Rudy Gobert, once a model of consistency, has been inconsistent in his 13th season. Gobert gets a soft matchup, however the Timberwolves are significant favorites which provides additional blowout opportunities. This number ultimately feels high for Gobert at this stage of his career.

Anthony Edwards scored 44 points in an overtime win over the Pelicans on Tuesday. That marked his sixth straight game with at least 31 points. It’s important to note that four of those six games came on the road, where Edwards is averaging 34.1 points per game. At home, he has averaged just 25.0 points. The Pelicans have the second-worst defensive rating in the league, so I’ll ride with this over for Edwards again.

DraftKings. Deandre Ayton has cleared this line in 10 of the last 15 full games he’s played. No Luka Doncic available tonight - Ayton is 4/4 on this line without Luka. Now, none of those games were with LeBron James, but I don’t expect to command nearly the shot/scoring volume of Doncic. And if anything, LeBron’s presence adds another ball-handler in the pick and roll, which should benefit Ayton in this matchup. The Raptors struggle defending roll-men, allowing the ninth most points to the playtype. The Raptors do a great job of limiting transition, and I expect Ayton to be featured heavily in the half court offense, especially as Toronto will be without Jakob Poeltl tonight.

Keyonte George has scored at least 27 points in four of his last five games. The one time that he didn’t, he played just 19 minutes against the Rockets while battling an illness. He is in the midst of a terrific season that has seen him average 22.8 points per game. After shooting 39.1% from the field in both of his first two seasons in the league, he has shot 44.6% this season. The Nets have the third-worst defensive rating in the league, so George could continue to score in bunches.

The expected absence tonight of Michael Porter (back problems) isn't great news for the Nets after Porter's recent 30+-point outings vs. the Bulls and Hornets. Brooklyn, however, is on its first win streak of the season, and even though Barclays Center hasn't proved much of a fortress this term, the recent form encourages (especially an overdue home win, vs. Charlotte), with 6-10 ex-Bama F Noah Clowney (scored 20 vs. the Bulls last night) making more consistent contributions, and the Nets not taking off possessions on the stop end for Jordi Fernandez. Utah has more flash, but we have long believed if there is a time to go with the Jazz, it's at home, not the road, where Utah has lost seven of eight. Play Nets

Important to me to play one last game because I'm out on the NBA for a while. Not bitter, things are just awful. No chance Wednesday I play the Hawks when Jalen Johnson was ruled out like late. So what I am supposed to do? Wanted to post this last one as to explain why. Used to love, love the NBA. Now I don't recognize it. No one plays anymore. It's a bad, bad product. And this hurts me to say. Player props are a possibility but short of just crazy value I'm gonna sit out. Don't like giving away $$. Maybe Christmas as guys seem to want to play then. Lot of people think the NBA season only starts on Xmas anyways.

DraftKings. Marvin Bagley has 20+ points + rebounds over his last three games. With Alex Sarr, Tre Johnson, Bilal Coulibaly and Corey Kispert all out tonight, Bagley should once again be in for a solid role. The Celtics allow the eighth most combined points and rebounds to opposing centers this season. Bagley should have success on the offensive glass as well - the Celtics allow the second highest offensive rebound rate.

Remember when the Heat were a low-scoring, hard-nosed defensive team? Those days are long gone as the team ranks second in the NBA at 124.3 PPG. But leading scorer Norman Powell (25.0 PPG) is out, which knocked this down a couple. The Mavs are middle-of-the pack defensively overall but top five against the 3-pointer and have allowed at least 123 points just once in their past eight. Our model has Miami at 121. When the teams met recently in South Florida, the Heat won 106-102. Powell missed that, too, but had since returned and totaled 58 points in the past two.

Cooper Flagg has grabbed at least seven rebounds in each of his last six games. The rookie has been playing a ton right away, averaging 34 minutes per game for the season. This should be an up-tempo game with both the Heat and the Mavericks ranked inside the top six in the league in pace of play. The Heat have allowed the second-most rebounds per game in the league, which makes this over appealing. When Flagg faced them last week, he finished with seven rebounds.

The Detroit Pistons will face the Milwaukee Bucks twice the rest of this week, beginning with a road game tonight. Recently, the Pistons have been involved in closer games. A couple of losses, and three wins by five points or less. Expect that to change against a Bucks team that has dropped eight out of their last nine. This includes a thirteen point loss to Detroit. Lay the number here.

DraftKings. The Bulls will be without a ton of guards tonight: Coby White, Tre Jones, Kevin Huerter and Isaac Okoro, amongst others. Ayo Dosunmu, who has logged a significant role of late, should have a very steep minutes floor tonight. Dosunmu has cleared this line in eight of 12 games when playing just 26+ minutes this season, and he gets a fantastic matchup for his play style. The Nets are the worst and fourth worst team against spot up shooters and transition, respectively. I’d bet this up to over 19.5.

Zaccharie Risacher is a totally different shooter at home: 50 percent from the field, 37.5 percent from deep. He averages 15.4 points at State Farm Arena. On Wednesday, Risacher faces a Clippers team he scored 11 against in LA. The Clippers have lost five in a row while allowing an average of 124.2 points. Look for Risacher to clear this prop total for the fourth time in five games.

Even if I don't love this, just want to play something in the NBA. Never seen so many lopsided games in terms of spreads. Handful of good teams in the league and a bunch of really bad ones. Terrible product right now. The Clippers might be in some turmoil with Chris Paul released overnight. Not that he had been playing much but he's still an immensely popular future Hall of Famer. L.A. has lost five straight and the defense has gone missing despite Kawhi Leonard's return. No Unicorn for the Hawks is not ideal but they should pull this out as the Clips are 2-9 away.

Miles McBride has scored at least 14 points in three of his last four games. In each of those matchups, he started and played at least 33 minutes. OG Anunoby (hamstring) and Landry Shamet (shoulder) are currently out. This is also the second game of a back-to-back set, so Mitchell Robinson could sit out for rest. McBride should play at least 30 minutes against a Hornets team that has the seventh-worst defensive rating in the league, so I like this over.

It was just last Wednesday in Charlotte that the Knicks ran up a 129-101 margin, the game effectively over by halftime as NY had cruised to a 72-46 lead. Jalen Brunson scored 33 despite taking off most of the 4th Q as Mike Brown's troops shot 57% from the floor. The Knicks continue to effectively compensate for the absence of OJ Anunoby, out since mid-November. Note, too, how NY (lost at Boston last night) has also won immediately after its previous four losses. Meanwhile, the Hornets' road trip got off to a bad start on Monday when whipped by the Nets in Newark. Prior to the preceding 2-game mini-uptick, Charlotte had dropped seven in a row, and LaMelo Ball's numbers remain decidedly down. Play Knicks