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Friday night is full of the games we want to see. Luka Doncic is owning one of the best defensive tandems in the league, Trae Young is dismantling one of the top defensive teams from the regular season, and the Celtics are just bad. We knew Boston was going to struggle when Jaylen Brown went down, but maybe not to this magnitude. Jayson Tatum's struggles were more than visible this season, but a 60-point outing gave reason for hope. Clearly that was an outlier and Tatum isn't the same player he once was, for whatever reason that may be.
With just three games Friday, the Hawks-Knicks and Clippers-Mavericks are going to steal the show simply by the narrative surrounding their Game 3's, but Boston does have a chance to make things interesting is they can somehow get a win tonight. All in all, a great way to kickoff this weekend.
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NYK @ ATL
Trae Young (ATL) MORE 26.5 Points - Julius Randle (NYK) MORE 22.5 Points
Trae Young is dominating the Knicks defense and although New York was able to escape with a win in Game 2, Young had his hands all over this game from start to finish. He scored 30 points against this backcourt, again, and the New York defense has to find a way to alter his production if they hope to carry their momentum into Atlanta for Game 3. It's pretty clear that Young is going to keep scoring and the Knicks are going with hoping his teammates struggle than to try and stop a train that's already moving. The only problem with this strategy is that allowing someone like Young to do what he wants is eventually going to trickle down to the rotation players who are now playing at home. John Collins went scoreless in a game the Hawks lost by 10 points. There's no saying he is good for a potential 15-point game, but believing that Collins being in foul trouble has no impact on this game is ignoring a lot.
Julius Randle is not the same player in the playoffs, and the atmosphere has added that small extra layer of thinking that makes Randle seem like a shell of his regular season self. He's not scoring the same or involving teammates at the same rate. Truthfully, the Knicks can't afford for Randle to just throw away possessions and the Hawks are making them pay for every mistake and missed shot. It helps he is taking less shots, but with how important Randle has been to the success of this team, how many more games will the Knicks be able to afford Randle scoring under 20-points a night? It's not only a matter of keeping games close, but it's about keeping the games out of reach so a clutch player like Trae Young take the game into his own hands like he did Game 1. Regardless, it's hard to like his chances of having a high-scoring game this series.
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BKN @ BOS
Jayson Tatum (BOS) MORE 29.5 Points - Kevin Durant (BKN) LESS 27.5 Points
Boston isn't going to win their series against the Nets, but that doesn't mean Jayson Tatum won't eventually have a massive game at some point. He's struggled for most of the season and Tatum missing shots has been a narrative that has troubled the Celtics for longer than they have hoped. Whether this is the player Tatum is now or just a trend, his inability to score is apparent and that's just the way of the matter. His big games, at this point, are by complete chance and you shouldn't let those big games cloud the narrative that Tatum just isn't good right now.
Now Kevin Durant has the excuse of missing most of the season, but that really hasn't held him back much if any. He does look a little timid and hesitant from going 100%, but his shooting would tell you otherwise. Durant might not be playing at the speed we've normally seen him play at, but it isn't affecting his scoring as much as playing alongside James Harden and Kyrie Irving. This trio is tough to gauge in terms of who will have the big game each night, but once you figure out their gameplan, which is to start with James Harden's playmaking while letting Durant and Irving have free range, it's been a working combination that makes it hard to buy the under for Durant when 28-points seems like an easily reachable goal even in a blowout.
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LAC @ DAL
Luka Doncic (DAL) MORE 30.5 Points - Kawhi Leonard (LAC) MORE 30.5 Points
The Clippers are on the brink of being down 3-0 to the Dallas Mavericks and Kawhi Leonard is doing everything in his power to try and keep them afloat. Every game he is scoring at will, the only problem is, when he finds his shooters or has some momentum going, his teammates do nothing with it. Hitting one-three pointer for every three or four open attempts is not going to cut it in the playoffs and the Mavericks are taking advantage of the fact that the Clippers couldn't buy a bucket if they had Steve Balmer himself opening his wallet for the cause. Leonard is special and we've known that, just outside of him there are no safe bets and the playoff atmosphere has caught Los Angeles by surprise.
It's the complete opposite for Dallas and it seems that the playoffs have unlocked a new level for them to reach for. Most people aren't going to doubt Luka Doncic' ability, seeing how well he is handling the Clippers defense, but he is still the focal point of this offense, much like Kawhi to the Clippers. Despite Doncic having a supporting cast willing to step up, he still needs to score and even if both teams try to stop their most threatening opposing force, it hasn't worked yet and it's hard to see that changing randomly. The only thing that can hold Doncic or Leonard back is their own abilities so the upside is about as high as it can be.
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