500.
03:15They have now dropped three in a row.
03:17They have not covered in any of those three, and they have gone over in three consecutive
03:22games.
03:23San Antonio Spurs, of course, we brought you the news earlier this week, or maybe you have
03:28seen.
03:29Greg Popovich is dealing with a health issue at this moment for San Antonio.
03:33The Spurs, a four-point home favorite tonight against the Portland Trailblazers.
03:38Victor Wiminyama trying to turn this San Antonio franchise back into one with winning ways.
03:43It's been a slow start here in his sophomore season in the NBA.
03:46Yeah, kind of disappointing, too, because the Spurs are at home.
03:49This line opened up at the FanDuel Sportsbook here in New Jersey at five-and-a-half.
03:51Now we're down to actually four as the live number, and a total that's listed at 218.
03:56So once again, it's not necessarily chasing lines per se, but we're having the feel that
04:00San Antonio shouldn't really be a favorite in this game, and it's more of a toss-up.
04:04I'll go road team Portland Trailblazers and bet against, or bet with, I should say, that
04:08line movement dropping at about a point-and-a-half right now.
04:11Yeah, the Spurs were an underdog in basically every game last year, or a good majority of
04:16their games, I think 73 of 82, something of the sort.
04:20San Antonio only a favorite once this year against the Jazz team we have talked to you
04:24about that has been off to a dismal start this season.
04:27They did win that game 106-88, covering as a short two-point favorite.
04:32Game also stayed under.
04:33San Antonio under in four of their first five, now over in three straight.
04:40I still think San Antonio, playing their best basketball, total stay under because
04:45of the defensive presence of Victor Wemenyama.
04:48Portland also three-and-five this year.
04:52They have been an underdog in every single game.
04:56They're five-and-three against the spread, so they have been decent in terms of their
05:01odds expectation.
05:02In fact, outside of their last game against New Orleans, that they won outright.
05:07This is the shortest number that the Portland Trailblazers have seen as an underdog every
05:12other game, a six-and-a-half point spread or greater.
05:15Of course, Scoot Henderson on one side for Portland, third overall pick.
05:20Now two summers ago, Victor Wemenyama, the number one overall pick for San Antonio.
05:26He has struggled this year a little bit, has Wemby.
05:29DRS, when you look at the season awards, of course, Victor Wemenyama, 20-1, 25-1 to win
05:34the NBA MVP award before the year got underway.
05:38He is now at 100-1 with that MVP honor because it has not been the prolific start that many
05:45expected out of Wemby in his second year.
05:47I know there's always a lot of expectations on him.
05:50I remember his first, you know, summer league game where he didn't play that well.
05:53He's an absolute bust.
05:54I can't believe they took him.
05:55The guy from France, you got to at least let him play in the NBA.
05:57He looks just fine.
05:58He'll be just fine this year, too, because his usage rate is going to be absolutely massive
06:02the rest of the way.
06:03So maybe you are getting a discount on Victor Wemenyama because young players typically
06:07get better as their early seasons move.
06:09Do we expect Wemenyama to come and have a triple-double every single night, a quadruple-double
06:14at this point?
06:15No, but I guarantee you by January and February, those numbers will be crazy good.
06:18It's just a matter of can San Antonio hang around and play meaningful basketball games
06:23to sort of amplify what he's doing.
06:25That's also part of it, right?
06:26I believe the win total for the Spurs prior to this season was somewhere in the mid to
06:31upper 30s.
06:3239.5 is the number that kind of sticks in my brain.
06:36If that is the case and they get close to that, there's still probably not going to
06:40be a playoff team in the Western Conference or in the play-in tournament, but it just
06:44shows growth for this San Antonio organization.
06:47In fact, DRS, right now, there are nine teams around the Western Conference, at least a
06:51game above 500 or better.
06:54There are only two in the Eastern Conference.
06:57The undefeated Cavs and the reigning champs, the Celtics, at seven and two.
07:03Everybody else in the Eastern Conference is an even 500 or worse, not the greatest brand
07:09of basketball in large part around the NBA to begin this season, now over two weeks in.