Free Picks: Service Plays for Monday, January 17, 2011

Tom Freese

Oklahoma City vs. LA Lakers
Play: OklahomaCity +4

The Lakers are 30-12 straight up this year. The Lakers are 1-7 ATS their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning record. The Lakers are 4-9-1 ATS their last 14 games overall. Los Angeles is 5-12 ATS their last 17 games off an ATS loss. The Lakers are 3-7 ATS their last 10 home games. Oklahoma City is 27-13 straight up this year. The Thunder are 25-12 ATS their last 37 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. The Thunder are 14-5 ATS their last 19 Monday games. The Thunder 4-0 ATS their last 4 games overall. Oklahoma City is 8-3 ATS when playing with 3 or more days of rest.

Rob Vinciletti

Loyola Md vs. St Peters
Play: St Peters -3

St. Peters is 11-1 ats in the second hlaf vs losing teams the past few seasons. They have won and covered in every lined game as a favorite this season. There defensive shooting percentages have improved in each of the last 3 games. They are off a solid 20 point win over Niagara in a game where they shot a season high 54% from the field. Tonight they take On a Loyola MD team that comes in off a come from behind home dog win vs Fairfield. Loyola however, is just 4-12 with home loss revenge, 7-27 vs winning teams and 3-12 ats vs team who allow 65 or less points per game. They have allowed opponents to shoot over 50% in their last 2 games. Look for St Peters to bounce them here.

Craig Trapp

Syracuse vs. Pittsburgh
Play: Syracuse +5

This one might end up deciding the BIG East regular season championship. SYR matches up with the physical nature of PIT very well. Not many teams can withstand the beating and punishment this PIT team dishes out but this SYR team will have no problem with it. Look for SYR zone and length on the perimeter to really bother PIT. SYR will have a chance to win this late and will definitely cover.

EZWINNERS

New York Knicks -6

New York dropped two of their last three games to close their road trip, and then the Knicks looked rather jet-lagged in their return to MSG on Friday. Against Sacramento in that game they turned in their worst shooting game of the season, but I like them to get back on track in this game against Phoenix. The New York Knicks routed the Phoenix Suns earlier this month by thriving from three point range, as Amare Stoudemire made his return to the desert as the Knicks hit 17 of 33 three pointers as they beat the Suns 121-96. The Suns have lost four straight away from home and the Knicks should get a boost with the return of Danilo Gallinari, who's missed the last six games with a sprained left knee. Lay the points.

Nick “The BookieKiller” Parsons

Flames @ Canadiens
PICK: Under 5

Montreal will look to avoid losing a fourth straight in this series with a concerted effort at home as it guns for the top spot in the Northeast Division.

The Habs are only two-points behind the Bruins and have won five of their last seven; they've won 12 of their last 17 in front of the home town crowd.

Calgary is coming off a hard-fought 2-1 shootout victory in Toronto on Saturday; note though that this is the final game of a four-game road swing vs. East opponents; Calgary was last in Montreal in a 1-0 victory back on November 10th, 2009.

Miikka Kiprusoff is scheduled to start here; "Kippy" returned to the "winners circle" in that Toronto victory, after struggling in his previous few starts; also keep in mind that he has a 1.67 GAA in his last three-starts vs. the Habs.

Carey Price and his "partner in crime", Alex Auld, have a combined 2.33 GAA.

Consider a second look at the "under" in this situation.

MTi Sports

New Jersey Nets at Golden State Warriors
Prediction: Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are 10-0 ATS (+8.3 ppg) at home with at least a day of rest after a win in which Monta Ellis scored at least 30 points, 7-0 ATS (+11.4 ppg) at home after a game at home in which they allowed at least 50% from the field and 7-0 ATS (+9.1 ppg) at home after a game at home in which they had an assist to turnover ratio of at least two. The Nets are e 0-12 ATS when the total line is at least twenty points higher than it was in their last game. Take Golden St.

