Wednesday's Tip Sheet
VegasInsider.com
The hardwood heats up again Wednesday with another monster slate featuring 10 games on the docket. Unfortunately, we don't have any nationally televised tilts on tap tonight unless of course you subscribe to the NBA Ticket.
Similar to baseball and hockey, the NBA regular season is a marathon and you're always going to see teams put together winning streaks and at the same time losing skids. With the first month of the season coming to a close, you can put your fingers on developing runs.
Here is a closer look at the more recent ones.
Who's Hot!
Milwaukee (7-4 straight up, 6-4 against the spread) has put together five straight wins, including impressive victories against Cleveland (111-107), L.A. Lakers (110-103) and Dallas (9-795). Four of the five came at home, improving the Bucks' record to 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS at home.
Milwaukee faces Atlanta (5-7 SU, 6-5 ATS) on Wednesday in the second game of a back-to-back spot after hosting Philadelphia on Tuesday. The Bucks have struggled on the road, going 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS. Three of the four losses have come by double-digits to boot. Milwaukee has won six of its previous eight meetings against the Hawks.
Golden State (6-7 SU, 6-7 ATS) has won six of its last seven games including a 129-114 blowout victory against Phoenix as a 4 ½-point home underdog. The victory over the Suns was big, considering the other five wins were against a bunch of weak opponents. The Warriors are averaging 108.7 points per game, ranked second in the league. Unfortunately, Don Nelson's team is giving up a league-worst 109.9 PPG but that number is starting to dip after holding teams to 101 PPG in the last six wins.
The Warriors face Sacramento (5-9 SU, 8-6 ATS) at Arco Arena on Wednesday, where the Kings own a solid 5-2 SU and 7-0 ATS ledger. Last year, Golden State won and covered three of four against Sacramento.
Who's Not!
Dallas (9-5 SU, 6-8 ATS) suffered its third straight setback on Monday, falling to Washington 110-98 as a 12-point home favorite. The Mavericks' defense has been missing, allowing 106 PPG during this skid. Normally, the Mavs are known to bully around teams like the Pacers, Bucks and Wizards but that hasn't been the case recently. On top of the losses, head coach Avery Johnson was fined $25,000 for arguing calls with referees in the defeat to the Pacers.
Dallas has a good shot to get off the snide on Wednesday, as Minnesota (2-10 SU, 5-7 ATS) visits American Airlines Center. The Mavericks have won five in a row against the Wolves, but only covered two of those contests.
Portland (5-9 SU, 6-8 ATS) is easily the streakiest team in the league at this point, especially against the spread. The Trail Blazers opened the year with a 4-3 SU mark and covered six of their first seven games to boot. Since then, Portland has gone 1-6 SU and 0-7 ATS with two of the losses coming at Rose Garden. The Blazers have held trouble offensively (92 PPG) lately, evidenced in Monday's loss to Orlando, 85-74. After putting up 27 points in the first 12 minutes, the Blazers posted 15, 16 and 16 in the last three quarters.
Loss No. 8 is appears to be waiting in the wings, especially with Indiana (6-8 SU, 5-9 ATS) visiting the Great Northwest. The Pacers have won and covered seven in a row against the Blazers and possess an offense that can light it up.
Seattle (2-12 SU, 5-9 ATS) continues to rebuild and while nobody expected a playoff berth in the Emerald City this year, nobody could've predicted a 0-6 mark at Key Arena and a dozen losses in 14 chances either. The Sonics are surrendering 108.6 PPG on the season and unfortunately this team doesn't have Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to counter with this year. You can definitely start to see the inexperienced team not focusing as much, evidenced by four straight losses after compiling back-to-back wins. During its current four-game slide, Seattle has failed to cover any of them and has lost three of the four by double-digits too.
After playing at Staples Center versus the L.A. Lakers on Tuesday, Seattle returns home for a five-game stretch. Wednesday's matchup welcomes the league's best road team in Orlando (8-1 SU, 8-1 ATS). The Magic already routed the Sonics 103-76 on Nov. 13 as 10-point favorites.
NBA Today - Nov. 28
Associated Press
SCOREBOARD
Wednesday, Nov. 28
Orlando at Seattle (10 p.m. EST).
Seattle is off to its worst start (2-13) since its inaugural season of 1967-68.
STARS
Tuesday
-LeBron James, Cavaliers, scored 38 points, including 11 in overtime, and had 13 assists to lead Cleveland past Boston 109-104.
-Kobe Bryant, Lakers, had 35 points to help Los Angeles beat Seattle 106-99.
