Archive for the ‘NBA Picks’ Category
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Denver -6, 206 O/U The Denver Nuggets host the Portland Trailblazers in a late Sunday night Northwest division showdown inside Pepsi Arena. Denver owns the 2nd best Western Conference record at 41-21 and their postseason future appears bright especially with their success over the Lakers this season. Denver also owns one of the best home records in the NBA at 27-5 and will be 6 point favorites over the Trailblazers this Sunday. Portland has won 3 straight games and 5 of their last 6 outings. The Trailblazers are also re-energized after having 3 days off which is a fairly sizeable advantage in their favor. However, the Trailblazers recent winning spree has hardly come at the hands of any respectable opponents and it will be interesting to see just how well they are playing when they travel to Denver Sunday night. Portland will enter the game after destroying Indiana on Wednesday 102-79. Brandon Roy led the team with 22 points in that meeting while LaMarcus Aldridge added an additional 19 points. The 22 points for Roy matched his season average as he remains the leading scoring treat for the Nuggets defense. In Portland’s previous two meetings against the Nuggets this season, Roy has combined for 71 points. In fact, Roy drained 41 to lead the Trailblazers over Denver in the last meeting which resulted in a 107-96 outcome. Portland shot 53% from the floor in that outing and it is safe to say they need to be just as strong from the offensive end this Sunday night. Portland on the other hand will need to put some defensive focus on Denver’s Carmelo Anthony. Anthony has combined to score 73 points in the last two meetings with Portland including a similar 41 point high in the first meetings this year which resulted in a Nuggets 97-94 victory. The Trailblazers are a very strong defensive team ranking 3rd in the NBA allowing 94.9 points per game, but just have not had an answer for Anthony. Denver also scored a victory over Indiana, as did Portland, in their last outing 122-114. Anthony also led the team in that game with 31 points while J.R Smith added 20 points as well. Smith has had some success against Portland in previous performances so he will be a guy to keep an eye on especially if he catches the hot hand. Chauncey Billups is 2nd on the team averaging 20 points on the season (Anthony ppg 28.7 is 1st). However, Billups was held to just 10 points against Portland in the last meeting and has also been held to 14 points or less in his last two performances. Billups is another guy that could really break the game open if he caught rhythm on the outside, but the Nuggets have yet to turn to the outside shooting against Portland due to Anthony’s success on the inside. It will be very interesting to see if Portland clamps down defensively in the paint, because that should create some opportunities for Billups, Smith, and others. The question is will they be able to hit those shots? Portland definitely should be worth considering here with the extra points due to their winning streak and previous success against the Nuggets this season. Throw in the fact they will be well rested and it really gives the points some value. However, I really think those factors are a bit misleading despite the larger portion of the betting public siding with Portland. The reason being is that Portland’s 3 straight wins have come against very weak teams while their best shooting performance was just 45% from the field. If Denver plays just average, those misses will really hurt the offense against the Nuggets fast pace style of offense. Also, I’m expecting the 3 days rest for Portland to have an adverse of effect and believe they may come out a bit cold. Pick – Taking a chance here, but rolling with Denver.
