Three NBA games where the scoreboard gap looks bigger than the gap in how the teams actually play.
Boston against Brooklyn: Boston has the better roster and a big home win the night before, but that was a 35-point game that likely emptied the bench early. Brooklyn is 0-3, yet it shoots as well as Boston and most of the recent meetings between these two were decided by fewer than 15. A back-to-back after a blowout makes garbage time likely if Boston gets far ahead. That's why I'm siding with Brooklyn to stay close.
New York against Detroit: Detroit is 3-0 with a healthy scoring margin built on three-point shooting and ball movement, and it already won a game without its starting center. New York is 0-3 but has lost by small margins, so the game should be tight with Detroit holding the edge in shooting. Detroit also won the last three regular-season meetings comfortably. I'm siding with Detroit getting the points.
San Antonio against Sacramento: Sacramento is short on size and has lost three straight, but San Antonio's own margins this season are +16, -4 and -12, nowhere near a 20-point blowout. Sacramento still scores 112 to 128 even on cold shooting, and garbage time usually trims a big cushion. That's why I'm on Sacramento with a large head start.
