Free Picks: Service Plays for Tuesday, November 30,2010

JIM FEIST

NEW JERSEY NETS VS NEW YORK KNICKS.
PLAY: NEW YORK KNICKS

The battle for the pride of New York! The Nets are playing their 9th road game over their last 13 games! That included a trip out West, too. The offense has been terrible, second worst in the NBA with 92.9 ppg. The Knicks are fourth in the NBA with 106.8 ppg, led by Raymond Felton and Amare Stoudemire. They come off a 125-116 double-overtime victory at Detroit as Felton had 23 points and 11 assists. The Knicks are on an impressive 6-1 SU/ATS run and don't want to let down against the local rival Nets. Play the NY Knicks.

DAVID CHAN

Portland @ Philadelphia
PICK: Philadelphia +3

Portland is really struggling right now having lost three in a row. The 76ers are on an uptick having won their last two home games.

The 76ers are healthy with Andre Iguodala averaging 19 points and nearly nine rebounds per game in his last four games after missing five games due to a strained Achilles' tendon. The 76ers are getting a nice comeback season from Elton Brand and young point guard Jrue Holliday is playing well.

The Trail Blazers are hurting up front. Greg Oden is once again out for the season. Center Joel Pryzbilla is battling the flu and Sean Marks has an ankle injury.

Portland is just a .500 team right now. The Trail Blazers are in a major shooting slump. They are making less than 40 percent from the floor during their past four games. A big problem is lack of an inside game.

The 76ers are 7-3-1 ATS the last 11 times they've been underdogs.

James Patrick Sports

Pacers vs. Kings

Sacramento has developed an "under" trend the past few weeks (Sacto "under" last 3, and 7 of last 8 thru Nov. 24) after five straight "overs" to begin campaign. Meanwhile, Indiana also trending "under" consistently (7 straight, and 10 of 11 thru Nov. 25) as Pacers paying attention to HC Jim O'Brien's new emphasis on defense. Big Game Jammes Patrick's NBA complimentary selection in Tuesday action is Indiana - Sacramento Under the Total.

Tom Freese

San Antonio Spurs at Golden State Warriors
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs

Golden St is 8-9 straight up this year. The Warriors are 4-10 ATS their last 14 games off a straight up win. Golden St is 2-5-1 ATS their last 8 games when their opponent scored 100 or more points in their last game. The Warriors are 2-6-1 ATS their last 9 games overall and they are 0-4 ATS their 4 games with the Spurs. San Antonio is 14-2 straight up this year. The Spurs are 5-0 ATS off a double digit win and they are 7-2 ATS their last 9 games overall. San Antonio is 5-1-1 ATS their last 7 road games and they are 5-2 ATS after scoring 100 or more points in their last game.

Steve Merril

Middle Tenn St vs. Tennessee
Play: Middle Tenn St +17

This looks like a tough spot for Tennessee. The Vols return home off an unexpected preseason NIT championship in New York. Tennessee upended favorite Villanova in the championship game; the Vols were a 6-point underdog in that game and now they are laying a significant price to an in-state rival. Off their tournament win, head coach Bruce Pearl is concerned about tonight’s game with Middle Tennessee St. "It's one thing to say it. It's one thing to practice it. It's another thing to do it," Pearl said. "It's definitely a trap game for us because of the excitement of playing in Madison Square Garden, the intensity, the media attention. It's just human nature. Middle's getting us at a really good time, and they know it." Middle Tennessee is a decent Sun Belt team. The Blue Raiders can score points as they are averaging 76 points per game on 43.2% shooting from the floor. MTSU also has a solid backcourt with seniors James Washington and Rod Emanuel that won’t be intimidated by playing in a tough venue. Tennessee is obviously

Rocketman

San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors
Play: San Antonio Spurs -4.5

San Antonio is 14-2 overall this year while Golden State comes in with an 8-9 overall record on the season. San Antonio is 14-3 SU and 12-4 ATS since 1996 when the total is 210 or higher. San Antonio is 7-0 SU and 5-1 ATS on the road this year. San Antonio is 5-1 ATS this year after a win by 10 points or more. San Antonio is scoring 107.2 points per game overall this year and 105.3 points per game on the road this season. Golden State has lost 5 of their last 6 games overall. San Antonio is 7-0 SU and 5-1 ATS overall vs Golden State the past 3 years. San Antonio has won 41 of 52 meetings with Golden State since 1996. We'll recommend a small play on San Antonio tonight!

