January 15, 2021 Results:

What we got right:

College Basketball:

#9 Wisconsin at Rutgers - Wisconsin didn’t have the rebound game we thought they would, but they did enough to give us a win. This was an ugly game, with both teams shooting around 35% from the field. Rutgers actually outrebounded Wisconsin 50-35, but went 2-19 from long range. You don’t have a good chance to win when you shoot like that.

NBA:

Orlando at Boston - The Magic struggled again, dropping their fourth straight game in a 124-97 loss to the Celtics. Boston made 17 three pointers, had 11 more assists than Orlando, and didn’t look sluggish in their return from a week off. The Magic’s 6-2 start must feel like ages ago, as since Markelle Fultz went down this team has not been competitive.

Dallas at Milwaukee - We picked the Mavericks to win, and while they didn’t they were close enough to cover the spread. Luca Doncic was a rebound short of another triple double in the loss, but this game belonged to Giannis. He scored 31 points and looked unstoppable at times. The only thing that he didn’t do well was shoot free throws. He went 1-10 from the line in this game. Shaq never even went 1-10 from the free throw line in a game.

Chicago at Oklahoma City - For most of the game this looked like a loss to us. Chicago had an 18 point lead at the break and then the wheels fell off. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 33 points in the 127-125 win, leading six Thunder players in double figures. Zach Lavine had 35 points in the loss for the Bulls, but missed a three pointer at the end of overtime which would have given the Bulls the lead.

Atlanta at Utah - Utah went on a 21-0 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to put this game out of reach. The Jazz made 15 more three pointers than the Hawks in the 116-92 win. Trae Young had one of his worst games as a professional, going 1-11 from the field and only scoring four points. Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 26.

Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento - This is more like the Clippers team we expected. Their stars showed up in this one, as Kawhi Leonard had 27 points and Paul George had 26. Los Angeles shot 58% from the field and 51% from three in the 138-100 victory over the Kings. Now they need that tenacity and energy to show up consistently.

What we got wrong:

New York at Cleveland - Andre Drummond had 33 points and 23 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers to a 106-103 home victory over the Knicks. This was a close game throughout, which we expected because as we said yesterday, these two teams are very similar. The difference in this game was Drummond, who had his best game in a Cleveland uniform.

New Orleans at Los Angeles Lakers - Lonzo Ball didn’t play yesterday, but we don’t think he would have made that much of a difference in the Lakers 112-95 win over the Pelicans. Los Angeles won its fifth consecutive game yesterday, while the Pelicans dropped their fifth straight.