Portland Trailblazers (37-27) at Denver Nuggets (41-21)
Sunday March 7th, 10:30PM Eastern
Tags: Portland at Denver Free Pick, Portland Trailblazers at Denver Nuggets Preview
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Orlando -3, 195 O/U A rematch of last year’s NBA Finals renews this Sunday when the Orlando Magic host the Los Angeles Lakers. Both teams are yet again front runners in their respected conferences to perhaps making another Finals appearance. The Lakers own the best record in the Western Conference at 46-17 while the Magic own the 2nd best record in the Eastern Conference at 43-20. However, the contest will take place at Amway Arena where the Magic are a very strong 24-6. On the other side of the court, the Lakers are just 17-12 away from the Staples Center. Perhaps even more surprising is the Lakers are entering the contest on a rare losing skid having dropped two straight road games to both Miami and Charlotte. If the Lakers were to happen to fall again this Sunday, it would mark the first time they have lost 3 straight regular season games since January of 2008. While most would expect the Lakers to bounce back this Sunday, they must play much better than they did against the Bobcats on Friday. Los Angeles shot a miserable 36% from the floor while committing 20 turnovers in a 98-83 loss. Perhaps more importantly than the offensive off performances during the last few outings is the defensive numbers allowed. The Lakers allowed both Charlotte and Miami to shoot around the 53% mark from the floor. Defense is not something the Lakers are known for considering they can usually overcome bad defensive effort with the scoring firepower. However, there were a ton of uncontested shots given up to Charlotte on Friday which they can not allow against Orlando which is another solid shooting team. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points on Friday, but he was for the most part alone on the scoring end. Andrew Bynum was the next leading scorer with just 14 points in the poor offensive performance and the Lakers must work out the shooting struggles when they take the floor on Sunday. Bryant has been solid averaging 24 points over the last 5 contest. Of course Bryant terrorized the Magic during the Finals last year averaging 32.4 points against Orlando and they will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Magic on the other hand have built up a lot of momentum over the past few games while winning 4 straight and 7 of their last 8. Orlando enters after knocking off the Nets 97-87 on Friday. The Magic jumped all over New Jersey going up 32-18 in the first quarter and held a comfortable lead for the rest of the game. However, Dwight Howard and Vince Carter both stayed on the floor for 40 minutes so it is not like the starters got much rest despite the rather easy victory. In fact, Howard was held to just 11 points despite still managing to pull down 16 boards. Howard also had a terrible performance a few nights ago against Miami where the Magic’s superstar scored just 7 points and Orlando definitely needs him to be more effective on the scoring end of the floor. Of course Howard is not the sole power to the Orlando offense. Rashard Lewis is averaging 15 points per game and has reached double digit numbers in 21 of his last 22 games. Vince Carter has also played well averaging 16 points on the season. Lewis, Carter, and Jameer Nelson all have the ability to match the Lakers scoring power if the game was to take on a shootout style performance. However, expect Orlando to slow the pace down and try to beat up on Los Angeles on the inside with Howard while making some kick out jump shot opportunities as well. Pick – I really expect the Lakers to shake off the bad shooting performances of late, but the Magic to keep or even better that pace. Both offenses play well. Take the over 195
Los Angeles Lakers (46-17) at Orlando Magic (43-20)
Sunday March 6th, 2:30PM Eastern
Tags: Lakers at Magic Free Pick, Los Angeles Lakers at Orlando Magic Preview
NBA Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Spurs -8, 197 ½ O/U The San Antonio Spurs host the New Orleans Hornets in a Friday night showdown amongst contenders from the Southwest division. The Spurs trail the Mavericks by 5 games in the division and come into the game after a brutal road stretch that involved 10 of their last 12 games. The Spurs knocked off the Hornets earlier in the week 106-92 as George Hill led the team with 23 points. If you buy-in to the revenge factor here, many may like the Hornets plus the additional points from the betting lines. However, the Spurs own a 21-10 record on their home court and handled the Hornets fairly easily in their last meeting in San Antonio back in the opener with a 113-96 victory. The Spurs have swept all 3 meetings this year, but the Hornets will attempt to get revenge in the final meeting of the season. The key to the Spurs’ success against the Hornets this season has evolved around the play of their defense. The Spurs have yet to allow the Hornets to reach the century mark and