John Martin
Indiana Pacers -5
The Indiana Pacers are one of the best home teams in the league. They are 18-3 at the Fieldhouse this season, outscoring opponents by 8.5 points/game. The Pacers come in well-rested after beating the Miami Heat 102-89 on Friday last time out. They will not suffer a letdown here considering they trail the Chicago Bulls by one game in the Eastern Conference standings. Chicago is going to be without Kirk Hinrich tonight, and it could also be without Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, who are both listed as questionable. The Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a SU win of more than 10 points.
Rob Vinciletti
Oklahoma +6½
Oklahoma has a better RPI number here at 21 and has played the 18th toughest schedule in the country. They are 5-1 after allowing 60 or less and 4-0 after scoring 60 or less. They have covered both times this season as a road dog from +3.5 to +6 and take on Iowa St team that cashed for us as a big 6* on Saturday. Tonight, however the Cyclones should be in a close game the whole way. They have failed to cover 5 of the last 5 with one or less day of rest. This will be a tougher game than the Baylor game on Saturday a game that was tight up until the final moments. Look for Oklahoma to at the very least cover the 5-6 point spread.
Don Best Consensus
Texas at West Virginia
Pick: Over
Over is 4-0 in Longhorns last 4 road games. Over is 8-2 in Mountaineers last 10 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of less than .400.
Andre Gomes
Clippers / Wizards Over 187.5
After a hot stretch that coincided with John Wall's return to the lineup, Washington is back into their bad habits on offense. They never stopped being a solid team on defense and they the most underrated defensive team in the league. With John Wall on the floor, Washington is playing at a faster pace and they are obviously also scoring more fast break points than ever by scoring more than 10 fast break points in 11 of their last 12 games! Their problem is that the team has developed the habit of dumping the ball down low on Nene Hilario and Emeka Okafor, with all their perimeter players refusing to make cuts, screens or anything really. So, a team that was actually having some decent 3pts numbers has suddenly shot 24-85 (28.2%) 3pts! I won't even talk about their performance in the second quarter of their last three games, where they got outscored 11-23 against Philadelphia (lost the game by 8 points), 10-16 against Memphis (lost the game by 9 points) and 9-24 against San Antonio (lost the game by 10). Over their last three games, Washington shot terribly, but they also had the problem of facing three teams that are currently in the top 10 in the league in transition defense, so they saw their best offensive weapon getting stopped in those games.
Regarding the Clippers, on the writeup yesterday on my Celtics play, I wrote the following about the Clippers's struggles, especially on the offensive end:
"(...) without Chris Paul, their offense has been a disaster. The Clippers have just dished 15, 20, 25, 33, 16 and 12 assists on their last six games and those 33 assists was against Portland on a home-home back to back series, where the Clippers used their superior depth to pound the Blazers. (...) Eric Bledsoe lacks the skills to run an offense on his own and even though the team is averaging 0.82 PPP on pick and roll ball handler plays for the season, on their last six games, they had just 0.60, 1.30, 0.60, 0.40, 0.77 and 0.83 PPP!"
So, for yesterday's game, unlike their previous game, the Clippers changed a bit their offensive strategy and they run more! In their previous games, the Clippers were involved in games with a pace factor of 85.3, 86.3, 88.7 and 86.9, while yesterday's game had a pace of 91.7! With this faster pace, the Clippers were able to score 16 fast break points, their highest mark of their last 5 games! However, they tried riskier passes throughout the game and Boston took advantage of the Clippers's 21 turnovers to score 33 points off them! Another problem for the Clippers has been their second unit. All season long the Clippers's second unit has been crushing their opponents with their uptempo style. But in yesterday's game, the second unit of Grant Hill, Jamal Crawford, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf started the second quarter with two points and six turnovers in 5:30 minutes of basketball! Please comeback fast Chris Paul!
Now the Clippers will be playing at Washington tonight and this will be their 4th game in 6 days. Yesterday they were very aggressive, they ran up and down during the second half and almost recovered from the huge early hole they got into to win the game. Boston had no legs at the end of the game and for tonight, I expect the Clippers to follow the same style from yesterday against a Wizards team that has been playing on a similar style and considering their rest edge, they will try to take advantage of that and run the Clippers out of the court.
