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Father Time has yet to defeat Kevin Durant, and the star forward continues to play at an extremely high level this season. The veteran forward, now in his 17th season in The Association, remains the top option in an offense featuring two of the most capable guards in the league in Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. His numbers back that up, as he’s averaging 26.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his first five games in 2024-25.
Durant has scored at least 25 points in all but one of his outings, and his scoring average would probably be higher hadn’t it been for the 18-point output he delivered against the Clippers on Oct. 21, where he attempted a season-low 13 field goals. Considering that the Blazers don’t have the weapons to stop Durant on the defensive end, the star forward should feast in this game – while also delivering a bounce-back effort. If we also acknowledge Durant has grabbed at least five boards in all but one of his games and has dished out four or more assists in three of his last four, all signs point to Durant having a loaded line. Thus, this 36.5 total including points, rebounds and assists is completely doable for him.
The Wizards have shown early signs of improvement to start the 2024-25 season after a 2023-24 campaign in which they won only 15 games. Washington has started the season on a 2-2 record, and the play of young players such as Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr, as well as what seems to be a bounce-back season for Jordan Poole, could generate some excitement in Washington. That said, the Wizards might not be ready to compete with the top dogs in the Eastern Conference consistently – even if they’re coming off back-to-back wins.
The Heat are coming off a 116-107 loss to the Knicks on Wednesday, and the three days of rest should be enough for Miami to turn things around after a subpar start to the campaign. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo have yet to reach top gear, meaning this Miami team still has one or two more levels to achieve, particularly on the offensive end. Each of the Heat’s four games this season have been decided by eight or more points and given that the Wizards have allowed at least 120 points in each of their contests, Miami should take advantage of Washington’s defensive deficiencies here. The Heat are the better team on paper, and they should cover the spread here to get back to winning ways.
The Nuggets are slumping to start the season and have gone 2-3. They have been struggling against top teams — their losses came against the Clippers, Timberwolves and Thunder, while their wins happened against the Nets and Raptors. Thus, facing another rebuilding team such as the Jazz could be the perfect opportunity for the Nuggets to get back to .500, especially since they’ll be playing at home, where they’ve yet to win. On the other hand, the Jazz already lost a potential starter in Taylor Hendricks (leg) due to injury, and Keyonte George is in a terrible shooting slump to begin the season, so things aren’t precisely brighter in Salt Lake City.
Each of the Nuggets’ last three games have registered over 230 total points. While all three of those games came on the road, Denver should have enough firepower to top what they did in the first two games of the season, where they couldn’t reach the 105-point plateau in losses to OKC and Los Angeles. Nikola Jokic is already in mid-season form, Russell Westbrook has been playing better of late, and the likes of Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray should start delivering on a more consistent basis going forward. They’re simply too talented to continue struggling as they’ve done it thus far. The Jazz are massive underdogs here and might not have a realistic shot at pulling the upset in Mile High City. Still, this game could easily hit the over, especially if the Nuggets show the same offensive firepower they’ve shown in their last three contests.
