Short Sheet
Play-In Game
Coppin State vs. Mount St. Mary's, 7:30 ET
Coppin State:
6-2 Over in all games (L3 years)
3-0 Over if total is 129.5 or less
Mount St. Mary's:
4-2 ATS in neutral court games
4-0 ATS in tournament games
Tips and Trends
Denver Nuggets at Detroit Pistons
Nuggets: The Nuggets set NBA season highs for points in a half with 84 and points in a game in a 168-116 rout of the Seattle SuperSonics on Sunday night. They shared the ball and hit open shots, and for the second straight game the starters were on the bench in the fourth quarter. Head coach George Karl said his team will do their best to continue their strong play against the defensive-minded Pistons.
Nuggets are 16-5 ATS in their last 21 games against the Central Division.
Key Injuries- NONE
Pistons (-6, O/U 208.5): Detroit bounced back from a loss to the 76ers by beating New Orleans after head coach Flip Saunders said his team played “too cool” against Philly. The Pistons have now won 2 straight and defeated 2 of the top teams in the West (Spurs and Hornets) by a combined 25 points. Chauncey Billups is averaging 20 ppg over his last 12 games, and Richard Hamilton had one of his best offensive games on Friday with 25 points.
Pistons are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games against the Northwest Division.
Key Injuries- NONE
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks
Lakers: The Lakers are in the middle of their most trying road stretch left of the season and have started 0-2 – both games played without Pau Gasol due to an ankle injury. Kobe Bryant said he will be more aggressive on offense, and he is averaging 30 ppg in those games without Gasol. However, it hasn’t been enough as Los Angeles has been outscored by a combined 11 points.
Lakers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 Tuesday games.
Key Injuries- C Pau Gasol (19 ppg; ankle) is OUT.
Mavs (-5.5, O/U 205.5): The Mavericks are fresh off a 98-73 thrashing of the Heat and have won 5 straight overall. Now Dallas hosts 3 of the NBA's top clubs - the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston and San Antonio - in the next seven days. Dirk Nowitzki said “we should be ready” while head coach Avery Johnson agrees in saying: “I wanted us to get some momentum.” This looks to be the case, as Dallas has won its last 5 by an average of 24 points..
Mavs are 6-14-3 ATS in their last 23 games against the Pacific Division.
Key Injuries- NONE
Boston Celtics at Houston Rockets
Celtics: The Celtics own the NBA’s best record at 53-13 and has bounced back nicely after the Jazz ended their 10-game winning streak. Ray Allen has been dealing with a heel injury, but he wasn’t missed much in road wins at Milwaukee and San Antonio. The Celtics held the Bucks to 34 percent shooting, and they were able to overcome a 22-point deficit against the defending NBA champs on Monday.
Celtics are 41-16-1 ATS in their last 58 road games.
Key Injuries- G Ray Allen (18 ppg; ankle) is questionable.
Rockets (NA): The Rockets have won 26 of their last 27 games and 31 of their last 34. They've won 15 straight at the Toyota Center and 10 in a row since Yao went out with a broken foot. Even more impressive is that they're won 11 of their last 13 games by double digits. Houston defeated the Lakers on Sunday afternoon, even with Tracy McGrady scoring just 11 points. Rafer Alston scored 31 points and McGrady said this shows just “how good the Houston Rockets are.”
Rockets are 19-3 ATS during their franchise-record 22-game winning streak.
Rockets are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 home games.
Key Injuries- F Carl Landry (8 ppg; knee) is questionable.
Golden State Warriors at Sacramento Kings
Warriors (-2, O/U 229): Golden State avoided a bad loss on Saturday against the Grizzlies, pulling out a 110-107 victory. Baron Davis jammed his right pinkie in the win, and said: “We were just sloppy.” The Warriors are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games but continue to play .500 basketball on the road while allowing 107 ppg.
The OVER is 10-1 in Golden State’s last 11 road games.
Key Injuries- G Baron Davis (22 ppg; finger) is probable.
Kings: Sacramento has been all fired up this week after a team meeting back on March 9th. The Kings have gone 3-1 SU since then with victories over the Blazers and Lakers. The Kings have increased their scoring average to 104 ppg during those games and have always had an uncanny ability to step up against the better teams.
Kings are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 Tuesday games.
Key Injuries- G John Salmons (13 ppg; ankle) is probable.