Having in account the fact that Washington's offense depends a lot from their transition plays, we need to take a look at what the Clippers's transition defense has been doing lately. They are #10 in the league with 1.13 PPP allowed for the season, but they had a huge drop over their last 10 games with 1.29 PPP! So, the Wizards's offense should have a nice edge tonight. The Clippers's offense should also come very aggressive for tonight and John Wall has been struggling in defending opposing guards who can penetrate well with their dribbling. This was how Jrue Holiday and Tony Parker had big games against Washington and this is exactly Eric Bledsoe's main strength on offense, so Wall won't be able to stop him tonight.
On the game played in LA between these two teams earlier on the season, Washington was playing their third game in four days and they were coming from a win at Denver the night before, so it wasn't a good spot for them. The Clippers had still Chris Paul available and he controlled the pace of the game, even though the game still had a relatively fast 91.93 pace! However, both teams were terrible on the free throws (Washington 15-27; LA Clippers 21-31 FT) and this is the main reason why the game had just 181 points. This time, I expect the game to be wilder and to also have better efficiency from the free throw line. Therefore I expect this contest to be a high scoring game, so I'll be taking the Over in here.
Rocketman
Portland +3
The Portland Trailblazers travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Monday night. Portland is 24-23 SU overall this year and Minnesota is 18-26 SU overall on the season. Minnesota is 8-29 SU vs division opponents the past 3 years. Minnesota is 13-39 SU last 3 years after scoring 105 points or more. Portland has won 7 of the last 9 meetings overall in this series. Portland is 5-1-1 ATS last 7 games against the NBA Northwest. Minnesota is 3-7 ATS last 10 home games. Minnesota is 2-8 ATS last 10 games against the Western Conference. Minnesota is 0-4-1 ATS last 5 games after an ATS win. Portland is 21-6 ATS last 27 meetings overall in this series and 16-5 ATS last 21 meetings in Minnesota. We'll recommend a small play on Portland tonight!
Joe Gavazzi
NY Knicks -10.5
Detroit has a new signal caller in PG Calderon, acquired in the 3 way trade between Toronto and Memphis. But at this writing, Calderon remains doubtful for this contest leaving Detroit a bit short-handed in the backcourt. That would be unfortunate for them as they are playing unrested following their tough loss at home vs. the Lakers yesterday. In addition, Detroit now stands 1-4 ATS as double digit road dog. With the knowledge of the above, we call this one by the book. NY has owned Detroit the last two years. The series record is now 5-0 SU, ATS with every win by 15 points by an average of 21 PPG. This year the victories were 102-87 at Detroit at 121-100 on this court. With PG Felton returned to full health and the Knicks on a positive run of 4-0 SU, 3-0 ATS on this court in their L4 games, we ride the home team momentum and series history.
Jeff Scott Sports
3 UNIT PLAYS
Notre Dame/ Syracuse Under 133: Notre Dame's burn offense. When ever the Irish try for a big upset they seem to go to the burn offense a bit more and I really look for them to take the air out of the ball in this. They ran with Depaul and they won the game, but the Blue Demons don't really play defense anyway. Notre Dame does not want to get into a running game with this team or they could get blown out. If the Irish make it a half court game they have a much better shot at pulling the upset. The Irish have had some recent defensive lapse, but they still have allowed just 62.3 ppg on 40.9% shooting on the year. The Orange haven't had many defensive lapses this year as they have allowed 59.3 ppg on 36.4% shooting overall, while at home they have given up just 54.9 pg on 34.7. Their Big East games have averaged 124.1 ppg (Regulation) and they have allowed just 59.1 ppg (Regulation) in those 8 game, while Notre Dame's last 9 Big East games (Regulation) have averaged 128.3 ppg. Big East games have been lower scoring than in years past and this will be no exception as the game will be played in the 50's r at most the low 60's.
San Diego/ Loyola Marymount Under 128.5: Neither team is an uptempo team and both are struggling mightily on offense right now and that should really keep the scoring down. San Diego was able to slow the pace in the Gonzaga game and they nearly got the upset and I feel they will stick with their normal game plan here as well. The Toreros come in averaging just 54.5 ppg in their last 4 games and they have averaged just 57.3 ppg on the road this year. The Lions come in averaging just 57.3 ppg on a mere 33.7% shooting in their last 5 games and they have scored just 100 total points during the first two games of their current home stand. both teams have allowed 70+ points each in their last 5 games, but the offenses are just so bad right now and in a slow paced game i don't feel that the offenses will take advantage. I look for this one to be played in the 50's.