-Mike Dunleavy, Pacers, scored 30 points to propel Indiana over Denver 112-110.
TRIO BATTLE
LeBron James scored 38 points, Drew Gooden added a season-high 24 and Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 15 as the Cleveland trio outplayed Boston's heralded triumvirate during a 109-104 win in overtime on Tuesday. James, Gooden and Ilgauskas outscored Boston's Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce 77-64.
BENCH PRESS
Ricky Davis equaled a season high with 23 points and Jason Williams totaled 11 points and eight assists off the bench to help Miami beat Charlotte 110-90 on Tuesday. Rookie reserve Daequan Cook added a season-high 19 points while missing only two shots. The Heat's reserves shot 22-for-33 (.667).
IN GOOD COMPANY
LeBron James scored 38 points and added 13 assists to help Cleveland beat Boston 109-104 in overtime on Tuesday. James came in averaging 37.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 9.5 assists in his past six games, joining Wilt Chamberlain (1964) and Oscar Robertson (1965) as the only players to reach those totals in a six-game stretch.
CLIMBING THE LIST
Kobe Bryant scored 35 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 106-99 win over Seattle, including including a 19-foot jumper in the first quarter that edged him past 1985 NBA scoring champ Bernard King for 32nd place on the career list. Bryant's next target is John Stockton, who is 25 points ahead of him.
WINDY CITY BLUES
Luol Deng scored 22 points, Ben Gordon added 21, and Chicago snapped its four-game losing streak with a 90-78 victory over Atlanta on Tuesday. The victory was the Bulls' 12th straight over the Hawks. Atlanta has not defeated the Bulls since a 116-101 victory at the United Center on April 9, 2004.
GETTING BETTER
Pau Gasol scored 22 points and Juan Carlos Navarro had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Memphis posted consecutive wins for the first time this season with 110-103 victory over New Jersey on Tuesday. The back-to-back wins came in the Grizzlies' 14th game of the season. It took Memphis 73 games last season to win consecutive games.
BAD START
The Los Angeles Lakers downed Seattle 106-99 on Tuesday, dropping the Sonics to a league-worst 2-13 in their first season under coach P.J. Carlesimo. They began their inaugural 1967-68 season 2-14. Seattle has lost 14 consecutive games against Western Conference teams, including five last season.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Vince Carter scored 32 points and Jason Kidd chipped in 12 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists in posting his 91st career triple-double, but New Jersey lost to Memphis 110-103. ... Allen Iverson had 26 points and Carmelo Anthony added 25 but Denver fell to Indiana 112-110. ... Ray Allen had 29 points in Boston's 109-104 overtime loss to Cleveland.
SPEAKING
''It was ridiculous. It wasn't a foul. He kicked me, and you just can't make that call. You have to take a guy out and you can't have a guy flop like that. It all works out and karma comes out on top, and we deserved the win.'' - Indiana's Mike Dunleavy, on what he thought was a questionable foul call in the final seconds of the Pacers' 112-110 win over Denver on Tuesday.
Wednesday's NBA betting matchup notes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Memphis at Toronto
Toronto will be looking for its third straight win over the Grizzlies after an eight-game losing streak to them
Utah at Philadelphia
Carlos Boozer has only averaged 13.7 in 12 career games against the 76ers.
Milwaukee at Atlanta
Atlanta is 3-3 at home this season, but has lost three of its last four there to the Bucks.
Cleveland at Detroit
This will be the teams' first meeting since the 2007 Eastern Conference finals.
Minnesota at Dallas
Dallas has won the last five meetings, holding Minnesota to an average of 82.4 points.
Washington at San Antonio
The Spurs held Washington to 81.5 points per game and swept the two-game season series.
Houston at Phoenix
The Rockets have given up at least 100 points in eight straight meetings with Phoenix and have lost seven of them.
Golden State at Sacramento
This will be the first of four meetings this season between the division rivals.
Indiana at Portland
Indiana (7-8) has won seven straight against Portland (5-9) since a 97-95 overtime loss on Dec. 3, 2003, and swept last season's two games.
Orlando at Seattle
The Sonics have lost four straight overall to the Magic, who are an NBA-best 8-1 on the road.
Wednesday's NCAAB betting matchup notes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
N.C. State at No. 12 Michigan State
The Wolfpack are 5-1 against the Spartans, including a 69-58 win in the first round of the 2002 NCAA tournament in the most recent meeting.
No. 5 Georgetown at Old Dominion
The fifth-ranked Hoyas (3-0) look to avenge last season's loss to Old Dominion when they visit Norfolk, Va., on Wednesday night.
