NBA PREVIEW:

New Orleans @ Atlanta

Important match for both teams, who are currently fighting for a Top 4 position in their respective conference. The Hawks are coming from another win over the Pistons, which allowed them to sweep the series. Josh Smith after some problems with his coach played very well in that game and led the Hawks to a very important win. Now Atlanta will face the Hornets who have won their last 7 matches and who will win a very important road trip in the East, which may decide their fate in their conference at the end of the regular season. They are coming from a tough win against Oklahoma City last Saturday, where they were just able to get a comfortable gap late in the game. The Hornets should play once again today without Morris Peterson and Peja Stojokovic, who are doubtful for this game.


Orlando @ Detroit

Orlando is coming from a fantastic win yesterday at Boston, where they built a good gap in the first half, which they were able to secure in the second half against a late comeback from the Celtics. However, the Magic won't time to rest, as they will play today in Detroit, in a back to back game. This is a tough spot for Orlando, but they have already showed earlier this season that they are almost impossible to stop when they gain some momentum. On the other side, Detroit is coming from a tough loss at Atlanta, where they saw their winning streak getting stopped by the energetic Hawks. This is a revenge game for Orlando, as Detroit defeated them on the road a couple of weeks ago. However, I doubt if the Magic will be able to play two very intense games in two consecutive days.


Chicago @ Miami

Miami is coming from an expected loss at Cleveland, who was coming from a loss and we all know how the Cavs are after a loss. The Heat are playing well lately, especially because Wade has been playing like a MVP and his performances have been too good for the opponents to stop him. Miami has won two games against Chicago already this season and they will be trying to get their third over the Bulls this one. On the other side, Chicago is coming from two big home wins against Golden State and Milwaukee and these wins gave them the necessary confidence to try to be competitive. The games between these two teams use to be extremely close and trying to guess a winner in here is really hard.


Washington @ Minnesota

The good news for these two teams is that one of them will get a rare win in here. The Wolves have lost their 9 games, but they were surprisingly competitive two nights ago in Portland, where they just lost by 2 points. Minnesota is really struggling without Al Jefferson and the number of games where they will stand a chance of winning is short, so they must take every opportunity like this one. The problem is that the Wizards are also in the same spot and they can't beat the Wolves, they basically can't beat anyone right now. Washington is coming from two blowouts in San Antonio and Dallas, but they have potential to be competitive in here and try to win the game outright. Caron Butler is back on the team, but can the Wizards really be focus tonight to get a rare win in their last game of a terrible road trip on the West?


Houston @ Denver

Denver must have been already thinking about this game yesterday, at they had a no show in Sacramento, where they lost by 114-106 against the lowly Kings. It was their fourth loss in the last five games, but the truth is that none of their losses during this span was at home. The fact that they are playing without Kenyon Martin surely isn't helping them. On the other side, the Rockets finally had revenge over the Grizzlies, after two losses on the road against them. Yao had a monster game with 24 points and 17 rebounds, but can we do that again today against a much tougher frontcourt? Houston leads the series by 2-1, with the home team always winning, however I can see Denver having some problems in stopping the Rockets, who have won 12 of their last 14 games.


LA Lakers @ Portland

After getting destroyed in LA twice earlier this season, Portland has now a chance to get revenge over the Lakers at home, where they are a much better team. The Blazers struggled to beat the Wolves last Saturday and in fact, they are 0-3 ATS in their last three games. This poor moment didn't arrive in a good moment, as they will host the Lakers and Dallas this week, in two very important games for them. On the other side, the Lakers are fully rested for this game and they will enter a terrible span right now. They will face Portland, Houston and San Antonio on the road and then, they will host Dallas and the Sixers at home. The Blazers have serious revenge in this game, but the Lakers seem to be more rested and the only thing I can predict for sure is that this will be a very physical matchup, with lots of contact.

FREE PICK: 

Houston Rockets @  Denver Nuggets

This is an important game for these 2 teams as being a close out game of the series this game should worth more than just one win or one loss. I've remember perfectly well the last time these teams faced each other as I went on the Under 194 points and the game ended with 228 points! Well, after the game Nuggets' player J.R. Smith said that it was too early (it was an early Sunday game) to play defense and the game was a complete shootout. For tonight's game I doubt that the same thing will happen as we are entering a crucial stretch for the playoffs and there is no time for no defense right now.


The Nuggets are struggling lately. They are 3-7 SU L10 games and last night they lost in Sacramento against the lowly Kings 106-114. They allowed the Kings to shot 51.3% from the field and connect 14-29 behind the arc... the Kings! Of course they were mad after the game:

"I don't even think I can put it into words about how we're feeling," Anthony said. "We know we're going to lose games and not going to win all of the games, but to lose a game like this and the way we lost it, I don't know whether to be mad or sad or angry or what."

For tonight's game I expect a great effort for them especially on the defensive end. It might sound weird but in the last 10 games they are the best defensive team of the league in terms of % FG allowed with only 41.9 % allowed from the field! In the last 2 home games they allowed the Lakers and the Blazers to just 79 and 90 points respectively and I expect them to perform nicely today.

Meanwhile while the Nuggets are struggling the Rockets are rolling right now. Since Tracy McGrady was shut down for the season the Rockets are a tremendous defensive ball club. In the last 10 games they allowed only 89.9 ppg and their opponents shot only 42.9 % from the field. Despite being a back to back game for the Rockets as they played yesterday against the Grizzlies their defense won't suffer a letdown as the 5-1 in Rockets last 6 games playing on back to back games.


I understand the fact that the Over is 3-0 in this series is one of the main factors for this line of 198.5 points. However this is a completely different game as being a close out series with these two teams fighting for the best possible playoff seed (Houston 41-23 and Denver 40-24) and with the Rockets leading 2-1 I expect this game to be a tough and physical battle. Take the Under in here. 

REGULAR Play on Under 198.5

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