New Orleans is just shooting right above the 40% mark from the floor in the last 3 meetings combined. Of course it helps when you get support from the offensive side of the floor as well. San Antonio shot 50.4% from the floor as a team on Monday night. Hill as previously mentioned led the team with a breakout type performance for 23 points. Tim Duncan added 22 points while pulling down 9 rebounds which is pretty modest numbers considering the damage he has inflicted on the Hornets in the past. Tony Parker also scored an additional 18 points while shooting 60% from the floor. The Spurs will turn to their same leaders again when they take the floor tonight and once again defense will be the key to their success. When you like at what the Hornets have done on paper against the Spurs, it does not seem that bad. In the last meeting, the Hornets out rebounded the Spurs while also committing less turnovers. However, the Hornets have just not been able to put together an all-around strong shooting performance against San Antonio. Having Chris Paul out of the lineup has definitely hurt them in recent weeks especially on the offense end of the court, but someone is going to have to step up or New Orleans chances of the postseason will be gone. Guard Marcus Thornton was the surprise factor for the Hornets on Monday draining 30 points including a ridiculous 6 for 7 shooting from behind the arc. Thornton’s 30 points was exactly the big night they needed for the offense to get over the hump. However, Peja Stojakovic and David West both had sub par performances as they combined for just 24 points total. Center Emeka Okafor added 18 points inside the paint while pulling down 7 rebounds. Okafor definitely has the potential to make a difference on the inside. However, Okafor defensive ability really needs to be at its best against Duncan on Friday as there has been no answer for stopping Duncan in previous meetings. The Hornets have definitely not been a road betting team going a dismal 11-20 on the road while also dropping their last 4 straight road games. However, there has to be a sense of urgency here and for New Orleans time is running out after dropping 5 of their last 6 games. The 4th quarter was really a let down on Friday night as the Spurs pulled away which is reminiscent of previous meetings. If the offense can put together a better effort for 4 quarters, the Hornets may be a team worth considering in this spot. Pick – Taking the Hornets and the points is risky, so I’d rather take the under which is a safer bet. Take under 197 ½
New Orleans Hornets (31-31) at San Antonio Spurs (34-24)
Friday March 5th, 9:30PM Eastern
Tags: New Orleans Hornets at San Antonio Spurs Preview
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Phoenix -1, 213 Western Conference action returns Thursday night when the Phoenix Suns host the Utah Jazz in an interesting betting match-up. The Suns own the NBA’s top scoring offense draining 109 points per contest and the Jazz can light up the score board on any given night as well. Utah will actually enter the game on a rare two day’s rest which should give them a good edge. However, the Jazz were upset by the Clippers in their last outing 108-104. The surprising loss opened a lot of eyes because that was Utah’s 3rd loss in their last 5 games and the Jazz, who were one of the hottest teams in the league, have seemingly lost their momentum. The Suns roll into the contest after a late road trip where they blasted the Clippers 127-101. The Suns have now won 7 of their last 8 games and will be slight favorites when the Jazz come into town. Phoenix is led by their big man Amare Stoudemire who at one time just a few weeks ago were in the middle of the trade drama. However, Stoudemire did not perish and that is good news for the rest of the Suns. Stoudemire has averaged 21.7 points on the season and dropped a team-high 30 points last night against the Clippers while also pulling down 14 boards. Another important player to the Suns new found confidence has been the recent performance of Jason Richardson. Richardson has shown signs of high scoring potential throughout the season, but is becoming a much bigger every night consistent threat during the 2nd half of the season. Richardson’s average has climb to 15.4 points per game and the Suns are 17-4 SU when he scores 20 or more points. Point guard Steve Nash is the man responsible directing the offense. Nash has the ability to race up the stat sheet, but has been sort of complacent over the last few games scoring just 13 points combined in the last two contests. If Nash can make a few shots it will definitely add fuel to the Phoenix fire that has been burning of late. One of the underlying problems in the Jazz starting roster that has not received a lot of attention is that point guard Deron Williams has played mostly hurt since the all-star break. Williams has played with a sprained wrist that has dampened his field goal percentage from the floor as he is shooting just 38% over the last 7 games. However, Carlos Boozer has been very solid for the Jazz