Free Picks: Service Plays for Tuesday, December 7,2010

Tom Freese

Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers
Prediction: Phoenix Suns

Portland is 9-11 straight up this year. The Trailblazers are 4-10-1 ATS their 15 games off a straight up win and they are 2-6-1 ATS their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning record. Portland is 0-5 ATS their last 5 games as favorites of 0.5 to 4.5 points. Phoenix is 11-9 straight up this year. The Suns are 32-15-2 ATS their last 49 games after allowing 100 or more points in their last game. Phoenix 18-8-1 ATS their last 27 road games vs. a team with winning home record. The Suns are 33-16-2 ATS when playing with one day of rest.

JIM FEIST

NEW JERSEY NETS VS ATLANTA HAWKS
Take: NEW JERSEY NETS

The young New Jersey Nets are rested having not played a back to back spot yet this month. They take on an Atlanta team playing its 4th game in 5 nights, including a back to back spot at Orlando last night. Atlanta has been overvalued, not covering many games all season. They are a remarkable 1-10 against the spread at home! This is a tough situational handicapping spot for the home team, as well.

DAVID CHAN

Detroit @ Houston
PICK: Detroit +7

Quietly the Detroit Pistons have proven to be one of the more profitable road clubs in the NBA cashing in 12 of their last 16 away matchups.

I see the Pistons covering again at Houston tonight. The Pistons snapped a four-game losing streak, beating Cleveland, 102-92, at home on Sunday.

The Cavaliers are going through a down cycle still in a funk after being embarrassed last Thursday at home by Miami and LeBron James. But the Pistons unleashed a new lineup featuring a three-guard lineup and a faster tempo to take advantage.

These changes helped Detroit score 51 points during the final 24 minutes. Houston is playing better, but the Rockets' defense remains porous. Houston is yielding 106.9 points per game, which ranks 27th.

The Rockets have been a terrible bet at home going 11-23 against the spread at Toyota Center. They are 7-19 against the number when laying points at home.

Teams that effectively execute the pick-and-roll hurt the Pistons. The Rockets are limited in this capacity still missing Yao Ming and point guard Aaron Brooks.

Rob Vinciletti

Michigan State vs. Syracuse
Play: Syracuse +2

The Orangemen are 24-1 , including 5-0 this year after allowing 60 or less points. In non conference games they have won 37 of 40 times. Even when they are dogs of 3 or less in Neutral court games they are money makers, winning outright 75% of the time. Tonight they will look to improve on their poor 38% shooting in their last game against NC.St. Tonight they take on the mighty Michigan St Spartans. MSU has already lost twice this season including a hard fought game vs Top ranked Duke. Sparty has lost 3 of the last 4 vs Syracuse going back through the years. They are nothing more than a .500 team in neutral court games when favored by 3 or less. They may bounce after allowing just 27% shooting in their last game vs Bowling Green. Look for Syracuse to get the cash.

EZWINNERS

Los Angeles Lakers -12.5

The Lakers broke their four game losing streak with an impressive 33 points win over the Kings on Friday and I expect another big win from LA in this game tonight against the Wizards. Washington is terrible on the road and lately, the Wizards have failed to even be competitive on the road. Washington's past four road defeats at Toronto, Miami, Atlanta and Phoenix have all been decided by double digits. Seven of their road losses this season have been by ten or more points, including four by at least twenty points. The Wizards are only 6-13 against the spread in the last nineteen meetings with the Lakers and I expect Los Angeles domination to continue. Lay the points.

Robbie Gainous

Purdue vs. Valparaiso
Play: Purdue -7½

Purdue comes into tonight’s non-conference affair with a 7-1 straight up mark and a 4-1 record against the spread. Their opponent also has a winning mark straight up as Valparaiso is 6-2 straight up but only 3-3 against the number this season. Purdue averages 75.6 points per game while allowing just 55.9 points per game versus teams that would normally score 67.1 points per game. We note that home teams that are coming off two road wins in their last two games are just 73-103-9 ATS in this price range. Teams installed as a non-conference favorite after winning as a favorite in their last two games and both games going under are 107-72-4 ATS. If our play on team won both of those games against the spread as well, their record is 44-24-2 ATS. We will back the visitor here as the Boilermakers improve to 8-1 SU and 5-1 ATS. Purdue Boilermakers by 14

Dave Price

1 Unit on Warriors/Mavericks UNDER 205

The Mavs have been playing some serious defense, only allowing 92.2 ppg this season. As a result, the Under is 18-8-1 in the Mavericks' last 27 overall. The Under is an even stronger 16-4-1 in their last 21 home games and 12-1 in their last 13 games as a home favorite of 5.0-10.5 points. Lastly, the Under is 14-4-1 in the Warriors' last 19 road games. Bet the Under.

