NBA PREVIEWS:
Hornets @ Sixers
I must confess that I love the Hornets for
tonight's game in terms of matchup. There are some teams in this league that
really don't matchup well against certain teams. The best example is the Knicks
against the Sixers, as the Sixers swept the series in this season. I can say
the same thing about the Hornets against the Sixers, as the Hornets are a
terrible matchup for the Sixers. The Sixers are a fast break minded team who
likes to attack the post, they are on the top 3 of those categories. The
problem for them is that the Hornets are also in the top 4 of allowing fast
break points and points in the paint, so this team has the tools to stop
defensively the Sixers. For some reason they are 3-0 against the Sixers since
last season winning by 15, 19 and 21 points! However, the Hornets have been a terrible
team in back to back games when the second game is a tough game for them, they
are 1-7 ATS as away dogs in b2b games and facing a fired up team like the
Sixers, after a dismal loss at home against the Magic, this game will be a
tough one.
Atlanta @ Washington
The Hawks suffered a tough loss last night
at home in front of a national audience. They made a nice comeback, but they
failed to close the game and Lebron James took over the game. Now they have the
opportunity to make a bounce back game, as they travel to Washington to face
the Wizards. Note that Atlanta
hasn't been a great team when favored on the road as they are 1-5 ATS as away
favorites. The Wizards meanwhile after a nice win at home against Chicago
suffered a meltdown in Milwaukee in the following day. Butler and Jamison are
playing well, but it seems that isn't enough for them. The Hawks lead the
series 3-0 and they will look for a sweep tonight, but usually lowly teams play
better when they are trying to avoid sweeps.
Cleveland @ Miami
Typically this is a great spot to fade the
Cavs in here. They are coming from a phony win in Atlanta last night and this
is their fourth game in 5 days - back to back games on the road. However, they
are still a great team and it seems that playing in such adversity conditions
isn't a bad deal for them, as they are 10-3 ATS in back to back games and 6-3 ATS
(7-2 SU) on the road. I don't want to go against the Cavs tonight because I
don't trust in Miami right now. They beat the Knicks in their last game in huge
late comeback, but they aren't playing well lately. In fact, they didn't win
consecutive games in the month of February! The Cavs lost their last game against
Miami and they have revenge, so I'm staying away in here.
Dallas @ Oklahoma City
This is a
big revenge game for the Thunder, as they lost last week after overtime in
Dallas. But is a revenge game a big deal when we are talking about of the
Thunder? Portland had revenge last night against San Antonio but hey, we
talking about a top team. Oklahoma City is playing well for months, but they
are now without Kevin Durant. Rookie Westbrook had two good games in Durant's
absence and the Thunder didn't have any problems to beat the Grizzlies on the
road, despite being a back to back game. The Mavs meanwhile handled the Raptors
at home and they play tonight a back to back game and lately they had some
tough losses playing on the road. Note that the Thunder are 12-2 ATS L14 home
games as underdogs.
San
Antonio @ LA Clippers
This game won't be easy for the Spurs. Do
you notice that this is their 5th game in 7 days for the Spurs? Tim Duncan
returned last night, but it didn't matter as the Blazers got their revenge done.
The Spurs will look now for a bounce back and I can't remember the last time
they lost 3 games in a row. The Clippers are playing better lately highlighted
with a huge win at home against Boston last week. They are coming from a tough
loss at home against Charlotte in a game where the Clippers led as many as 15
points. Zack Randolph is questionable for this game and he is the key tonight.
If he plays, then the Clippers will possibly be competitive, if not then the
Clippers won't have any reliable scorer down the paint.
FREE PICK:
New Orleans Hornets @ Philadelphia 76ers
On my preview I said that the Hornets matchup pretty well against the Sixers.
Philadelphia is a fast break minded team who likes to attack the post and they
are on the top 3 of these categories. The problem for them is that the Hornets
are also in the top 4 of allowing fast break points and points in the paint, so
this team has the tools to stop defensively the Sixers. It's not a mere
coincidence that they are 3-0 against the Sixers since last season winning by
15, 19 and 21 points! However this is a back to back game for the Hornets and
they are an awful team playing in such scenario, as away underdogs they are 1-7
ATS with the only cover being made in the first back to back game of the
season!
The coincidence between all of those wins against the Sixers is
that all 3 games ended being under: 165, 171 and 187 points. I expect the same
thing to happen tonight. The Hornets have now Tyson Chandler and he is their
best shot blocker and against the Sixers he will be extremely useful. The Sixers
are coming from a brutal home loss against Orlando. I remember that they led the
game as many as 13 points late on the game, but they were outscored by 20-36 in
the fourth quarter. They are a great team at bouncing back from bad defensive
performances, as the Under is 5-1-1 in the Sixers last 7 games after allowing
100 points or more in their previous game. The Sixers have been playing great
defense as home favorites, this is easy to understand because they know that
only sticking to their defense, they have chances to execute their precious fast
break points. In fact, the Under is 22-8 in the Sixers last 30 games as a home
favorite of 0.5-4.5 and 10-0 Under as a home favorite of 6 points or less this
season. I think that this game will end in the low's 180 points and that's why
I'm taking the Under in here.
Regular Play on Under 189,5
We had yesterday our 5th profitable day in a row on the NBA, even though we had a very unlucky loss on our best bet by half a point.
For today, we have three plays. Good Luck!
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