Pistons Play Host to Sixers
The Philadelphia 76ers travel to Michigan to play the Detroit Pistons at Little Ceasar's Arena on Tuesday.
The Sixers (2-1) had a disappointing 18-point loss to the Boston Celtics in their opener but bounced back nicely by defeating the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls in their two most recent games. Those are teams the Sixers are expected to beat and it's a great sign to see them bounce back after a tough opener against an elite opponent. The offensive turnaround is the obvious correlation, with Philly averaging 121.5 points in their two wins while dropping just 87 points in their one loss. Many wondered how J.J. Redick would respond by being moved to the bench but a 31-point gem in his most recent game makes it look like a genius move. It remains to be seen if that's the optimal starting lineup though, as Markelle Fultz has struggled in his new role. None of that matters though if Ben Simmons isn't healthy, as he left the team's most recent win after just seven minutes due to a back issue. The good news is that this injury isn't considered serious, as he's being ruled questionable for this fixture.
The Pistons (2-0) are the surprise undefeated team in the NBA, albeit against an extremely easy schedule. In fact, those two wins came against the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, who both finished bottom-three in the east last season. The nature of those wins sours the optimism as well, considering they were decided by a combined five points. A win is a win though and it's a great start to the Dwayne Casey tenure. The catalyst in this early start is Blake Griffin, as he's leading this team with 29.5 points, 10 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Those are vintage Clipper numbers from the trade deadline acquisition from last year and it's clear that the Pistons are willing to run the show through him. Adding an offensive weapon like that to a core with Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson makes this one of the most overlooked teams in the east and fans are just hopeful that they will remain under-the-radar and continue to win games.
Philly dominated Detroit last season, sweeping the four-game season series by an average of 14.8 points per game.
The Sixers (2-1) had a disappointing 18-point loss to the Boston Celtics in their opener but bounced back nicely by defeating the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls in their two most recent games. Those are teams the Sixers are expected to beat and it's a great sign to see them bounce back after a tough opener against an elite opponent. The offensive turnaround is the obvious correlation, with Philly averaging 121.5 points in their two wins while dropping just 87 points in their one loss. Many wondered how J.J. Redick would respond by being moved to the bench but a 31-point gem in his most recent game makes it look like a genius move. It remains to be seen if that's the optimal starting lineup though, as Markelle Fultz has struggled in his new role. None of that matters though if Ben Simmons isn't healthy, as he left the team's most recent win after just seven minutes due to a back issue. The good news is that this injury isn't considered serious, as he's being ruled questionable for this fixture.
The Pistons (2-0) are the surprise undefeated team in the NBA, albeit against an extremely easy schedule. In fact, those two wins came against the Chicago Bulls and Brooklyn Nets, who both finished bottom-three in the east last season. The nature of those wins sours the optimism as well, considering they were decided by a combined five points. A win is a win though and it's a great start to the Dwayne Casey tenure. The catalyst in this early start is Blake Griffin, as he's leading this team with 29.5 points, 10 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Those are vintage Clipper numbers from the trade deadline acquisition from last year and it's clear that the Pistons are willing to run the show through him. Adding an offensive weapon like that to a core with Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson makes this one of the most overlooked teams in the east and fans are just hopeful that they will remain under-the-radar and continue to win games.
Philly dominated Detroit last season, sweeping the four-game season series by an average of 14.8 points per game.
Pelicans Look To Stay Undefeated
By Dan Bruno
The New Orleans Pelicans play host to the Los Angeles Clippers, at Smoothie King Center on Tuesday evening.
The Pelicans (2-0) have had a an ideal start to their season so far, as they are 2-0, with already one home win and one road win. They came away with a win in Houston in their first game of the season, and followed it up with a home win against the Kings. The Pelicans have already shown how potent they can be offensively, by scoring 131 points in their first game, and 149 in their second. It may come as a surprise that the current leading scorer for New Orleans so far is not Anthony Davis, but rather Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic scored 30 in the first game and 36 in the second, totaling 66 points combined, while Davis tallied 32 in the first game and 25 in the second game, totaling 57 points over the first two games. The two scoring machines will be a major problem for the rest of the league if they can keep it up. However, the Pelicans have some other solid weapons, including Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle, both of whom have also had good starts. Randle is averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds, off the bench, over the first two games.
