Just when it seemed like Durant was going to get the better of this legendary meetup, LeBron came through down the stretch and helped will the Lakers to a victory. This is much less impressive when you know that the Suns had two of their best players out with an injury, but I think it was a great showing. Not to mention the Suns covered the spread.
I thought the Suns had a good chance of winning that game, especially with their strong start. That 4th quarter run by the Lakers was the turning point. For gamblers who bet on the Lakers, the lack of effort to cover the spread can be frustrating. On the flip side, if you were betting against the Lakers, it must have felt like a winning streak as the Lakers struggled in the first 3 quarters to take the lead.
On the other hand, it's amusing how what Lillard showed during the preseason seemed like a gimmick. After a series of dull preseason games, he made an impressive debut with the Bucks, scoring 39 points. It just goes to show that preseason performances don't always reflect regular season performance.
And hats off to the 76ers' resilience! They never give up and consistently make comebacks, even if they fall short by just a point.
If I remember it right it was +4.5 for the Phoenix Suns. Adding one more on the handicap will give a gambler a win. But I made a different choice, the money line is what I chose and it's a failure.
It's true, I thought they could end the game in a W but in the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant was being harassed on the defensive end. Cam Reddish and Taurean Prince are their key defender against the baby-face assassin and it's not a small feat to try and stop Durant so thumbs up to those two players.
Suns 1-1, Lakers 1-1. This is good, makes the league more unpredictable and I love the challenge when it comes to betting.
The Bucks seem like they are also having some troubles with their chemistry and it's expected after adding another superstar with Giannis.
Although the 76ers gave them a hard time Harden-less, it's nice to see Dame Dollar feeling like he is finally home and contributed a lot to claim the W.
Harden won't be back, I am sure of that and I agree with what Sir Charles said, 76ers management will be forced to take a bad deal just to let him go.
But here comes a problem for him.
The league, which strengthened its rules about resting healthy players this summer, is investigating the reasons behind Harden’s absence from the 76ers’ nationally televised season opener against the Bucks.
“We’re looking into the facts around James Harden’s availability tonight to determine whether an approved reason exists for his lack of participation,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said in a statement.
https://www.nba.com/news/nba-looking-into-james-harden-absence