Fact or Fiction
By Mike Rose
VegasInsider.com
FACT
These Bobcats Might be As Bad As Those Bobcats: Poor Charlotte. The team is 0-7 straight up and against the spread in its last seven games, and it’s going nowhere in a hurry. The epically bad 2012 Bobcats went 7-59 SU and 23-43 ATS, and they were outscored by 13.9 points per game. These Bobcats over the course of their last 48 games are now 6-42 SU, 14-33-1 ATS, and have been outscored by 12.1 points per game. The margin of defeat isn't as bad, but the ATS percentage is actually worse than last year's insanely bad team.
The Nuggets Might Win the Western Conference: It's going to take getting home court advantage in some of these series, but the Nuggs really could ultimately win the West this year. We think that teams like the Grizzlies and the Jazz killed themselves at the trade deadline, and these were the teams that were supposed to be rid of Denver early in the playoffs before it could get rolling. However, this team is now 29-11 SU and 25-14-1 ATS in its last 40 games, and its win over the Thunder this past week was a real indication that this is going to be a team that is tough to knock out of the second season.
Getting to .500 is Just What the Lakers Needed: It's been a long haul back to .500 for the Lakers from a team that was 17-25, but they have gotten the job done and are back to 30-30. They still aren't in the playoffs quite yet, but they are right on the verge of it, and if we were some of the top teams in the West, we would be scared, to say the least. G Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are on a roll right now, and they're going to be tough to stop.
FICTION
The Kings' Streak of 100+ Point Games: Sacramento has scored at least 100 points in 10 of its last 11 games, and we just aren't buying it. The Kings aren't getting good contributions out of F Patrick Patterson, and there is a point that this team is just going to fall apart at the seams. There is a reason that in spite of this run of good scoring games, the Kings still aren't averaging 100+ points for the season.
Toronto's Recent Swoon: The Raptors have failed to cover five straight games and haven't picked up an SU win since Feb. 22. There have been some tough games along the way, including losing in overtime in Milwaukee and by seven at Golden State on Monday after just running out of gas in the fourth quarter. The Raptors aren't going to get into the playoffs this year, but they are at least going to be a competent team down the stretch.
Orlando's Pre-Trade Skid: Is it possible that the Magic really made themselves a better team at the trade deadline by getting rid of G JJ Redick? We're starting to believe that the possibility is there. The team has had some awful, awful games in this stretch, but a win in New Orleans, a competitive fight against Houston, a win in Philadelphia… This isn't a mistake. Tobias Harris has been a nice contributor to the team since coming over from Milwaukee, averaging 16.8 points and 6.2 boards per game, and the possibility is there that he is evolving into the best player on the team. Once the Magic start to get healthy, they could really be taking some steps in the right direction in spite of their horrid SU and ATS records.