scoring 22 points per game over the last 5 contests. Boozer had a huge performance in a victory over Phoenix earlier this year scoring 21 points and pulling down 20 boards in the contest. Boozer will likely be the anchor of the Utah offense again on Thursday night. Another guy that really stepped up in that previous meeting was Andrei Kirilenko who led the team with 25 points. Kirilenko has missed 3 of the last 4 games with back problems adding to the injury woes that have definitely held the Jazz from performing at their best. The question is how will those injuries affect the Jazz on Thursday? Betting Trends… The Jazz are winners of 6 of their last 9 games against the books. Utah has also reached the over in 5 straight games. However note before those 5 over totals, the Jazz scored the previous 5 straight to the under total. Phoenix has really turned up the heat winning 7 straight games ATS leading up to their meeting with the Clippers. The Suns have also reached the under total in 10 of their last 13 games. The Suns have also won the last 7 out of 8 games ATS where they were favored to win the contest. However, Utah has won the last 5 out of 7 games SU against Phoenix will the total has averaged 218 during that stretch of games. Pick – Suns -1
Utah Jazz (38-22) at Phoenix Suns (38-24)
Thursday March 4th, 10:30PM Eastern
Tags: Utah Jazz at Phoenix Suns Preview
Another week of the NBA betting season has come and gone, and Bang the Book takes a look at Who’s Hot & Who’s Not, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Milwaukee Bucks (38-21 ATS): The Bucks are arguably the hottest team in the NBA right now. Even though their six-game winning streak SU was stopped by the Hawks in overtime in Atlanta on Sunday, their successful ATS run moved to seven games with ease. Not only is Milwaukee back in the playoff picture, but it also shot up to the top spot in the NBA betting power poll as well after being off the radar for the majority of the season. 2: Utah Jazz (36-20-3 ATS): Utah may have leveled off quite a bit in recent weeks, alternating ATS wins and losses in its L/5, but it did post one of the more impressive wins of the week by crushing Houston 133-110 at home on Saturday. It’s not often that you see a team shoot 68% from the floor for an entire game. There’s more from this team coming later… 3: Oklahoma City Thunder (35-23 ATS): A four-game ATS slide finally stopped on Friday with a big win over Minnesota. A 119-99 victory over the Raptors two nights later pushed the streak to two games. F Kevin Durant’s streak of 25+ point performances might’ve stopped against San Antonio, but his Thunder are still a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference. ATS Power Outage 1: Boston Celtics (21-35-1 ATS): Congrats, Boston. You successfully unseated the Nets for the worst ATS record in the NBA. Four straight losses ATS dropped the team to just 6-20-1 ATS in 27 games played at Boston Garden this season. The only good bits of news for this team are that the rest of the Atlantic Division is still playing terrible basketball as well, and F Paul Pierce is set to return to the lineup. 2: New Jersey Nets (22-36-1 ATS): The Nets showed a bit of a pulse on Saturday night when they beat the Celtics at Boston Garden. However, Jersey is still just a dismal 6-53 and is still on a reasonable clip to beat or match the 1972 Philadelphia 76ers NBA record for nine wins in a season. 3: Dallas Mavericks (25-34-1 ATS): If the Mavs keep playing like this, they’ll be off of this list in one more week’s time. This is a squad that looks dominant right now, winning seven straight and going 4-2-1 ATS in those seven. Dallas’ new look is going to make it a real contender in the Western Conference this year. The Good The Bad The Ugly
G Jason Kidd, Dallas Mavericks: Not bad when you can log a triple-double and make one of the headiest plays of the entire season on the same night. Kidd did just that by recording 19 points, 17 assists, and 16 boards against the Hawks, but perhaps his most important play came when he intentionally bumped into Atlanta HC Mike Goodson when he was on the court directing his defense. That’s interfering with the course of play, which warrants a technical foul. The Mavs tied the game and forced overtime, which they went on to win by eight points.
The Defense of the Houston Rockets: How many more weeks will the Rockets show up on the wrong side of this list before HC Rick Adelman finds himself in some serious hot water? Houston allowed the Jazz to score 133 points and shoot 68% from the floor in that romp previously mentioned. What made matters worse? Utah would’ve scored a heck of a lot more points if it had shot better than 57.7% from the free throw line…
Boston Celtics: The Nets? Really, Boston? How on earth you can find a way to lose to arguably the worst team in NBA history in front of your hometown faithful is mind-boggling. G Ray Allen shot just 3/11 from the field, but even though the C’s shot 50% from the field and outrebounded the Nets by six, a whopping 18 turnovers proved to be their undoing.
