2014 - 2015 NBA Record
171 – 137 @ 56% for +20.3 Units
-----------------------------------------
#1: Los Angeles Clippers -2.5 (1st Half Only)
Clippers are on a b2b here though yesterday’s game @ Chicago was a noon-start, thus giving LA players a little more time to rest than in a typically b2b spot. Clippers are also finishing up their 4-game road trip tonight, so the overall spot is not the easiest. But I do like their chances in the first half. Minnesota will be without Pekovic (ankle injury) and Martin (illness), who have both missed the shoot-around this morning. That’s a pretty big loss offensively for the Wolves. Wiggins will have to carry the scoring for the team as neither Garnett (age), nor Rubio (can’t shoot), nor Dieng (no offensive game) are capable of doing so. That’s an issue against the #1 ranked offense in the league. Barnes is out for LA but Paul, Redick, Crawford and Jordan on the inside, should provide enough scoring early on in this one to get a cover in the 1st half.
#2: Brooklyn Nets +5.5
Utilizing season-long stats I have this one at -11 Golden State tonight. Seems like ‘pure’ line value is on the Warriors in this matchup. Of course, bookmakers very rarely make mistakes, and there’s a reason why this spread is much shorter than it should be. The Warriors are on a b2b and playing their 4th game in 5 nights. They’ve also had to work very hard yesterday to come back from a 26-point 1st-half deficit in order to grab a win @ Boston. Now playing their 10th road game out of the last 11 and 6th straight away from home, I’m wondering how much they have left in a tank. This team has been on the East-Coast since the 19th of February and I’m sure most of the players are looking to finally get back home. Brooklyn is playing good basketball right now, covering 5 of their last 6 games. They are finally healthy, have solid depth, and are playing their best ball of the season. This is a great spot for them against the best team in the league and the line indicates to me that the bookmakers feel the same. I’ll grab the home underdog in this one.
Good Luck