Brandon Lee
Mavs vs. Nuggets
Play: Mavs +1½
The Mavericks come into this game having lost 3 straight, including an ugly 111-133 loss at Sacramento last time out. I believe this poor stretch has Dallas way undervalued here on the road against the Nuggets. Dallas is now a 1/2-game back of Houston for the 8th and final playoff spot in the west and simply can't afford to lose this game. Dallas has won 4 of the last 5 in the series with the only loss coming by 2-points. Denver lost by 15 yesterday at the Clippers and are just 1-11 ATS in their last 12 home games off a road loss by 10 or more points. The Mavericks on the other hand are a perfect 10-0 over the last 3 seasons after trailing in their previous game by 15 or more points at the half.
Dave Price
Dallas Mavericks +1.5
Despite their poor play lately, the Dallas Mavericks still have a chance to make the playoffs, and they need to get back on track in a hurry if they are going to do so. They are just 0.5 games behind No. 8 Houston and 1 game behind No. 7 Utah in the playoff standings. Look for them to get in the win column tonight as underdogs on the road to the Denver Nuggets, who lost 90-105 in Los Angeles last night. That's important because Denver is 1-11 ATS in home games off a road loss by 10 points or more over the last 2 years.
Bruce Marshall
Nashville -1.5 +135
Nashville is rolling toward the playoffs and has good momentum after Saturday's 5-1 win over visiting Columbus. The Preds can lock up a postseason berth with a win tonight. In one of his "zones" is Pred GK Pekka Rinne, who has won his last five starts with a 1.78 goals-against average, and he should be in net again for this one. He's 7-0-2 with a 1.87 GAA at home in Bridgestone Arena since Feb. 18.
Jimmy Moore
Toronto +2
Toronto has had a ton of success against the Thunder covering the last 5 games against them. They get to take on the Thunder here off of a big time win against the Spurs so they will be on an emotional high. Ok City is pretty bad on the road at 13-21 ATS, take the Raptors and the points here to get a cover on Monday night.
Rob Veno
Dallas at Denver
Play: Over 212
Yesterday’s blowout loss at Sacramento kept Dallas on the outside looking in at the top eight in the Western Conference playoff race. The Mavericks sense of urgency level continues to be as high as it can go but that has not produced any playoff push whatsoever as they’ve now gone 2-8 straight up in their last 10 games. A significant pair of personnel losses have played a large role in the recent faltering of Dallas as starting SF Chandler Parsons (team leading 49.2 FG%) was lost for the rest of the regular season eight days ago and starting PG Derron Williams (abdominal strain) figures to miss his third straight game tonight. Defense has also been a major problem for the past seven weeks but in particular the 124 points per game allowed over their last five games shows that Dallas has zero playoff intensity on that end. Granted, the last five opponents have all been top tier offensive teams but the Mavs didn’t hold any of them below 109. That could be troublesome tonight against the offensive minded Nuggets who average 104.7 per game at home. In yesterday’s game, Denver was held to 90 points on the road versus the Clippers which is only the eighth time they’ve been held below 100 in their last 37 games. Interestingly enough, each of those times the Nuggets scored less than 100 they bounced back with 101 or more in their next game and 110+ six times. The injury bug is hurting Denver right now as well with starting PF Kenneth Faried still nursing a bad back which has sidelined him for the last six games and questionable for this one. The Nuggets are continuing to play out the string with passion but they are just 2-5 against the spread over their last seven while Dallas despite all the defensive problems is 5-2 ats over their last seven. Decline in the total from 214 down to 212 purely dedicated to the injuries here but the play of these teams without PG Williams and PF Faried doesn’t substantiate that move. See value in playing “over” based on the fundamental matchups and these teams have played twice within the last month posting 116-114 and 122-116 finals.
OC Dooley
Edmonton +140
There has been NO offshore line inflation involving this contest even though Anaheim when playing AT Edmonton dating back to the 2007 campaign is on an incredible run (15-1-1) of prosperity. One of the reasons is that this is game #5 of a lengthy five-game swing on the road for the Ducks. More importantly Edmonton’s Patrick Maroon (3 goals/2 assists last pair of games) is facing his former team for the FIRST TIME since a late February trade