SPORTS WAGERS

NEW ORLEANS –8½ over Toronto

The Raps had just two wins in seven games and had the Pistons and Wiz on deck. They lost both of those along with some key bodies and now they’ve lost seven of nine and team morale is very low. This is a badly coached team that plays zero defense and when they play a team with tremendous defense, as is the case here, they’re in serious trouble. Toronto lost Leandro Barbosa to injury and he joins at least four others on the rack. The Raps bench, its strong point, is getting thinner. The Hornets don’t dazzle and they seldom blow away the opposition. They play a methodical, sound brand of NBA basketball and if they play to their character they should have little resistance from this struggling visitor. The Hornets have won four in a row, they’re 15-5 at home and the Rapsa are going to have to shoot lights out to stay within this range because they can’t stop anyone. One final note is that the Raps are well aware that they have San Antonio, Orlando and Miami on deck. They also had to know that the past two games against Detroit and Washington were good opportunities to win a game, which they did not. They’re now very likely sure that they’re about to extend their losing streak to seven games and mentally, they have no shot of winning any of the next four games. Play: New Orleans –8½ (Risking 2.1 units to win ).

PHILADELPHIA –4½ over Charlotte

The Bobcats are really a poor shooting team that goes on prolonged shooting droughts every single game. They’ll also play its fifth game in a week after playing in The Big Easy on Saturday night and losing by seven. This is a matinee game, which makes the day off between games seem even shorter. The Cats had won six of eight before losing its last two to Boston and New Orleans but so what. They had one good win over that stretch against the Bulls with the other wins coming against the dregs of the league, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota and Washington. The 76ers are the best under .500 team in the NBA. They are really on the verge of being a tough out every night with a good chance to win. Philly is very well coached and they’re coming off a won over Milwaukee, which on paper was by a single point but they had a huge lead before letting up. Those are good lessons and they’ll play this game as the much more rested and prepared squad. Play: Philadelphia –4½ (Risking 2.14 units to win 2).

ATLANTA –10 over Sacramento

The Kings had two road wins all season long before pulling off an upset in New York on Friday. They celebrated that win like it was a playoff game and played in Detroit on Saturday and lost by just four. However, fatigue started to take its toll after the Kings put up 70 on the first half, had a big lead and put up less than 40 in the final two quarters. Sac will now play the final game of a tough six-game in nine nights road trip and they’ll play it against an Atlanta team coming off a home loss to the Rockets. This one really sets up beautifully for this wager. Sac has done a ton of traveling over the past nine days and is likely to be running strictly on fumes here. The Hawks usually crush weak teams and coming off a loss, motivation should not factor in. Play: Atlanta –10 (Risking 2.2 units to win 2).

MONTREAL -½ +1.07 over Calgary

The Flames will conclude a four game trip that has seen them win two and lose the other in OT. That’s five of a possible six points and they have to be feeling pretty goods about that. The problem, however, is that they played Ottawa and Toronto in the last two games and looked shaky in the third period against Ottawa (they led 3-0 going to the third and hung for a 3-2 win) and then they looked flat against the Leafs on Saturday in Toronto’s return home from a west coast swing. They will not face a flat Habs team. Montreal will play its third consecutive home game and you know for sure that Michael Cammalleri will be jacked up to play his former team for the first time since ’09. The home team in this series is 8-1 and Montreal catches the Flames on the final game of said trip. You can almost be sure that Alex Auld will get this start for the Habs and if so, it’ll be his first home start for the Canadiens and his teammates will want to have a strong game in support. Auld has a record of 3-2 with excellent statistics – 1.74 average and a save percentage of .941. We can also live with Carey Price in net. The Flames have picked up points in four straight games and they’ve also played very well in nine straight and that intensity is showing definite signs of falling way off. Play: Montreal -½ +1.07 (Risking 2 units).