Meanwhile, the Clippers (2-1) dropped their first game of the season, but bounced back by winning two straight, with wins over OKC and Houston. However, this marks the first road game of the season for the Clippers, which means that their momentum from their two -game home winning streak will not be as easily carried over. Tobias Harris has been strong so far, averaging 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Rookie, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had a strong start as well, averaging 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
The Pelicans (2-0) have had a an ideal start to their season so far, as they are 2-0, with already one home win and one road win. They came away with a win in Houston in their first game of the season, and followed it up with a home win against the Kings. The Pelicans have already shown how potent they can be offensively, by scoring 131 points in their first game, and 149 in their second. It may come as a surprise that the current leading scorer for New Orleans so far is not Anthony Davis, but rather Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic scored 30 in the first game and 36 in the second, totaling 66 points combined, while Davis tallied 32 in the first game and 25 in the second game, totaling 57 points over the first two games. The two scoring machines will be a major problem for the rest of the league if they can keep it up. However, the Pelicans have some other solid weapons, including Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle, both of whom have also had good starts. Randle is averaging 19 points and 11 rebounds, off the bench, over the first two games.
Meanwhile, the Clippers (2-1) dropped their first game of the season, but bounced back by winning two straight, with wins over OKC and Houston. However, this marks the first road game of the season for the Clippers, which means that their momentum from their two -game home winning streak will not be as easily carried over. Tobias Harris has been strong so far, averaging 22.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Rookie, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had a strong start as well, averaging 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Kings Look For Second Straight Versus Nuggets
The Sacramento Kings take on the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center on Tuesday evening.
The Kings (1-2) have opened the season on an unexpected offensive tear, as they boast the second-highest points per game (125.7) and second-highest shooting percentage (52.8). However, their defense has also been among the NBA's worst, resulting in their sub-.500 record. Sacramento did manage its first victory of the season their most recent time on the court, as they upended the Oklahoma City Thunder by a 131-120 score on Sunday night despite Russell Westbrook making his season debut. Iman Shumpert drew the start and led the Kings with 26 points, a total he supplemented with four assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks. De'Aaron Fox supplied 22 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block. Buddy Hield pitched in 17 points, five boards and two assists. Willie Cauley-Stein and Marvin Bagley III generated matching 13-point tallies from the first unit and bench, respectively. Each also brought down seven rebounds. Nemanja Bjelica totaled 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.
The Kings will only list Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) as out for Tuesday's game, while Kosta Koufos (hamstring) will likely carry a questionable designation at best.
The Nuggets (3-0) have looked like a legitimate Western Conference front-runner over their first three games, and never was that more evident than in their most recent victory. Denver edged the defending champion Golden State Warriors by a 100-98 margin on Sunday night, with Juancho Hernangomez making a key rejection of a Damian Jones lay-up attempt in the closing seconds to seal the victory. Gary Harris paced Denver with 28 points, and he added three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block. Nikola Jokic produced 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Mason Plumlee followed with a bench-leading 11 points and also posted two rebounds, two assists and one steal. No other Nuggets player managed double-digit scoring, and Jamal Murray notably went 0-for-9 from the field on his way to a three-point night.
The Nuggets will be without Will Barton (groin) for the foreseeable future, as he's scheduled for surgery Tuesday. Meanwhile, Murray will be questionable with the left tibial contusion he played through in Sunday's game.
The Nuggets took the season series from the Kings by a 3-1 margin during the 2017-18 campaign.
The Kings (1-2) have opened the season on an unexpected offensive tear, as they boast the second-highest points per game (125.7) and second-highest shooting percentage (52.8). However, their defense has also been among the NBA's worst, resulting in their sub-.500 record. Sacramento did manage its first victory of the season their most recent time on the court, as they upended the Oklahoma City Thunder by a 131-120 score on Sunday night despite Russell Westbrook making his season debut. Iman Shumpert drew the start and led the Kings with 26 points, a total he supplemented with four assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks. De'Aaron Fox supplied 22 points, 10 assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block. Buddy Hield pitched in 17 points, five boards and two assists. Willie Cauley-Stein and Marvin Bagley III generated matching 13-point tallies from the first unit and bench, respectively. Each also brought down seven rebounds. Nemanja Bjelica totaled 12 points, five rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block.
The Kings will only list Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee) as out for Tuesday's game, while Kosta Koufos (hamstring) will likely carry a questionable designation at best.
The Nuggets (3-0) have looked like a legitimate Western Conference front-runner over their first three games, and never was that more evident than in their most recent victory. Denver edged the defending champion Golden State Warriors by a 100-98 margin on Sunday night, with Juancho Hernangomez making a key rejection of a Damian Jones lay-up attempt in the closing seconds to seal the victory. Gary Harris paced Denver with 28 points, and he added three rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block. Nikola Jokic produced 23 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Mason Plumlee followed with a bench-leading 11 points and also posted two rebounds, two assists and one steal. No other Nuggets player managed double-digit scoring, and Jamal Murray notably went 0-for-9 from the field on his way to a three-point night.
The Nuggets will be without Will Barton (groin) for the foreseeable future, as he's scheduled for surgery Tuesday. Meanwhile, Murray will be questionable with the left tibial contusion he played through in Sunday's game.
The Nuggets took the season series from the Kings by a 3-1 margin during the 2017-18 campaign.