SPORTS WAGERS

Anaheim +1.11 over EDMONTON

The Oilers are on a great run with four wins in a row and that includes three road wins in Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. They returned home on Saturday and beat the Blue Notes 2-1 in OT and this is Edmonton’s second game back after that exhilarating road trip. That’s a tough spot and while the Oilers are young, exciting and dangerous, they’re still hugely prone to playing a bad game in a difficult situation. The Oilers are still one of the worst defensive teams in the league and its goaltending is shaky at best despite the recent good play. The Ducks get Jeffrey Lupol back after a year absence. That’s a mental lift for sure and it’s also beneficial for the Ducks to hit the rod after being home for seven of its last eight games including its last four. The Ducks are coming off back-to-back losses to Detroit and Phoenix but they were definitely the better team against Detroit but ran into a super-hot Jimmy Howard. It’s also worth noting that the Ducks have had tremendous success over the years in this building and there’s no denying that this is a very winnable game against an Oiler squad in a vulnerable spot. Play: Anaheim +1.11 (Risking 2 units).

Colorado –1.03 over FLORIDA

The Av’s are in a funk with three straight defeats and five losses in its last six games but that’s not going to last much longer. Colorado works too hard and wants to win too badly to sustain any serious prolonged losing streak. The Av’s roll out four strong lines that all work relentlessly for 60 minutes. They’ll also welcome its latest addition to the line-up, Tomas Fleishmann and he’ll be on a line with Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk. Aside from a terrific work ethic, the Av’s are perhaps the quickest team in the NHL and when you play them you better be ready because they’ll beat you hands down if you’re not. The Panthers return home from a four-game trip that took them threw the West Coast for the final three games of said trip. They split on the trip, which has to be considered a success but now they’ll return home to a empty arena against an extremely hungry guest. All year, we’ve billed the Panthers as an undervalued squad and stick to that but this is a game in which we can catch them at less than 100%. Throw in the fact that the Av’s will absolutely put forth a spirited effort here and its chances of winning this one appear much greater than the Panthers chances. Play: Colorado –1.03 (Risking 2.06 units to win 2).

Vick Chandler

Denver Nuggets vs. Charlotte Bobcats
Play: Denver Nuggets -1.5

Denver coach George Karl is seeking his 1,000th career victory, becoming just the seventh coach to do so. He is hoping to get it in NC where he started his career. Denver is riding a seven-game winning streak after downing Memphis 108-107 on Sunday. The Nuggets got big games from Nene (27 points and 11 rebounds) and Arron Afflalo (25 points) while All-Star Carmelo Anthony had an off-shooting night with 13 points on 20 percent shooting. But playing at Charlotte should wake him up as he’s averaged 32.2 points per game in six outings in Charlotte. These 2 teams are headed in different directions and I like the Broncos on Tuesday night.

Bobby Maxwell

Denver opens a four-game road trip tonight in Charlotte, looking to get coach George Karl his 1,000th career victory, becoming just the seventh coach to do so. The Nuggets are just 3-5 on the road this season, but should be able to get three of four on this trip, including tonight.

Denver is riding a seven-game winning streak after downing Memphis 108-107 on Sunday. The Nuggets got big games from Nene (27 points and 11 rebounds) and Arron Afflalo (25 points) while All-Star Carmelo Anthony had an off-shooting night with 13 points on 20 percent shooting. But playing at Charlotte should wake him up as he’s averaged 32.2 points per game in six outings in Charlotte.

Charlotte has dropped five of its last seven games, including a 109-91 loss in Philly on Saturday, falling as 3 ½-point ‘dogs.