Florida Atlantic at No. 4 Kansas
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Jayhawks and the Owls.
Texas Southern at No. 16 Texas
A.J. Abrams had 20 points and five steals in Texas' 90-50 win over Texas Southern last Nov. 28 in the only previous meeting between the schools.
Alabama at No. 15 Texas A&M
Alabama leads the all-time series 6-1, but the teams have not met since Texas A&M posted a 65-58 victory in the 1998-99 season.
No. 1 North Carolina at Ohio State
North Carolina is 8-2 all-time against Ohio State.
George Washington at No. 2 UCLA
The Colonials are 0-5 all-time against teams ranked No. 2.
Hoosiers guard Crawford to miss three games for violating team rules
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana guard Jordan Crawford has been suspended three games for violating team rules, coach Kelvin Sampson announced just minutes before the 15th-ranked Hoosiers played Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.
The statement, issued through sports information director J.D. Campbell, said Sampson would have no further comment on the matter.
Crawford, a freshman, has been a key reserve for Indiana this season, averaging 12.6 points.
Lawson in doubt for OSU showdown
FOXSports.com
North Carolina sophomore point guard Ty Lawson's status for Wednesday night's game at Ohio State is still unclear.
Lawson injured his right ankle on Saturday night in North Carolina's win against BYU in Las Vegas.
"I'd say he's 50-50," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "But I really don't know. I know if we'd have played a game yesterday, he wouldn't have played."
Lawson is averaging 10.6 points and 4.6 assists in five games this season.
Williams said that Lawson didn't practice yesterday, but was expected to go through a limited practice today.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(24) N.C. State (4-1, 2-3 ATS) at (10) Michigan State (4-1, 1-1-1 ATS)
The ACC-Big Ten Challenge continues with an intriguing matchup of Top 25 programs, as the Spartans host North Carolina State.
The Wolfpack are coming off Sunday’s thrilling 69-68 upset victory over Villanova in the finals of the Old Spice Classic tournament, covering as a 3½-point underdog. N.C. State also defeated Rider (72-63) and South Carolina (63-61) in the tournament, and three of its last four games have been decided by two points or less.
Four days after suffering its first loss of the season to UCLA in the finals of a preseason tournament in Kansas City, Michigan State looked extremely sluggish in Saturday’s narrow 75-71 home win over Oakland-Michigan in a non-lined game. The Spartans are 3-0 at home (0-1 ATS).
Entering this season, Michigan State was the only Big Ten team with a winning record in the made-for-TV Big Ten-ACC Challenge, going 4-3 SU.
Going back to last year, the Spartans are on a 9-3 ATS run at home.
N.C. State is 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 overall and 36-17 ATS in its last 53 road contests.
The under is 7-1 in the Wolfpack’s last eight games, all non-conference contests.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NONE
(1) North Carolina (5-0, 3-1 ATS) at Ohio State (4-1, 2-2 ATS)
Fresh off winning a tournament in Las Vegas, top-ranked North Carolina hits the road again, heading up to Columbus, Ohio, for a battle with the Buckeyes in another ACC-Big Ten Challenge clash.
The Tar Heels kept their perfect record intact with a hard-fought 73-63 win over BYU in Saturday’s finale of the Las Vegas Invitational. North Carolina prevailed as an eight-point favorite, its third consecutive spread-cover since failing to cash in the season opener against Davidson.
Going back to last year, North Carolina is on a 12-1 run (8-4 ATS), including 9-1 away from home (6-4 ATS).
Ohio State rebounded from Friday’s ugly 70-47 loss to Texas A&M in the Preseason NIT Finals with a 90-57 rout of VMI in a non-lined home contest on Sunday. The Buckeyes have won 26 straight home games (14-10-1 ATS), going 3-0 this year (1-1 ATS).
These teams met in the Challenge last year on Tobacco Road, with the Tar Heels prevailing 98-89 as an eight-point favorite.
UNC is on positive ATS runs of 14-3 in non-conference games, 4-1 against the Big Ten and 38-18-1 following a spread-cover. On the downside, the Heels have failed to cover in four straight true (non neutral-site) road games.
Including last year’s loss to the Tar Heels, the Buckeyes are 1-4 ATS in their last five against ACC foes.
The over is 12-5 in North Carolina’s last 17 games against Big Ten opponents. The over is also 5-2 in Ohio State’s last seven home games.
ATS ADVANTAGE: NORTH CAROLINA and OVER
Alabama (3-1, 0-2 ATS) at (9) Texas A&M (6-0, 2-1 ATS)
Texas A&M takes the floor for the first time since capturing the preseason NIT championship when it hosts Alabama in an interesting non-conference clash between teams from the SEC and Big 12.