Tags: basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Jason Kidd, Milwaukee Bucks, nba betting, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Utah Jazz
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Lakers -6, 208 O/U One of the most intense rivalries from the Western Conference will rekindle the flame early Sunday afternoon when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Denver Nuggets from the Staples Center. The Lakers own the best record in the conference at 44-15 and have been in a league of their own over the past few seasons. Denver at times has been the only team that has hinted to the fact that they could possibly stop the Lakers reign of dominance. The Nuggets have prevailed in both previous meetings over the Lakers this season including a big 105-79 blowout back in November. However, the Lakers still hold one of the top records at home in the NBA and they will definitely be ready for some payback when Denver strolls into town. The Lakers have won 6 of their last 8 games including a 99-90 win over Philadelphia on Friday. However, those two losses during that stretch were against the two best teams they faced in Dallas and Boston. Another loss to a top team could really hurt the Lakers confidence. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had an impressive performance against the 76ers on Friday combining for 43 points and 24 rebounds. Gasol’s 23 points and Bynum’s 13 rebounds were both team highs. The Lakers as a team had a big night against the glass pulling down nearly 50 rebounds. Kobe Bryant scored 19 points in his first home game back from his ankle injury and should be back to full tempo by Sunday afternoon. Looking at the Lakers history against the Nuggets, they really just have not shot the ball well in the previous meetings. The Lakers are combined less than 40% from the floor in the previous two meetings despite winning both the turnover and rebounds totals. The big key for the Lakers this Sunday will be stepping up the defense and simply knocking down some shots. The Lakers allowed Chauncey Billups to catch fire in the previous meeting so they should definitely put some pressure on Billups early until someone else proves they can beat them. Billups scored a career high 39 points including nine 3 pointers in his last outing against the Lakers. The Nuggets guard was simply on fire from behind the arc and single handedly put the game out of reach. However, Denver shot 57% from the floor that night as a team with some help from J.R Smith who added an addition 27 points in that meeting. Those two threats will again be the big focuses for the Lakers’ defense. Denver rolls into the contest having won 3 straight games including a 107-102 victory over Detroit on Friday. Billups was the leading scorer dropping 25 points and Carmelo Anthony contributed 24 points. Anthony missed the last meeting between these two teams but did score 25 in the first meetings. However, it will be really interesting to see if Anthony can produce the points needed inside the paint if Billups and Smith fail to hit shots from the outside. Betting Trends – The Lakers have dropped 5 straight games against the books while going reaching the under in 6 of the last 7 decisions. The Nuggets are 5-3-1 in their last 9 games while reaching the over total in 7 of their last 9 games. Denver is also 2-0 ATS against the Lakers this season. Pick – I expect the Lakers to come out with a little fire after playing with little emotion over the last few games. The earlier blowout this year and some low totals have the over/under on this game set at just 208. I expect a lot of intensity which should lead to more scoring and think this game will get well above the 208 mark. Good luck.
