Thurs NBA Picks

[Raji]

Cleveland Cavaliers at San Antonio Spurs (-8, 183.5)

The home team is 8-2 ATS in the last 10 meetings between these teams and that trend seems set to continue Thursday. The visiting Cavaliers have played two straight overtime games and face a Spurs team coming off a three-day break.

This is a rematch of last season’s NBA finals, during which the Spurs swept Cleveland with four straight wins. They also covered the spread in three of those four victories, while outscoring the Cavs by an average of six points.

Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker averaged a combined 37.2 points in each of those playoff games, and that pair should ensure that the Spurs cover the spread for a fifth straight time against Cleveland.

Pick: Spurs

Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets (-3.5, 220.5)

An injury crisis is starting to take its toll on the Nuggets. They have lost three of their last four games and were without four starting players in Wednesday’s 104-93 loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The biggest name on the injury list is Nene. The powerful Brazilian forward is out of action for an undetermined amount of time with a medical issue and will be a huge loss for Denver. The Nuggets could also be without Kenyon Martin, Steven Hunter, Eduardo Najero and Marcus Camby Thursday.

That’s not going to help them improve their dismal record against the Jazz. The Nuggets have lost and failed to cover the spread in six of their last seven meetings with Utah.

Pick: Jazz

Phoenix Suns at L.A. Lakers (1.5, 225.5)

The surging Lakers have won seven straight games and 11 of their last 12, but may struggle to continue that pace after suffering a major injury blow. Center Andrew Bynum was a huge factor in the Lakers’ strong start, but he will now miss at least eight weeks with a knee injury.

The 20-year-old is averaging 13.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game and had one of his best outings of the season against Phoenix. He scored 28 points and had 12 rebounds against the Suns in the L.A.’s 122-115 win on Christmas Day.

Facing a Lakers team without Bynum gives the Suns a good chance to cover the spread in this contest. The road team is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings between these teams.

Pick: Suns



Raji