The NBA heats up on Wednesday night as the San Antonio Spurs travel west to take on the Sacramento Kings in a Western Conference tilt. The game is scheduled for a 10 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on NBAtv. Currently the odds have the the Spurs favored by 3.5 points with the total for the game sitting at 213.5 points.
Free Analysis: The Spurs enter tonight's game as one of the hottest teams in the league, winners of five straight games and eight out of their last 10 games to hold down the second overall spot in the Western Conference standings. It's been a very impressive coaching season for Greg Popovich this year because stars Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili haven't had much playing time together. San Antonio is coming off a 107-100 win at Phoenix on Tuesday night, the first time in four games that the Spurs stars —Duncan, Parker and Ginobili — played the same night. It was the 19th game Ginobili played in this season and the Spurs are 12-4 overall when all three are on the court at the same time. The crew is coming together at the right time for the Spurs, who are on the heels of the Oklahoma City Thunder, just three games behind them for the top spot and best record in the West. San Antonio is red hot on the road, winners of 12 of their last 14 road games. Earlier this season, the Kings topped the Spurs 88-86, ending a 12-game losing streak to the Spurs in the series. The Kings led nearly the entire way for the game, including a double digit lead in the second half. However, it got tight down the stretch. Tyreke Evans hit a jumper with 47.2 seconds left to put Sacramento ahead for good. These clubs are heading in opposite directions right now. The Spurs are looking for their seventh straight win in Sacramento while the Kings are looking to stop a fourth straight loss after losing Monday at Houston 113-106. DeMarcus Cousins scored a career-high 38 points and added 14 rebounds while Marcus Thornton had 27 points in that game. Cousins, averaging 27.8 points and 13.8 rebounds in his last four games, finished with 17 and 13 against the Spurs in January. Both will have to have big games tonight against a Spurs team that gives up just 96 points per contest. Sacramento isn't a good defensive team at all, giving up an average of 108.4 points the last nine games and 104 points overall on the season. The Kings hold a 13-10 record overall at home this season and statistically are the worst team in the NBA at giving up points. Record-wise, Sacramento is the fourth worst team in the NBA, even though they have a decent young corps of players. Cousins is a legitimate NBA big man inside, and he's going to have to have a huge game for the Kings to stick around tonight.
Free Pick: I think that taking the Spurs on the road with giving up less than four points is a pretty good bet here tonight. The Kings have struggled immensely this season, even at home where they are only three games over the .500 mark. San Antonio is a very good road team, one of the better ones in the league. Plus they're going to have all three of their stars on the court tonight and they've a pretty damned good team when all three play. I'm expecting big things from the Spurs tonight. Sacramento just hasn't figured things out yet this season and it's not going to begin tonight.
Free Picks: Magic at Knicks Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Rejuvanated and more intense Knick team and Magic have lapse in focus during games plus other factors NBA bettors need to know about Magic at Knicks (Wednesday, March 28, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Scott Spreitzer and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.