Denver Nuggets (39-19) at LA Lakers (44-15)
Sunday February 28th, 3:30PM Eastern
Tags: Denver Nuggets at LA Lakers Preview and Pick
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Orlando -4 ½, 201 O/U The New Orleans Hornets will host the Orlando Magic on Friday night in attempt to get some revenge from a 123-117 loss suffered earlier this month. The Hornets have really struggled in the month of February with a dismal 4-7 record and have also dropped two straight games. However, New Orleans will look to find some comfort in front of the home crowd where they are 19-9 on the season. The Magic (39-19) lead the Southeast division by two games over the Hawks and will attempt to pad the lead in what would be a tough road win this Friday. However, Orlando has disappointed on the road dropping 8 of their last 14 games despite being one of the top teams in the NBA. Both teams will enter the event after having Thursday night off. The Magic took care of the Rockets on Wednesday night 110-92. Dwight Howard recorded his record tying 19th consecutive double-double despite getting into foul trouble early in the contest. Howard rebounded to pull down 16 boards while dropping 30 points from the field. Howard is normally the guy that gives opposing teams fits, but Vince Carter inflicted most of the damage against the Hornets in the previous meeting. Carter revived his season after a season high 48 points against the Hornets which lifted Orlando in a convincing victory. Carter has cooled off a bit averaging just 15.4 points over the last 5 games, but expects him to be a bit confident against the Hornets on Friday. Point guard Jameer Nelson has also played well over the last few games averaging near 16 points per contest so keep an eye on him as well. For New Orleans, they will be entering the game after falling to the Milwaukee Bucks 115-95 on Wednesday. The Hornets have not been the same without Chris Paul and have yet to prove that anyone can step up in his absence. Guard Marcus Thornton scored 25 points against the Bucks this Wednesday, but compiled just 1 assist in the performance. Paul’s ability to open up opportunities in what the team really misses on the offensive side of the ball and their assists total as a team has dropped significantly without Paul. David West has dropped well over 20 points per game over the last 4 outings. West scored 27 points in the previous meeting this year and will be the key guy for the Hornets scoring along with Peja Stojakovic. One reason the Hornets may fair well in Friday night’s meeting is because they have played very solid defense on their home court. The Hornets have given up just 95 points per game in their last 5 home games. Orlando is another strong defensive team as well giving up just 95 points per game on the season. Therefore, there is a lot of value in the points for the Hornets. However, they must play solid defense and keep Dwight Howard from dominating the glass. Howard leads the NBA with 13.5 rebounds per game so that will not be an easy task. The last meeting between these two teams was a high scoring affair as both teams shot nearly 50% from the floor. However, do not expect huge numbers on Friday night as both teams are a bit more rested which should make for some stronger defensive play. The Hornets are in a good position here catching the Magic at home, but if the game is a much lower scoring defensive game that should favor in the hands of the Magic. For that reason, I’m picking Orlando to cover the points on Friday. Pick – Orland – 4 ½
Orlando Magic (39-19) at New Orleans Hornets (30-28)
Friday February 26th, 9:30PM Eastern
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – Boston -1, Two of the top contenders in the Eastern Conference take center stage Thursday night when the Boston Celtics host Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavaliers own the best record in the conference at 44-14, but 10 of those 14 losses has come on the road. Cleveland now looks to defend off an eagerly awaiting Celtics team that has won 4 of their last 5 games. Boston will be hosting the 2nd game of a 3 game home stand following a 110-106 win over the Knicks on Tuesday night. The Celtics have played solid at home (16-9) all season and they have also already knocked off Cleveland in their lone meeting earlier this season. Many expect the revenge factor to play slightly in the hands of the Cavaliers, but the Celtics are the slight favorites for the match-up. One big blow to the Celtics lineup is that they will be without leading scorer Paul Pierce. Pierce missed the previous outing against New York with a sprained thumb and will again be on the sidelines Thursday night. The loss may not hurt the Celtics as much as most would expect. The Cavaliers are a very strong defensive team allowing just 95 points per game which is 3rd best in the NBA. Considering the Celtics own the best defense in the NBA allowing just 93 points, there is plenty of reason to expect that the scoring will stay fairly down. Therefore, the rest of the Celtics roster has plenty of talent to score enough points needed for the victory. Ray Allen is averaging over 23 points in the last 4 outings and Rajon Rondo continuously lights up the stat sheet. In fact, Rondo posted 15 points and an eye catching 