The Nuggets have won four of the last five (SU and ATS) head-to-head meetings with the Hornets and cashed in seven of the last 10. I like them to dominate tonight, score a lot of points and get Karl his milestone win. Lay the few points and play Denver.

4♦ DENVER

Scott Delaney

Staying in the state of Utah for my complimentary choice tonight, this time playing the Utes laying the points against Pepperdine.

This doesn't get any further than this, really.

Pepperdine is 3-6, and of those six losses, there were setbacks to Cal State-Bakersfield, Northern Arizona and Texas-San Antonio. I honestly don't know how the Waves beat Nevada and Pacific.

But the Utes certainly are a dozen better than Pepperdine, at least; and after two straight setbacks to Utah State and Oral Roberts, Utah as woken up to knock off Fresno State and an always-tough Bradley squad.

Fact is, Utah can't afford to look past the Waves, and on to Friday night's clash with Michigan, as it needs to stay focused on keeping its momentum alive because of its matchup with the Wolverines.

There's very good size and depth with the Utes, who can play a consistent and physical style that coach Jim Boylen demands of his troops.

I'm going to bank on him having his crew ready for a blowout win in this game tonight.

3♦ UTAH

Chris Jordan

Give my man Stew Morrill plenty of time to prepare for a game like this, and sure, I'll lay the chalk with his style of coaching and the way he gets the utmost potential out of his players.

But here's the thing with this Utah State team that is favored to win the Western Athletic Conference title...

Prior to a wicked road trip that spanned five days and covered roughly 4,300 miles, it barely beat Northeastern, 56-54, in Logan, Utah. Then the Aggies took a quick jaunt to Denver and started the month with a win, 61-53. Then they traveled to Washington D.C. to take on a rugged Georgetown team this past Saturday, and lost a tough game, 61-58.

Now, they likely came back Sunday, if not, then late Saturday night.

Either way I'm guessing they took Sunday off, and had as good a practice they could possibly have yesterday. If it was light, what could they have covered? If it was balls to the wall, I'm guessing those legs are still tired.

Bottom line is, this is the right time to take Long Beach as a 12-point pup, even if it is at Utah State.

The 49ers have won two in a row and are sitting at 5-4. They're a team that will challenge Santa Barbara for the Big West title with a slew of top players back from last season. They come in after a win over BYU-Hawaii and at Boise State.

Now I know they're headed for Chapel Hill on Saturday, to fave North Carolina, but there's no looking past a regional power like Utah State, and I know I can trust coach Dan Monson to keep his troops focused for this one.

Take the points tonight, as the Niners catch a weary Utah State team and keep things close.

3♦ LONG BEACH STATE

Brett Atkins

Syracuse is in the friendly confines of Madison Square Garden tonight, playing close to home and in an arena they are in every year for the Big East tourney.

Michigan State is still on a crazy schedule that has put them in Maui late last month, at Duke six days ago, back home for a home blowout win on Saturday and now in New York. Syracuse has opened with eight straight wins and guard Scoop Jardine put in 23 points in a 65-59 win over NC State on Saturday. Look for him to have his way with the Michigan State guards in this one.

Syracuse is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 Tuesday games, while the Spartans are on ATS skids of 1-5 after a straight-up win and 16-33-2 on Tuesdays. Tired legs is what Michigan State brings into this one. Grab the points and play Syracuse.

3♦ SYRACUSE

Karl Garrett

Denver at CHARLOTTE (+2)

In the NBA tonight, going to look for the struggling Bobcats to cool off the streaking Nuggets.

Denver sports a nice 7 game winning streak as they hit the road for a few. 6 of those 7 Denver wins came at the Pepsi Center, and on the road Karl's crew is just 3-5 straight up, and 3-4-1 against the spread thus far.

Denver also has a look-ahead brewing tonight, as they will play at Boston tomorrow night, so you can see why they would look past a Charlotte team that has dropped 5 of their last 7 games straight up.

The home team swept both meetings last year, and also covered in both. In fact, the host in this series is on a 5-1 run both straight up and against the spread.

The price on this game looks too good to be true, so mark the G-Man down for a play on the Bobcats to cool down the Nuggets.

3♦ CHARLOTTE