Jim Feist
Lakers vs Thunder
Play: Over 209
The Lakers can still score, but the defense is terrible, 28th in the NBA in points allowed. The offense is 18th in scoring, 9th in rebounds. Jeremy Lin was in the starting lineup for his first 20 games with the Los Angeles Lakers in a 101-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Lin made 10 of 16 shots, dished out five assists and helped the Lakers pick up the pace down the stretch with his aggressiveness and leadership at both ends of the court. LA is 5-1 over the total against a team with a winning record, 4-0 over after a victory. Oklahoma City is 8th in the NBA in scoring with Russell Westbrook unstoppable each night. After finishing with 36 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in Friday's 123-115 win over Atlanta, Westbrook had 12 points, 10 boards and a career high-tying 17 assists as Oklahoma City cruised past Miami 93-75 on Sunday. Westbrook's triple-double was his 10th this season. Oklahoma City is on a 16-5-1 run over the total, including 4-1-1 over at home. And when these teams meet the over is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings, including 5-0 over in Oklahoma City.
Cajun Sports
Philadelphia vs. Sacramento
Play: Under 208
The boys from the City of Brotherly Love travel to Texas after having just played in LA taking a beating at the hands of the home town Lakers on Sunday. Tonight they take on the Sacramento Kings which is the middle game of their three-game road swing. We want to Play UNDER on NBA favorites in this price range coming off two ats wins as underdogs, these game have gone Under at a rate of 32-52-2 Under. If they also won the two games straight up the Under has gone 17-32-1 Under. Play UNDER on NBA road teams coming off a SU loss on the road versus a team with a losing record. The Under has gone 24-46-2 Under in this situation. With all major indexes projecting an Under in tonights contest we will make that our 2* Complimentary Selection for Tuesday.
Rob Vinciletti
Lakers vs Thunder
Play: Over 209
The Thunder have played over in 11 of their last 13 games and 5 of the last 6 here at home. The Lakers will likely get drawn into an up tempo game here tonight. This game also applies to a powerful league wide system that has played over the posted total 17 of the 22 times it has applied since 1995. The premise of the system is based on rested home teams. Adding parameters as we go we will insist the home teams be favored by at least 5 points. They must have also covered the spread in their last game by at least 10 points as a home favorite and scored 90 or more points, while allowing 80 or less. Oklahoma City allowed 75 in their home favored win over Miami. For the second part of the system we insist that the road team, which is the Lakers must have won and covered as a home favorite and scored at least 100 points. If we stop their its the system checks in at 16-5 to the over. If this is a conference game the system gets down to 11-2. We anticipate a high scoring game here tonight resulting in the game to go over the posted total.
Stephen Nover
Toronto Raptors vs. Detroit Pistons
Play: Toronto Raptors -2
The Raptors are showing signs of regaining their early-season groove winning three of their last four.
Toronto is playing better defense holding three of its last six opponents under triple-digits. The Pistons rank third from the bottom in shooting percentage and are second to last in free throw percentage. Detroit relies heavily on 3-point shooting. The Raptors rank in the middle in defending 3-pointers.
I don't see the Raptors getting tripped up here by a bad Detroit team even if point guard Kyle Lowry has to miss a third straight game. Toronto has covered in its last five visits to Detroit. Streak shooting DeMar DeRozan has had a strong March averaging 24.4 points in his last 11 games.
The Pistons are likely to be missing Greg Monroe for a fifth straight game.
Marc Lawrence
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Sacramento Kings
Play: Philadelphia 76ers +8½
Edges - 76ers: 11-2 ATS in this series; and 6-1 ATS last seven games versus non-conference foes. Kings: 9-19-1 ATS versus non-conference foes this season, including 1-5 ATS off a win. With the Sixers 16-9 ATS in their last 25 games, and the Kings just 4-10 SUATS in their last 14 contests, we recommend a 1-unit play on Philadelphia.
