Locks
NBA (0.5 Unit) Washington Wizards @ Minnesota Timberwolves -7.5 First Half (-110): 7:00PM CT on Bally Sports North
It’s not broken so I’m not going to fix it. The Wolves keep getting off to strong starts before often letting things get interesting late. That played out on Sunday against the Houston Rockets, and Minnesota has an opportunity here to step on a similarly poor team.
The Wizards enter this game just 25th in first-half scoring. They’re also just 26th in average first-half margin, both overall and on the road. The Wolves beat up on Houston so badly in the first half that they moved up to 3rd in first-half scoring. I expect them to have another strong start here and take a double-digit lead into the half.
NBA (0.5 Unit) LA Lakers @ Phoenix Suns -4 First Half (-110): 9:30PM CT on NBATV
I learned a valuable lesson on Sunday in taking the Suns first half instead of first quarter. I won’t make that mistake here, especially given the spot they’re in. Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, regardless of who was resting, the Suns should be looking for a strong start here.
Phoenix is 4th in the NBA in average first-quarter margin, and 5th in first-quarter points allowed. A Lakers team with questionable legs on LeBron James and Anthony Davis should be an easy victim. If the Suns want to atone for losing to a D-League roster, they should come out on fire in this one.
Degenerates
No degenerates today.
Tiny Nick is 669-545 ATS (+79.1 Units) on his Locks since joining Zone Coverage.
Every day he will offer his Locks and Degenerate picks. Locks are the games he’s confident in. Degenerates are entertaining but riskier picks.