16 assists against the Knicks on Tuesday. However, the key will still be on the defensive side of the ball. The Celtics held the Cavaliers to just 41% shooting in the opening game this year which resulted in just 89 total points for Cleveland. That type of strong defensive play will be needed again Thursday night. Cleveland is definitely most vulnerable on the road which has resulted in the majority of their losses this season. In fact, the Cavaliers have dropped their last two road outings to Orlando and Charlotte. Cleveland did bounce back on Tuesday with a 105-95 victory over the Hornets. Lebron James and Shaquille O’Neal both dropped 20 points in the victory. Surprisingly enough it was Shaq’s 2nd straight game scoring exactly 20 points which definitely gives the offense a boost. Another boost the Cavaliers now have is newly acquired Antawn Jamison. Jamison scored 18 points in just 37 minutes in his first outing with the Cavaliers on Tuesday and Cleveland is excited to get him into the rotation. Normally it takes time for a player to adjust, so it may not be surprising if there was bit of a let down from Jamison on Thursday night against a much better defense. However, the Celtics have been inconsistent at times on the defensive side of the ball as well. Lebron James will remain the center of the Cavaliers scoring power. Lebron dropped 75 points combined in back to back outings to Orlando and Denver before scoring another 75 points combined in the last 3 games which resulted in a 30 point average over the last 5 games. Those numbers are not very surprising and Lebron did score 38 on the Celtics earlier this season. However, I really doubt that James total points will be the tale of the tape on Thursday night. It will likely be the help around James and if he can get the rest of the team involved. Normally that is when the Cavaliers are at their best when James can create opportunities for his teammates. If that happens, it will really increase Cleveland’s chances on Thursday. Pick – Cleveland has really struggled in big games recently against Denver, Orlando, and Charlotte. This is another tough test on the road that I think they will fail. Take Boston -1
Cleveland Cavaliers (44-14) at Boston Celtics (36-19)
Thursday February 25th, 8:00PM Eastern
Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics Free Pick, Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics Preview
NBA Basketball Betting Preview Betus.com betting line – TBA The Dallas Mavericks host the Los Angeles Lakers Wednesday night at 9:00 eastern on ESPN. The Mavericks have been off since their 91-82 victory over the Pacers on Monday night. In that game, Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 23 points and newly acquired center Brendan Haywood dominated the boards with 20 rebounds. However despite winning 4 straight games, Dallas faces a huge home test against the Lakers. Despite the Lakers who have been without superstar Kobe Bryant, they have won 4 of their last 5 games with only a one point heartbreaking loss to Boston in that stretch. However, Bryant returned to the lineup in last night’s late game against the Grizzlies and played well. The Lakers have long held their reign over the Western Conference over the past few years and few thought the Denver Nuggets were the only team that had a chance to challenge the Lakers for that spot. However after a few big moves before the trade deadline, the Mavericks are looking to make a statement heading down the 2nd half of the season. Luckily for Dallas, the game will not be played at the Staples Center and the Lakers are much more vulnerable on the road. Dallas holds a solid 18-9 record at home and has won 6 of their last 8 games at home. The Mavericks topped the Lakers in just their 2nd game of the season 94-80. However, the Lakers roared back winning the next two meetings this season including a big blowout in Los Angeles by 131-96. One common theme in those games is the team that won the battle against the boards won the game. Dallas pulled down 46 boards to the Lakers 40 in the first meeting, but was out rebounded by at least 5 boards in each of the losses between the two teams. The Mavericks hope Haywood and also newly acquired small forward Caron Butler can help swing the leverage back their way against the boards. If that happens, Dallas will have every opportunity to win the game. Dirk Nowitzki has played solid all season and also well against Los Angeles so do not expect nothing less on Wednesday night. Of course anytime you face the Lakers, the one big threat that stands out is Kobe Bryant. However, Bryant has had a tough time against Dallas this season just averaging 15 points per game during the previous 3 meetings despite averaging 28 points on the season. The reason may not be that Bryant has played that poorly against Dallas but rather the Lakers have really excelled on the inside against Dallas as previously stated. Interestingly enough Pau Gasol, the second leading scorer for the Lakers, has missed all 3 previous showdowns with the Mavericks. Therefore while Dallas looks to add some strength on the inside so will the Lakers. The question is which inside game will prevail? Pick – Bad spot for the Lakers here on back to back road games with a reloaded Mavericks team.