Jeff Scott Sports
3 UNIT PLAYS
La Clippers -3 over WASHINGTON: The Clippers are off BB losses and just have Orlando on deck, plus they only beat Washington at home by 7 points back in January, so I see them being fully focused for a big win in this one. The Clippers have really owned this series of late, winning the last 8 in this series, with 7 of the 8 wins coming by more than 3 points. They have also won in their last 3 trips here by an average of 20.3 ppg, with all 3 wins coming by at least 14 points. Washington has struggled all year and they are 8-15 at home. They come having all sorts of problems on offense, averaging just 85.2 ppg in their last 5 games and will be facing a Clippers squad that plays good defense and cannot be happy about allowing an offensively challenged Boston team to run all over them on Sunday. The Clippers have won just 2 of their last 8 games, but they should get back on track with a solid win tonight.
Miami/ Charlotte Under 198: This is they type of game that the Heat usually just goes through the motions in on the offensive side and that should really keep their scoring down, even vs a bad defensive team like the Bobcats. The Heat may also look to take the night off offensively knowing that they have Houston and the Clippers on deck and are off a 4 game road trip. You really don't have to core a ton vs the Bobcats as they have averaged just 92.2 ppg on the road this year, including just 86 ppg on the first 3 games of their current road trip. Defensively Miami doesn't take a whole lot of nights off and they come in allowing just 89.5 ppg in their last 5 games during regulation. Miami won't expend much energy on offense in this one and with their defense that could keep this game in the 180's.
SPORTS WAGERS
WASHINGTON +131 over L.A. Clippers
The Clippers have now lost six of their past eight games and two straight on the road. Without Chris Paul, they are clearly not the same team. L.A. has also looked rather lethargic when playing against clubs that are not easy to get excited about playing. In a game in Toronto last week, the Clippers were buried by 25. They also lost at Phoenix and when they hosted the Wizards earlier this month at the Staples Center tey barely escaped with a seven-point win.
The Wizards have dropped four straight but the past three have all come on the road in Philly, Memphis and San Antonio. Prior to that difficult stretch, Washington had won seven of 10 including road wins in Denver and Portland and a home win over the Thunder. They're an over .500 team with John Wall back in the line-up after going 5-28 without him. In a good spot, going against a Clippers team whose offensive deficiences have been exposed without Paul, the Wizards get back to playing to their strength, that being defense and rebounding and chances are it pays off.
Portland +139 over MINNESOTA
The Timberwolves got a huge monkey off their backs with a resounding 26-point win on Saturday over the Hornets. It snapped a six-game losing streak and a funk that saw them lose 11 of their last 12 games. A sense of relief it was but one-game does not make them trustworthy of a repeat.
The Trail Blazers are a game out of a playoff spot and one could argue that this is their most important stretch of the season so far. Portland begins a six-game trip beginning here and the first game of an extended trip often brings out the best in a team that is looking to set a positive tone. The Trail Blazers have won eight of the past 10 games against Minnesota and they also bring some momentum with four wins in their past six games. This is a resilient Blzers group that has compiled 10 wins this season when trailing at halftime, which is tied for the mosty in the NBA. That shows character and determination and in this important road trip against a still fragile host, efforts like that are often rewarded.
Pass CBB
Charlie Sports
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Syracuse Orange
Play: Syracuse Orange
The (18-4) Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Big East Conference will take on the (18-3) Syracuse Orange also on the Big East in 2013 NCAA Basketball action. The under is 6-2 in Notre Dames last 8 overall and the under is 0-3 the last 3 times the teams have met. The Irish are 3-1 their last 4 NCAA Basketball gaems on the road. Syracuse is only 3-5 Against The Spread their last 8 overall. Syracuse gets the home cover.
NHLPredictions
Anaheim Ducks -102
The Sharks are 7-0-1 to start this year, and were undefeated through 7 games. San Jose lost their last game Saturday night against the Predators in shootout by a score of 2-1. Although the Sharks have had a lot of early success, they've enjoyed 6 straight games at home and their two road games were in Edmonton and Calgary. Anaheim is also off to a hot start going 5-1-1 over their first 7 games which includes 3-1 at home. They are winners of two straight games, both at home, at have out scored opponents 10-5 in those two games (vs Los Angeles and Minnesota). These two teams have already met this season in San Jose, with the Ducks out playing the Sharks for most of the game but losing 3-2 in a shootout. Anaheim took 5 of their 6 meetings last year and are 6-2 in their last 8 vs San Jose and 5-2 in their last 7 meetings in Anaheim. The Ducks are 5-1 in their last 6 after scoring 5+ goals in their previous game. Coming off a big win vs the Kings on the weekend and facing a team they've had a lot of success over recently I like the Ducks to get a big home victory tonight.