Week 8 Betting Adjustments

The NBA is seeing a youth movement. New Orleans, Memphis and Denver are the top three teams in each conference. All six teams are led by a superstar aged 28 or younger. Memphis went from the ninth seed to the second seed last year.

Brandon Ingram has been out for the last seven games. The Pelicans have gone 7-0 since. Last year, during Ja Morant's Most Improved Player run, the Memphis Grizzlies went 20-5 in the games without him.

Ingram's injury has allowed Zion Williamson to thrive. New Orleans is one of the deeper teams in the NBA. The Pelicans' defensive rating has improved to 105.0. They are the only NBA team to rank Top-5 in both offensive and defensive ratings for the season.

The Toronto Raptors are having a difficult season. They are 2-5 straight up and have a terrible point differential.

Toronto is currently dead last in points scored per 100 possessions in halfcourt sets. They're second-last in effective field-goal percentage and 26th in three-point percentage. The team's next 13 opponents have a .500 record or better.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the Most Improved Player on FanDuel at -140. He's scored 30-plus points 18 times this season. His point prop was set at 22.5 on opening night. Now it's 29. 5.

De'Aaron Fox has been out of the lineup for the past two games with a foot soreness. Fox was the leader of Sacramento's surprising team. He averaged 25.9 ppg and 6.4 apg in 15 games. Since the win streak ended, Fox's scoring is down by 9.8 pPG and his minutes are down 2.3 a game.

There have been no changes in the player awards markets this week. Jaren Jackson Jr. has emerged as the Defensive Player of the Year. Malcolm Brogdon's price has been shortened to +420. He's been putting up similar numbers all season. He could be a finalist for Sixth Man of The Year if Boston finish with the league's top record.