Steve Janus
Pelicans +6
Play On - Underdogs (NEW ORLEANS) - after allowing 105 points or more 3 straight games against opponent after a win by 6 points or less. This system is 50-18 (74%) against the spread over the last 5 seasons.
Brandon Lee
Bulls -6.5
It's been a rollercoaster first season for Wade with the Bulls and the latest loss set their future Hall of Famer off. Chicago had really taken it to Atlanta for most of the game and then completely blew it down the stretch. I believe the calling out of teammates to the media by Butler and Wade will have a 100% locked in Bulls team tonight. On top of that, there's extra incentive here against Wade's old team. Miami has won 5 straight, but the only one of those away from home came at Brooklyn. The Heat are just 7-17 on the road this season and are dealing with a ton of injuries right now.
Rocketman
Quinnipiac @ Monmouth
Play: Quinnipiac +14
The Quinnipiac Bobcats travel to Monmouth to take on the Hawks on Friday night. Quinnipiac is 8-12 SU overall this year while Monmouth is 16-5 SU overall on the season. Quinnipiac is 7-1 ATS this year against conference opponents. Quinnipiac is 6-0 ATS this year so far in January. Quinnipiac is 6-0 ATS this year after playing a conference game. Quinnipiac is 6-1 ATS this year against good offensive teams scoring 77 points per game or more. Monmouth is 1-5 ATS this year as a home favorite of 12 1/2 points or more. Quinnipiac is scoring 78.8 points per game their past 5 games overall and 78.2 points per game against conference opponents this season. Quinnipiac is 3-0 ATS last 3 games at Monmouth. We'll recommend a small play on Quinnipiac tonight!
John Martin
Rockets vs. 76ers
Play: 76ers +6.5
The 76ers continue getting no respect from the books despite going 10-3 SU & 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games overall. They have proven they can win without Joel Embiid, too, as this team is coming together in a big way. The beat the Clippers 121-110 as 4.5-point home dogs without Embiid, then went on the road and upset the Bucks 114-109 as 11-point dogs again without him in their last two contests. The Rockets have finally hit a wall and are just 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games while losing 6 of their last 9 games outright. Philadelphia is 6-0 ATS in its last 6 home games. The 76ers are a live home dog tonight.
Teddy Covers
Heat +8
After a rough start to the week, Teddy is heating up RIGHT NOW, cashing at a 75% clip across sports over the past two nights. Expect more winning action on Friday, with three rock solid winners on tap in NBA action tonight! Go for the 3-0 sweep right here!
It’s not hard to make a case for betting against the Chicago Bulls tonight; a team who’s internal chemistry has clearly fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. The Bulls late game meltdown against Atlanta on Wednesday – a true ‘Moose’ for their pointspread backers, as the Hawks closed out the game on a 19-4 run over the last three minutes, erasing a ten point deficit in the process – made a bad situation worse.
Dwayne Wade ripped into his teammates following the loss: “Everyone don’t care enough…I don't know how you fix it. It just doesn't mean enough for guys around here to want to win ball games. It pisses me off. Games are supposed to hurt. You're not supposed to sleep. You're not supposed to want to talk to anybody. I don't know if that is in guys in this locker room.”
So did Jimmy Butler: “Something is wrong. I want to play with guys who care, guys who play hard, who want to do well for this organization, who want to do whatever it takes to win.”
Then Rajon Rondo went off on his teammates on Instagram yesterday: “Even in Boston when we had the best record in the league, if we lost a game, you could hear a pin drop on the bus. They showed us the seriousness of the game. My vets didn't have an influence on the coaching staff. They couldn't change the plan because it didn't work for them. I played under one of the greatest coaches, and he held everyone accountable. It takes 1-15 to win. When you isolate everyone, you can't win consistently.”
Clearly, this is a volatile situation. Clearly, there are guys in this locker room who don’t like one another. And clearly, head coach Fred Hoiberg isn’t fixing anything with his repeated shuffling at the point guard position. Rondo started for weeks, then was benched. His replacement, Michael Carter Williams started for a couple of weeks. He, too, has been benched. Jerian Grant got the start against the Hawks; a very unsettled situation that isn’t helping the fractured chemistry here one bit. Throw in a 4-11 season long ATS mark as favorites of -4 or higher and the case against Chicago is rock solid!