Steve Rosen
Miami Heat vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Play: Milwaukee Bucks +1½
Bucks are the better team, they are home, have better ATS and SU record and getting points! The only reason Miami is the favorite here is because they have been playing much more sold basketball lately. Keep in mind that Bucks have been playing superior teams or been on the road. Miami has had their last 7 games at home. Also, Bucks have won and covered all 3 games this season against Miami! 2 on the road, and 1 huge spanking at home!Miami is 5-6 as a 1-2.5 favorite, the Bucks are a great 5-2 ATS in this position! Bucks come out strong and with the return of Mayo tonight should give them a solid boost!
Bryan Power
Montreal vs. Nashville
Pick: Over
We've got another 4.5 goal total this evening, this time w/ Montreal taking on Nashville in a battle of teams fighting for first place in their respective divisions.
Last night's Kings-Devils game (I had LA!) stayed Under the 4.5 (3-1 final), but I'm more confident we'll get the Over here even though both teams are coming off shutout victories, and in the Habs' case B2B shutouts.
I also had the Preds the last time they hit the ice as I chose to lay the -1.5 in their game versus lowly Buffalo. Needless to say, this game will present a far greater challenge. Scoring has been somewhat of an issue for Nashville of late, but in the two games previous to beating Buffalo, they'd allowed a total of seven goals. At home this season, the Preds are averaging 32.7 shots per game, and have been right at that number the L5 overall. With Montreal allowing a high number of shots this season, I expect the home team to get plenty of chances to put the back in the back of the net in this one.
The Canadiens have given up the fewest goals in the league thanks to the superb play of Carey Price between the pipes. But make no mistake about it, Price has carried this team. They've allowed an average of nearly 35 shots on goal the last five games and there have been a number of times this month when the opposition has scored four or five times against them.
Bruce Marshall
Minnesota Wild at New York Islanders
Pick: Minnesota Wild
The Wild continue to win and have put themselves in playoff position while going as NHL-best 21-5-1 since the All-Star break after Monday's 2-1 win at Toronto, Minnesota's ninth straight win on the road. Meanwhile, the host Isles have dropepd four straight at home in the Nassau Coliseum. Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk continued his incredible run on Monday, now in the net for 31 straight games and posting a 1.74 GAA over that span.
Mr Vegas
Golden State at Portland
Play: Portland
Have to think the Warriors are dead tired in this spot. Not only is Golden State playing its fourth games in five nights and the 2nd of a back-to-back spot here. Sure, the Warriors continue to win, but without Klay Thompson and a tired Warriors club, they will lose one of these games and I think it's tonight. The Blazers are they best they will play here in this stretch and with no rest this will be a tough one for the Warriors. I'm taking the Blazers with 2 days off against a fatigued Warriors club.
Seepyj
Detroit -1.5 -115
Coyotes are a disaster right now..They have lost 8 in a row and the end of the year is in sight..They look like they want little to do with winning right now..Losing three in a row at hoem and now taking to the road here in chilly Detroit should be a challenge...Detroit hasn't looked all that great, but i think with the recent struggles they have had they should bring the A+ game..Stat wise these two teams are rather far apart...Detroit has a nice 4 game set and getting win #2 in a row looks very good here...Detroit should put it all out on the ice tonight...Most may think UNDER in this game, but this is the game a team often explodes on offense..That's just what Detroit needs tonight..i think they get it all and some.
Miami +1
Miami needs to keep pace here in the East....They are in the playoffs as of right now..That can all change over the course of next week with some stiff tests on deck...The Heat also have "Triple Revenge" in this one..They lost all three games this year to the Bucks...Miami is by far playing the better basketball out of these two teams...Miami is 7-4 the L/11...Milwaukee is 2-11 the L/13...This is Miami's 2nd road game of a 4 game road set...The schedule is favorable for the Heat overall, but with the last of this road set Vs. Atlanta, they need to squeeze out a win here..They also have Spurs and the Cavs coming up very soon....Wade has played great over this recent winning stretch as well...His last game however was subpar with only 17 points....I expect Wade to take this team on his back here tonight...Whiteside and Anderson should bring all they have in the paint tonight as well...When was the last time Miami over the course of a season got pushed around by Milwaukee anyway?...It's been a good long time actually....Milwaukee is slowly sliding down the playoff seeding list though..They now sit 6th, just 3.5 games ahead of Charlotte who is on the outside looking in....The Bucks are now struggling to score points and that's never a good thing..Miami on the other hand has the offense playing very well...I think this one comes down to the veteran leadership on the floor..This Miami team is far to good to just let the Bucks beat them for a 4th straight game....Give me the better basketball team right now in "Triple Revenge"..D. Wade will have a good game tonight.
