Lakers LeBron James Talked to Anthony Davis on Handling Return to New Orleans

Lakers' LeBron James Talked to Anthony Davis on Handling Return to New Orleans

I hope you've had a good week. I know that James Harden did because he was finally able to grumble his way out of Houston and get to Brooklyn, where he's been reunited with Kevin Durant.

Would he have had as much fun in Philadelphia with Joel Embiid? We'll never know, but it might not have been because the Nets offer -- that included the Pacers and Cavaliers -- was the best offer. No, James Harden might be in Brooklyn because Houston owner Tilman Fertitta was upset with former Houston, and current Philadelphia general manager, Daryl Morey.

CBSSports.com's Brad Botkin wrote about a Yahoo report that Fertitta wouldn't let the Rockets do a deal with the Sixers, even though Philly's reported offer included Ben Simmons. Now, I have no idea how this trade will work out for the Rockets in the long run, but the Rockets didn't get a player as good as Simmons back in the short-term.

Whatever the case, as a fan of a team whose owner recently went over the head of his employees to hire his 76-year old friend to manage his baseball team, I can empathize with Rockets fans who might be annoyed that their owner is possibly putting his personal grievances over what might be better for the franchise.

All right, now let's get to the picks. I have a couple of NBA plays on Friday night for you, as well as three NFL picks to get you through the entire weekend.

Do you remember Wednesday's newsletter? It was in that newsletter when I told you to take the Grizzlies +2.5 on the road against Minnesota because Minnesota was one of the worst teams in the NBA, and it didn't deserve to be favored over anybody. Even a Grizzlies team without two of its best players. Well, I was right. Minnesota didn't deserve it, and not only did the Grizzlies cover, but they also won 118-107.

And now we're here again, with the Wolves once again favored at home against a Grizzlies team that is better than it is. A Grizzlies team that might get Ja Morant back tonight. Now, there's a part of me that wonders if Morant's return could work against Memphis as he tries to work out any possible rust, be it with his body or his teammates. Still, the key foundation of Wednesday night's pick remains intact. The Wolves stink and don't deserve to be favored against anybody. It's principle.

Key Trend: Minnesota is 2-7 ATS in its last nine as a favorite.

Here's what SportsLine is saying about the game: Does the Advanced Computer Model stand for principle, or does it only care about numbers? Have both forces combined to form one Super Pick? Only one way to find out!

There are a couple of simple factors at play here for me. One is that, as is often the case with the Lakers or any team with LeBron James, Los Angeles is slightly overvalued on this line. They're a public team, and books need to account for that. The other is that I like double-digit underdogs in NBA games, particularly when they aren't bad teams. And New Orleans isn't a bad team. It's only 4-6, but its average point differential is even. On the defensive end, this is a team that ranks in the top 10 in defensive efficiency and has the kind of size and rebounding you need to keep the Lakers honest. Not having Lonzo Ball hurts a little, but when you factor in the chance that either LeBron or Anthony Davis could sit out (both are listed as questionable), it provides a little more motivation to make this play. To be clear, I still like it even if both play.

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