The Aggies obliterated Ohio State 77-47 in a pick-em contest Friday at Madison Square Garden, shooting 54.7 percent from the floor while holding the Buckeyes to 24.1 percent. All six of A&M’s wins have come by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 16 points per game.
Alabama rebounded from a shocking 85-83 loss to Division II Belmont with Friday’s 79-77 victory over Southern Miss, failing to cover as a seven-point home favorite. The Crimson Tide have scored at least 79 points in all four of their games, but they’ve also allowed 72 or more in all four.
The Aggies are on a 28-13 ATS run overall, including 7-3 ATS in non-league games.
Alabama is 8-19 ATS in its last 27 non-SEC contests.
The over is 5-0 in Alabama’s last five lined games, but the under is 6-2 in A&M’s last eight lined battles (all against non-conference opponents).
ATS ADVANTAGE: TEXAS A&M
NBA
Cleveland (9-6, 7-8 ATS) at Detroit (8-5, 5-8)
The Pistons get their first crack at the Cavaliers since losing the Eastern Conference championship to Cleveland last spring as these Central Division rivals clash at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Detroit concludes a four-game homestand tonight, having won the first two over the Knicks (98-86) and 76ers (83-78) before losing to Utah 103-93 as a one-point underdog on Sunday. The Pistons are just 3-4 SU in their last seven and 2-6 ATS in their last eight.
Cleveland hits the road with a four-game winning streak following last night’s 109-104 overtime victory over the Celtics as a 3½-point home underdog. The Cavaliers are 3-1 ATS during their streak. They’re also 3-1 ATS when playing on back-to-back nights.
The Cavaliers upset the Pistons in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, losing the first two games of the best-of-7 series before winning the next four. Cleveland covered the spread in all six contests and is actually 8-0 ATS in the last eight meetings, with seven of the eight decided by six points or less. Going back even further, the Cavs are on a 13-3 ATS roll in this rivalry.
Cleveland has alternated ATS wins and losses in their last six games, and the straight-up winner is 7-1 ATS in their last eight contests.
The Cavaliers are 5-3 SU and ATS on the road, while Detroit is 4-1 at home (2-3 ATS).
The over is 10-5 in Cleveland’s 15 games this year, including 7-2 in the last nine. Also, with last night’s high-scoring affair against Boston, the Cavs have now hurdled the total in nine straight conference games. Conversely, the under is 4-1 in the Pistons’ five home games. Also, the under was 15-6 in the 21 meetings between these rivals over the last two seasons, including 7-4 in Detroit.
ATS ADVANTAGE: CLEVELAND
Houston (8-7, 6-9 ATS) at Phoenix (11-3, 7-7 ATS)
The Suns look to bounce back from their first loss in more than two weeks when they host the Rockets at the US Airways Center in the desert.
Phoenix took an eight-game winning streak to Golden State on Monday night and gave up a season-high 129 points, falling 129-114 as a five-point road chalk. On the bright side, the Suns extended a streak of scoring at least 100 points to nine consecutive games.
Houston has bounced back from a six-game SU losing skid and a 1-6 ATS slump with back-to-back wins and covers. The Rockets topped the Nuggets 109-81 as a six-point home chalk on Saturday, then went to Los Angeles on Monday and crushed the Clippers 88-71 as a 6½-point road favorite.
Phoenix is 7-1 SU and 8-0 ATS in its last seven clashes with the Rockets, including a 115-105 rout in Houston back on Nov. 17 as a 5½-point favorite. The Suns have scored at least 100 points in all eight games, with six of their seven victories coming by double digits.
Since losing their home opener to the Lakers in the second game of the season, Phoenix has won five in a row at the US Airways Center (4-1 ATS). Meanwhile, the Rockets snapped a three-game road losing streak with Monday’s rout of the Clippers in L.A.
The over is 5-2 in the Suns’ last seven games, including 3-1 in the last four at home. However, the under is 6-3-1 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings, including 3-0 in Phoenix.
ATS ADVANTAGE: PHOENIX
gametimepicks.com
Nuggets waive G Wilks
November 28th, 2007
Denver, CO (Sports Network) - The Denver Nuggets waived veteran guard Mike Wilks Wednesday.
The 5-foot-10 Wilks averaged three points and 1.5 rebounds in eight games this seasons.
In 222 career games, with stints in Atlanta, Minnesota, Houston, San Antonio, Cleveland, Seattle and Denver, Wilks has averaged 2.5 points and 1.2 assists per game.