Ari Atari
San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks
Play: San Antonio Spurs -3
Losers of 2 straight and 5-5 in their last 10, the Dallas Mavericks are not peaking the way the Spurs are. San Antonio in is full on attack mode right now with a defense to rely on that sits 9th overall. Kawhi Leonard is leading this team the way he did deep into the playoffs last year. Look for San Antonio to make in 4 in a row and 9 out of 11 as they roll past the Mavericks for your free play of the day.
Andrew Lange
Vanderbilt at Stanford
Play: Under 150
There's no doubt that the shot clock adjustment for the secondary college basketball tournaments has had an impact on pace of play and scoring. How significant though depends largely on the matchup. I've seen games where it didn't really matter and others where it was probably worth an extra 15 points and 10 possessions. Both oddsmakers and the betting markets had priced totals anywhere from 6-15 points higher than they would be under normal circumstances. Tonight's Vanderbilt-Stanford game is currently priced at 150; about 12-14 points higher than a regular season matchup. From watching both teams, neither has been forced to adjust much to the rule change as they typically play at a moderate pace. And of the four games they've played, three went well below 150. The lone exception was the crazy 109-point second half between Vandy and South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits were two days removed from a wild shootout win at elevation over Colorado State and clearly had nothing left in the tank. I'll also point out the extra importance on tonight's contest with the winner earning a trip to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. In the end, it's going to take not only a strong offensive showing from both squads but some pace as well to top 150. I'll recommend looking the other way with a play on the under.
Bill Marzano
Spurs at Mavericks
Play: Spurs -3.5
I really like the SA Spurs in this game vs the Dallas Mavericks...the Spurs find themselves a game up on the Mav's now after winning their last three overall while the Mavs have dropped two straight...the Spurs come into this game off a dominating home win over the Atlanta Hawks and I really like the way they are playing...the Mav's have been really inconsistent and figure to have a tough time matching up in this game even if M.Ginobili misses this game.
Wunderdog
Philadelphia @ Sacramento
Pick: Under 207
The dream of the playoffs ended a long time ago for both these teams. Sacramento however, has delivered big in their last two games, where they won both games as a home dog. That often can inspire a team that otherwise doesn't have a whole lot to hang their hat on, and it usually transforms itself to renewed intensity on the defensive end. Teams with a losing record that win two straight as a home dog have come back to go 22-6 to the UNDER in their next game. The Sixers have not gotten out of the 80s in their last four road games that ended in regulation. In fact, the Sixers average just 87.2 points per game on the road this season, compared to 94.7 ppg at home, and are 43-27 to the UNDER on the season, and 11-23 to the UNDER vs. a losing team. This one stays UNDER.
LT Profits
Philadelphia vs Sacramento
Pick: Philadelphia +9
The Sacramento Kings come off a 109-86 win over an Eastern Conference playoff team, the Washington Wizards, Sunday but the Wizards are currently in a nasty funk and their 31-point loss to Golden State Monday takes some luster off that Sacramento victory. The Philadelphia 76ers are 17-53 overall, but they continue to fight and are actually over .500 ATS at 35-33-2. Philadelphia comes off a loss to the lowly Lakers Sunday for its 15th straight road loss, it has shown that it can win in Sacramento winning its last six visits here straight up, and the Kings have had trouble piecing together solid efforts going 1-6 ATS their last seven games when coming off of a win, no thanks to a defense that has sank to second to last in the NBA in points allowed at 105.1 per game. The 76ers are 11-2 ATS in the last 13 head-to-head meetings overall.