JR O'Donnell

Niagara +3

Come on JR ?? HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND BACKING A 4-14 NCAAB CLUB? We are buying the Sharp MLK line movement from 4.5 down to 3 as there is actually "Value Here" gang in the visiting Niagara Purple Eagles.. They play well at Manhattan and the smooth 7-1 the last 8 at the Jaspers and these Purple Eagles are 4-1 ATS in the last 5 meetings in Manhattan. They have bought into coach Joe Mihalich 's system. yes they are banged up and running with a young ball club , but the 2-15 Manhattan Jaspers ball club is flat out dreadful. They were pounded by Canisius by 72-51... The Purple Eagles are the MLK UGLY WINNER... and Boys you can't get any more uglier than this baby!!! Niagara by 5

Nelly

Utah / Washington Over

The 'under' has hit in each of the last four meetings in this series but these teams are yet to meet this season. Washington has just eleven wins on the season but three of those wins have come in the last five games. Washington has scored at least 97 points in five of the last six games and this is one of the worst defensive teams in the league, allowing almost 103 points per game. The 'under' has dominated in Washington home games with a 14-5 record but those numbers keep this line well in check despite an offensive oriented Utah team in town. The Jazz are back on track with three consecutive wins, topping 102 points in all three games and in five of the last six Utah wins the Jazz have hit triple-figures. Mehmet Okur is back in the lineup for the Jazz and he provides a big boost on offense for Utah while also opening up opportunities for the other scorers on the team. In the last five games Utah has allowed almost 109 points per game and with the Wizards finding some rhythm on offense in the last two weeks this should be a higher scoring game to open the holiday Monday.

Terron Chapman

Phoenix Suns vs. New York Knicks
Play: Phoenix Suns +6

After rallying for consecutive home wins, the Phoenix Suns loaded a plane heading east Saturday with a newfound confidence as they embark on a five-game east coast road swing. The Suns have reasons to be optimistic as four of the five teams they’ll face have a losing record. First on the slate, will be the New York Knicks who embarrassed the Suns on their home floor, 121-96 back on Jan. 7.

While the Suns will be out for revenge Monday afternoon, New York will just be looking to get back on track. The Knicks have lost three of their last four, including a 93-83 loss to the lowly Kings as an 8.5 point home favorite their last time out. The Knicks hope the return of Danilo Gallinari, who has been sidelined with a knee injury, will provide a boost to the suddenly struggling Knicks offense.

The return of Gallinari couldn’t come at a better time as teams are starting to sag down on Amare Stoudemire and leave little room for the pick and roll game with Raymond Felton. Felton is shooting just 33.8% from the field over his last five games. And Stoudemire has found fewer paths to the lane. He made just six of his 22 field-goal attempts on Friday.

In the first meeting, the Knicks shot lights out from the floor, connecting on 50% of their field goal attempts, including 51% (17-for-33) from behind the arc. Don’t expect such an offensive performance this go around. The Knicks looked lethargic Friday night against the Kings. It was their first game at home after returning from a west coast road trip and that coupled with the swirling Carmelo Anthony trade rumors may have affected the Knickerbockers. It’s tough to say, but what we can say with confidence, that this is a team struggling right now.

The Suns have had their issues on the road (6-12) to say the least, although the Knicks haven’t exactly been a tough out at home (10-8). The return of Gallinari should help the Knicks, but will it be enough to thwart off a Suns team that will be on a mission to avenge a bad loss, we don’t think so and recommend taking the points as the way to go. Play on the Phoenix Suns (+) the points for 1 unit.

Tony George

Kansas State vs. Missouri
Play: Kansas State +5.5

While KSU is STILL overrated so is Mizzou. A classic battle of 2 teams that are in the Top 4 in the Big 12, this is too many points for Mizzou. Mizzou off a loss again on the road at Texas AM and KSU off off a huge home win, much needed one on Saturday as the Wildcats beat Texas Tech by 34 points. K State plays far better defense than Mizzou and the free throw stripe is also an advantage for K State as Mizzou struggles from the line, and in a big and tight game like this, that comes into play. A barn burner tonight, I will grab the points and K State.

Rocketman

New Jersey Nets vs. Golden State Warriors
Play: Golden State Warriors -7

New Jersey is 3-10 ATS this year against teams with a losing record. Golden State is 19-5 ATS last 3 years against Atlantic Division opponents. Golden State is 25-12 ATS last 3 years after playing a division game. New Jersey is only 3-20 SU on the road this year. Golden State is 4-0 SU and ATS overall vs New Jersey the past 3 years. Warriors are 7-1 ATS in their last 8 games vs. a team with a winning % below .400. We'll recommend a small play on Golden State today!