Daily Picks 10/27: Hornets Off The Pace
Golden State Warriors (-1) @ Oklahoma City Thunder, 3:30 PM:
The Golden State Warriors (0-1) began the 2019 season right where they left off, with a loss.
Golden State was handled at home by Kawhi Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers 141-122.
Point guard Stephen Curry looked out of sorts shooting 2-of-11 from three-point range and 8-of-20 from the field for a team-high 23 points, four assists and four rebounds.
Newly-acquired free agent D’Angelo Russell started his debut in style, scoring the Warriors’ first 10 points before finishing with 20 points and a team-high eight assists on 6-of-16 shooting.
Forward Draymond Green was a non-factor, shooting 3-of-6 from the field for 11 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Oklahoma City Thunder (0-2) struggled to score in their home opener on Friday night, falling 97-85 to the Washington Wizards.
Point guard Chris Paul didn’t show up and his stat line illustrates just that, shooting 3-of-9 from the field for six points with four assists, and nearly had more turnovers than points turning it over five times.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a bright spot for Oklahoma City, shooting 10-of-17 from the field for a team-high 28 points, seven rebounds, two steals and three blocks.
Forward Danilo Gallinari was the only other player in double digits, scoring 18 points with five rebounds.
I could see Golden State starting out slow, but my expectation is the Warriors will pull away and cover down the stretch behind a big bounce back effort from Curry and Green.
Take the Warriors to cover the spread (-1) @ -105
Charlotte Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers (-13), 9:30 PM:
The Los Angeles Lakers (1-1) got into the win column for the first time this season after defeating the Utah Jazz 95-87.
LeBron James led the charge with a double-double, scoring 32 points with 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Anthony Davis was right behind James scoring 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting, adding seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and five blocks.
Forward Troy Daniels was the only other Laker in double figures and lit it up from outside, shooting 4-of-8 from three-point range for 15 points.
The Charlotte Hornets (1-1) dropped their first game of the season, falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 121-99. Charlotte trailed by two points at half-time but were outscored 45-25 in the third quarter and it was all downhill from there.
Point guard Devonte Graham came off the bench and made a serious impression, scoring a team-high 24 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three-point range and 8-of-15 from the field.
Rookie forward PJ Washington put together his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Miles Bridges added 17 points while guard “Scary” Terry Rozier contributed 11 points.
Los Angeles’ dynamic duo of Davis and James are a handful, and they showcased that on Friday night by combining for over half of the Lakers’ points (53 of 95).
I don’t see who on Charlotte will be able to keep them in check or keep up with the point production.
Take the Lakers to cover the spread (-13) @ -105
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