With a loaded NBA slate on Friday, December 17, the Three at 3 is back with a trio of plays to get you through an action-packed evening of hoops. Check out our three favorite plays below:
1. Warriors at Celtics - The Warriors are arguably the best team in basketball this year, but they could run into some trouble against the Celtics tonight. Golden State has had a rough travel schedule over the last week, and the team ran into some trouble with its flight to New York a few nights ago. The Warriors ended up winning and covering in that game, but eventually that travel could catch up to them. They also happen to be facing a Celtics team that is coming off a 14-point win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Boston is also 4-1 against the spread in its last five games against Golden State. The Celtics have nearly their entire squad playing in this game, which hasn't been common this season. However, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the floor, the team will have a massive advantage over the Warriors on the wing. And defensively, Marcus Smart could give Steph Curry some trouble.
THE PICK: Celtics +4
2. Lakers at Timberwolves - The Lakers are currently completely depleted by COVID-19, as they are going to be without Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker, Dwight Howard and Avery Bradley in this meeting with the Timberwolves. Los Angeles will still have LeBron James and Anthony Davis in this one, but Minnesota is talented enough to overcome that powerful duo. Anthony Edwards is playing some of the best basketball of his career coming into this one, and Karl-Anthony Towns should be able to give Davis some trouble on both ends of the floor. The Timberwolves won by 24 as 2.5-point underdogs when these teams met earlier in the year, and Minnesota has won and covered in each of its last two coming into this one. They should be able to take care of business again. The crowd will be amped up with this being such a big home game.
THE PICK: Wolves -1
3. Grizzlies at Kings - The Grizzlies are going to be without Ja Morant for a little longer, but they're still playing extremely well without him. Memphis has won each of its last four games and nine of its last 10. And in those 10 games, the Grizzlies have the best defensive rating in basketball. That's not a good thing for the Kings, who aren't anything special on the offensive end. Also, with Morant sidelined, the Grizzlies are only somewhat weak at scoring the basketball. But considering Sacramento has the third-worst defensive rating in basketball, Memphis should be able to score rather efficiently here. It's also worth noting that the Grizzlies are 32-20 against the spread on the road over the last two seasons.
THE PICK: Grizzlies -4