LA Lakers (42-14) at Dallas Mavericks (36-21)
Wednesday February 23rd, 9:00PM Eastern
Tags: LA Lakers at Dallas Mavericks Preview, Lakers at Mavericks Free Pick
The NBA trade deadline shook things up in the basketball betting world quite a bit. Check out Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in the world of the NBA at Bang the Book, brought to you by Sportsbook.com! ATS Power Poll 1: Utah Jazz (34-18-3 ATS): The All-Star Break didn’t slow down the Jazz at all from the looks of it. Utah opened up the second half with four road games and took four victories both SU and ATS. That bumped its road record to 16-9-1 ATS on the season, and even though it’s not as strong as an 18-9-2 mark in Salt Lake City, the Jazz are proving that they are a force to be reckoned with on a nightly basis and are a can’t miss team for your NBA picks. 2: Oklahoma City Thunder (33-21 ATS): Ho hum. Three more 25+ point games for F Kevin Durant. Even though the Texas product is doing nothing but boosting his case to be the league’s MVP and the Thunder continue to find ways to win games (they’re at nine in a row right now), they ran into problems covering numbers at New York and Minnesota this week. Oklahoma City’s bettors hope that that ends this week with a tough stretch of games against Phoenix and San Antonio. 3: Atlanta Hawks (33-21 ATS): Atlanta’s quest to run down the Magic for the lead in the Southeast Division took a turn for the worse this week with a pair of road losses. The good news for the Hawks is that they’re coming home for three straight soon, where they are 18-9 ATS on the season. The bad news is that they have to stop in Utah first. ATS Power Outage 1: New Jersey Nets (21-34-1 ATS): The Nets got their monthly victory last week when they took it to Charlotte as hefty underdogs, but they followed that up by getting progressively worse over the course of the week. Losses to Miami, Toronto, and Memphis at home dropped Jersey to just 10-17 ATS at home on the year. 2: Boston Celtics (21-32-1 ATS): Boston is still a level .500 team on the road this year against the NBA betting lines, but taking three out of four SU on this West Coast swing really had to help the Celtics’ cause. These next three home games are crucial. Trips to New York and New Jersey will be inexcusable, but that showdown in the middle with Cleveland may prove to this team one way or the other if it can really ball with the big boys in the East. 3: Dallas Mavericks (23-33 ATS): Once the Mavs start to gel a little bit more, they’ll be in fine shape. But for now, they’re still not consistent enough to back on a regular basis. That 95-85 win in Orlando was awfully impressive though, and it’s probably a sign of what the rest of the teams in the Western Conference can expect to see down the line from the boys from “Big D.” The Good The Bad The Ugly
Washington Wizards: That’s right. We said it. The Wizards are “The Good” this week! Their front office doesn’t get a thumbs up for dealing away their entire team (F Antawn Jamison to Cleveland and F Caron Butler to Dallas), but the pieces to the puzzle that have come together in our nation’s capitol are fighting hard to prove that they belong at this level. Since February 5th, Washington is a solid 3-2 SU and 5-0 ATS. F Andray Blatche has been on fire, scoring an average of 25.0 PPG in his L/3.
The New-Look Houston Rockets: HC Rick Adelman had better hope that these L/2 games are nothing more than a bump in the road for his Rockets, or he’ll be on the unemployment line here really soon. After acquiring both G Kevin Martin and F Jared Jeffries in a deal that really didn’t cost much of anything for the time being, Houston has laid two major eggs, getting dumped by eight at New Orleans and by ten at home to Indiana. The next four teams on the slate are all playoff squads… which means by the time next week is over, Houston may be playing for nothing but ping-pong balls.
The Front Office of the Phoenix Suns: How on earth do you successfully anger your superstar by telling him that you’re going to trade him, and then turn around and not actually figure out how to do it? Now that the Suns ultimately couldn’t pull the trigger on an F Amare Stoudemire deal, they’re stuck with him for the rest of the season, knowing that he’s declaring free agency right when it’s over. For the brass of this team, they’d better hope that Phoenix hangs on to its playoff spot, or heads are inevitably going to roll.
Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Andray Blatche, Atlanta Hawks, basketball betting, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Jared Jeffries, Kevin Martin, nba betting, NBA Picks, New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards
