Pro Hoops on Wednesday and we will see the Brooklyn Nets travel to Charlotte, North Carolina to take on the Charlotte Bobcats. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised locally. Currently the Odds for the game have Brooklyn favored by 9 points while the total sits at 191.5.
Analysis: The Brooklyn Nets are in the early stages of a stretch that has them playing 12 of 15 games away from home, so they will be looking to exploit a matchup with the league's worst team. Brooklyn has dropped two straight and four of five to fall 3 1/2 games behind the front-running New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division and into a logjam with Chicago and Atlanta in a battle for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Brooklyn turned the ball over 40 times in back-to-back losses to Dallas and Chicago over the weekend. The Nets have also had troubles generating offense on a consistent basis, averaging only 88.5 points in the last five games. To address the latter issue, coach P.J. Carlesimo is planning on playing his two centers - starter Brook Lopez and backup Andray Blatche - together more often, with Blatche seeing more time at power forward in place of Reggie Evans, a fierce rebounder but minimal scoring threat. Lopez had 26 points and 11 rebounds in a 97-81 home win over the Bobcats on Dec. 28.
Charlotte is mired in a seven-game losing streak and returns home following a wretched four-game road trip in which its average margin of defeat was a staggering 26.3 points. Following a surprising start to the season, the Bobcats have lost 42 of their last 48 games and own the league's worst point differential at minus-10. Charlotte absorbed another setback in the finale of the road trip when power forward Byron Mullens exited the loss to Portland after only three minutes due to a sore right knee. Guard Kemba Walker, the team's leading scorer, labored through a dreadful shooting slump in the four-game road swing. He averaged 12.3 points - five below his average - while shooting 28.3 percent, capped by a 5-for-20 performance in Monday's loss to the Trail Blazers. Walker has also struggled from long distance, making 1 of 11 3-point attempts in the past three games. He has been much better in Charlotte, averaging 25 points and shooting 52 percent in the Bobcats' past three home games.
Pick: I like the Nets in this one. This Charlotte team is horrible right now and coming off a 4 game west coast trip to face a desperate Nets squad that is rested and an off BB losses is not the best situational spot for these Bobcats. Charlotte has lost their last 7 in a row, but the last 6 have been just plain horrible as they lost by at least 14 in each game and have been outscored by 24.8 ppg over that stretch. They really don't look ike they are on the verge of even being competitive right now and they could even lose to a few college teams at this point. The Nets are not a college team and they are fighting for the Atlantic Division crown and coming off BB loss you have to feel that they will look to pound this weak team tonight. The Nets are 4-1 SU in their last 5 meetings vs the Bobcats and have won those 4 games by at least 10 each, including a 16 point win over Charlotte back in December when the Bobcats were playing much better. Nets by at least 15 here.
NBA Free Picks: Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte Bobcats (Best Bet)
What NBA bettors need to know about Brooklyn Nets at Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday (3/06/13) - a best bet from Pregame.com's Steve Fezzik, with Vegas Runner.