Awesemo.com Presents: $1,000,000 Perfect Line Bonus + $7,500GTD – Honeypot
Players: Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant & Stephen Curry
Stats: Points, rebound & assists
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Today, we’ll be projecting the expected points, rebounds and assists for three players, Kawhi Leonard, Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry, in the “Awesemo.com Presents: $1,000,000 Perfect Line Bonus + $7,500GTD – Honeypot ($2,500 to 1st!)“ PlayLine contest.
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You will receive PlayLine points each time the featured athlete registers a stat that you predicted will occur. Once the athlete’s actual stat total in a particular category goes over your prediction, you will no longer receive additional per stat PlayLine points.
Kawhi Leonard
PTS 27.3 | REB 7.8 | AST: 3.2
Leonard and the Toronto Raptors have stormed out of the gate this season, coming into tonight with a 7-1 record and sitting second in the Eastern Conference. Their lone loss came against the Milwaukee Bucks earlier this week, so they’ll be motivated to right the ship against a Phoenix Suns squad that has lost six straight.
Leonard has played in six of the Raptors’ eight games, sitting out for rest purposes in each, but he’s good to go tonight and will have a seemingly favorable matchup awaiting him. The Suns currently possess a defensive rating of 116.2, the 28th worst mark in the league this season. They’ve been an underwhelming defensive unit for a few years now, but they’re hoping their offseason addition of Trevor Ariza will help bring them back to a respectable spot on that side of the ball. Ariza’s been one of the best perimeter defenders in the league for a while now and should present some resistance when it comes to guarding Leonard.
Ariza’s presence may help slow Leonard a touch, but he’s not going to keep him under 20 points. This could be a game where Leonard ups his production in other areas because his scoring opportunities may be limited. The Raptors, for what it’s worth, are -11.0 favorites and there isn’t much doubt that they’ll get the win tonight.
Predicted stat-line: 26 PTS, 8 REB, 5 AST
Kevin Durant
PTS 27.8 | REB 7.1 | AST: 6.2
Durant has been fairly quiet in his last two games, averaging 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists. In one of those outings he played just 28 minutes, so we can probably give him a pass there. The Warriors (8-1) will square-off against the Minnesota Timberwolves (4-4) tonight, a team that has been underwhelming to this point in the season, though, are coming off a big win over the Utah Jazz.
The Warriors are, unsurprisingly, listed as -11.0 favorites and will be tough to beat at home. The Wolves currently rank 27th in defensive rating, so it could be a long night for them if they don’t show any resistance. Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau can get creative with his lineups and put Jimmy Butler (who intends to play tonight) on Durant, something that would probably be beneficial for the Wolves given Butler’s defensive reputation, or he could risk it and put Wiggins on Durant. Either way, the Warriors have multiple different scoring options and it’s going to be a nightmare to guard.
Durant’s scoring, specifically, has been all over the place this season. Through nine games, he has a standard deviation of 8.8 points, which is quite significant. If he has Butler guarding him then it would be natural to expect a slight decline in numbers, however, the Warriors’ dominance could prove too much no matter the matchup.
Predicted stat-line: 29 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST
Stephen Curry
PTS 33.0 | REB 5.0 | AST: 5.9
Curry has totaled at least 30 points in 6-of-9 games so far this season, and he’s coming off one of his more productive games across the board against the New Orleans Pelicans, where he finished with 37 points and nine assists on 12-of-20 shooting.
His assist numbers have been trending down since the 2013-14 season, but that makes sense given the talent that Golden State has been adding along the way and increased demand for the ball in general. However, his scoring has taken a major leap and he’s currently on track to set a career-high in points per game. It’s obviously early, and whether he can sustain 33 points per game is something to consider, but he’s been scorching hot and is coming into a favorable matchup against the Wolves.
Whether Wolves PG Jeff Teague plays tonight could influence Curry’s potential stat-line, but either way he should be able to continue his tear and lead the Warriors to another victory.
Predicted stat-line: 32 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST