Vegas Play of the Day: Spurs at Nets

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Monday, Jan. 23, 2017 | 10:24 a.m.

We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

San Antonio Spurs minus-11 at Brooklyn Nets, $440 to win $400:

The last time these teams met, the Spurs eviscerated the Nets, 130-101, on Dec. 10 in San Antonio. The Nets are still just as bad as they were back then, which makes me confident that Kawhi Leonard and the Spurs can cover this rather large spread, even though the venue has changed to Brooklyn.

Leonard was coldly efficient in the last meeting, putting up 30 points on 10-of-18 shooting, and though the Spurs will be without Pau Gasol due to a hand injury, the Spurs will do what they always do — pass the ball, find the open shooters and use a balanced attack to rack up points against the league's worst team.

Gregg Popovich could be a wild card in this one — he values regular-season rest for his star players and could throw a monkey wrench into things by messing with his rotation on any given night — but barring something drastic, the Spurs should be able to use their precise ball movement to tear apart the Nets' barely-there defense.

Current Standings: (36-25-2, $12,001), Brewer (21-20-1, $8,885), Grimala (3-3, $9,500), Granger (8-10, $7,100)