Miami is on the other end of the equation. Very quietly, waaaaaay underneath the radar, the Heat have won five straight games, by far, their best stretch of the season. That includes outright upsets over the Warriors and Rockets, as well as a SU win in Brooklyn to open this road trip. Even with center Hassan Whiteside not expected to suit up tonight, the surging Heat remain a ‘bet-on’ team while the slumping Bulls remain a ‘bet-against’.
Dave Price
Bulls -6.5
Both Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade voiced their frustration after blowing a 10-point lead in the final three minutes against Atlanta on Wednesday. They called out the younger role players for their lack of focus. I think the Bulls will rally as a team tonight and make easy work of the Miami Heat. The Heat are a mash unit right now as Chris Bosh, Justice Winslow, Josh Richardson, Josh McRoberts, Tyler Johnson and Hassan Whiteside are all out. Those are all significant losses, especially Whiteside. Miami's 5-game winning streak will come to a screeching halt here in blowout fashion.
Brad Diamond
Rockets vs. 76ers
Play: 76ers +6½
At this writing, Embiid went through the Friday work around, but we could not secure a clarification on his true “status” for the Houston game. In the series, the Rockets have dominated winning six straight after smothering (November) Philadelphia by 27 in the recent November encounter. Houston (34-15) is showing well in the Western Conference and has an advantage in SOS, scoring and rebounding. The scary angle for Philly here is guard Harden of Houston who is virtually unstoppable in the open floor, but he did have 7 turnovers in the recent loss to the Celtics. Let’s hope that form carries over here. The Sixers with Embiid have been playing lights out and have a chance at the playoffs. The City of Philadelphia is stoked for a long-awaited playoff run by their basketball team, so expect a monster emotional effort from the Sixers tonight whether Embiid is 100% or not in front of a packed house. Technically, and despite the recent series run by the Rockets, the home team has covered 8-of-11 games. The Philly crowd has been gold for the Sixers with a 6-0 ATS mark, while going a PERFECT 7-0 ATS after allowing 100 or more in their most recent contest. Houston is 0-4 ATS with a day rest and 3-7 ATS L10 times on the floor.
Jack Jones
Wizards +3.5
The Washington Wizards are one of the hottest teams in the NBA. They have gone 9-2 SU & 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games overall, covering seven straight games coming in. Look for their tremendous play to continue tonight in Atlanta.
The Wizards also come in fresh and ready to go. They have had two days off since crushing Boston 123-108 at home on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Hawks will be playing their 8th game in 13 days here and won't have nearly as much in the tank to give.
Washington is 10-2 ATS after scoring 100 points or more in four straight games this season. The Wizards are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games following an ATS win. Washington is 13-3 ATS in its last 16 vs. Eastern Conference foes.
Jimmy Boyd
Wizards vs. Hawks
Play: Hawks -3.5
I like the value here with Atlanta as a small home favorite against the Wizards. Both of these teams come into this contest playing very well and I just don't think the Hawks are getting enough respect at home against a Wizards team that is just 6-14 on the road this season. Washington is 12-4 in their last 16, but are just 3-4 on the road during this stretch. Atlanta is a strong home team with a 13-9 record on the season and dismantled the Wizards at home earlier this season 114-99.
Last time out Washington defeated the Celtics 123-108 and that wasn't an ordinary game. Those two teams don't like each other. I think we see a bit of a letdown here after that big win and they are just 7-20 ATS in their last 27 road games after scoring 120 or more points in their previous game. Atlanta is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 home games against a team with a losing record, 7-3 in their last 10 vs the Eastern Conference and 6-2 in their last 8 when playing on 1 day of rest.
Mike Lundin
Nets vs. Cavaliers
Play:Under 226.5
The Cleveland Cavaliers are slumping big time as the reigning champs have dropped three consecutive games and six of their last eight. The over/under is 5-3 during that span, but note that three of those games went to overtime. That's unlikely to happen here as they head into Friday night's clash with the Brooklyn Nets as a massive favorite. The Nets are obviously a terrible team defensively, but the under is 21-7 in their last 28 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Cleveland won the last meeting 116-108 at Brooklyn on Jan. 6. That game went over the total, but would have stayed under the number we're getting for this game. The teams had played six straight unders prior to that encounter. LeBron James is no in balance, and the whole Cavs team is suffering as a result. Take this game to to under the total.
Ray Monohan
Wizards +4
The Wizards take on the Hawks Friday and grabbing the points has value.
Washington is playing as hard as ever right now and they have every player on this roster platting with some fire underneath them.
The Wizards have won back to back games which includes a hard fought in win Boston.
Here, watch for Bradley Beal to be the difference maker. He finally got out of his slump, throwing up 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting last time out. Expect him to really make life tough on this Hawks defense come Friday.
Some trends to note. Wizards are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win, and are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game. Hawks are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 vs. NBA Southeast.
Given the matchup, Washington actually has the edge in quite a few spots here. At this opening line of +4, there is value to have.
Brad Powers
Memphis PK
A year after being one of the biggest overachievers, it's clear now that Portland is one of the bigger disappointments this season. They have a bottom 5 defense and a weak bench. They were on a 7-17 ATS run but now we catch them here off back-to-back wins ("Sell High"). Meanwhile, we have a Memphis team that will want to get their 6-game road trip off to a nice start. They have had Portland's number as of late as they are 11-4 SU/9-5 ATS vs the Blazers the last couple of seasons.
Oskeim Sports
Memphis at Portland
Play: Memphis +1
Memphis arrives in town with one of the hottest players in the NBA - Marc Gasol - who is averaging 30.8 points on 53.7% shooting from the field over the last five games. Gasol scored a career-best 42 points (14-of-25) in the Grizzlies' impressive 101-99 win over Toronto on Wednesday.
Memphis point guard Michael Conley enjoyed watching his teammate's offensive explosion against the Raptors. "It's so much fun to watch and to be a part of when he's playing like that," Conley said. Tonight was something special. It got to the point where everybody was just trying to get him the ball, no matter where we were on the court."
Portland is coming off a 105-98 win over the Lakers on Wednesday, but the Trail Blazers find themselves in a classic look-ahead spot as they host the Warriors on Sunday. Let's also note that Portland is a money-burning 7-21 ATS in its last 28 games following a win, 0-5 ATS in its last five games versus Southwest Division foes and 1-4 ATS in its last five games overall.
In contrast, the Grizzlies are a profitable 15-6 ATS in their last 21 games versus Western Conference opponents and 7-1 ATS in their last eight games with one day of rest. Memphis is also 7-3 SU and ATS in its last ten trips to Portland, while the road team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings in this series.
Portland will also be shorthanded as forward Ed Davis has been downgraded to 'doubtful' for tonight's game, while forward Maurice Harkless is questionable with a left calf injury. Harkless is averaging 11.0 points and 4.7 rebounds in 44 games this season.
Finally, Portland possesses a subpar defense that is allowing 110.2 points per game to NBA teams that would combine to average 105.7 points per game against an average offense. Head coach Terry Stotts recently praised his team's defensive efforts after yielding 106 points per game in January as compared to 112 points per game through the end of 2016.
Regardless, Memphis should have plenty of success scoring points tonight. Indeed, the Grizzlies are averaging 102.3 points per game on the road this season.
Cal Sports
Memphis at Portland
Play: Memphis +1
This is the first of a 6 game road trip for Memphis which comes in off win against Toronto and is playing only their second game in 5 nights. Portland is off back-to-back wins and they upset Boston to finish a 4 game road trip then beat the Lakers. In the Lakers win the Blazers shot 47.8% which is the best in their last 6 games and they won’t do that tonight against the Grizzlies. Portland also hosts Golden St on Sunday and they have to be looking forward to that.
Buster Sports
Milwaukee at Toronto
Play: Toronto -4
The Toronto Raptors have lost one of their best players in DeMar DeRozan for the last 2 games and it looks like he will not play tonight. They have not won without him and are now on a 5 game losing streak. The positive for the Raptors is that the Milwaukee Bucks are coming to town. This should help them break their 5 game losing streak. Toronto has owned the Bucks over the last few years and have won 6 in a row against them. They already have beaten them twice this year. Milwaukee has really struggled of late as well just winning once in their last 7 games. The favorite is 4-0 ATS in the last 4 meetings between the clubs and the Bucks are 1-11 ATS in their last 12 vs. Atlantic Division clubs. The oddsmaker has Toronto as a 4 point favorite and we see them winning this by 9 to 10 points.