Matt Fargo

Indiana St vs. Notre Dame
Play: Indiana St +16½

This is a great spot for Indiana St., or it can be deemed as a really bad spot for Notre Dame. The Irish are 7-0 to start the season and they are coming off a tournament championship at the Old Spice Classic where they defeated Georgia, California and Wisconsin to bring home the title. This is the best start since 2001-02 for Notre Dame and coming off that tournament win spells big time letdown. The Irish have a week off after this before facing Kentucky so there will not be a big sense of urgency tonight. Indiana St. is 3-3 to start the season and it is riding a two-game winning streak heading into South Bend/ The Sycamores won at Oral Roberts, the preseason favorite to win the Summit League, and then followed that up with a home win over Buffalo on Saturday. Indiana St. had its first winning season since 2001 last year so there is a lot of confidence on this team that say near the bottom of its conference for years. I expect this to be a low possession game which makes the points more of a premium. There are times when Notre Dame’s lack of quickness and athleticism are an issue which has the Irish in a fairly even matchup here. Indiana St. beats teams with outside shooting as three Sycamores are shooting 40 percent or better from long range and as a team they are hitting 39.3 percent from behind the arc. One of Notre Dames big strengths so far this season has been rebounding but that is the case for the Sycamores as well which again gives them a chance down low. As long as Indiana St. plays the way it has been playing, there is no reason to think it cannot keep this game close. 3* Indiana St. Sycamores

Jeff Alexander

1 Unit on Spurs/Warriors OVER 215

We've seen 222 and 263 total points scored in 2 of the last 3 meetings between these teams. So far this season, San Antonio is proving to be even more high-powered offensive than it was during its championship years. The Spurs are 20-9 Over versus terrible defensive teams allowing 103 or more points per game over the last 2 seasons. The Spurs have played to the Over in 5 straight. Plus, the Over is 11-4 in the last 15 meetings between these teams. Bet the Over.

SPORTS WAGERS

Tampa Bay +1.01 over TORONTO

The bad news for the Maple Leafs here is that the Lightning has dropped two straight and will not be in a sympathetic mood. Here’s a team that had won five straight before losing its last two and playing in Toronto is something every single team in the league looks forward to. The Bolts are loaded offensively and they’ll play a Toronto team that has one goal in its last two games and that is the third worse goal scoring team in the league. The pressure is once again heavy for the Leafs, as everything is magnified in Toronto and should they fall behind 1-0 or 2-0, a distinct possibility indeed, the uphill battle intensifies to the point of becoming near impossible. The bottom line here is that the Bolts are vastly superior in every way, except in net. The Maple Leafs penalty killing has slipped from eighth to 29th in the league over the past two weeks and until some personnel changes occur, specifically at the center position where the Leafs have nobody, they’ll continue to struggle. Tampa plus a tag, albeit a small one, against the Leafs is a no-brainer. The Bolts continue to lose more games in OT than any team in the NHL over the last three years and thus the regulation only play. Play: Tampa Bay +1.01 (Risking 2 units).

Atlanta +1.10 over COLORADO

The Thrashers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL and it’s not like they’re beating the dregs of the league either. They’ve reeled off five in a row over Washington, the Islanders, Detroit, Montreal and Boston. Four of those five teams are among the elite and not only did the Thrashers beat all four but they did it in very impressive fashion. Atlanta shutout the Caps 5-0 and beat Detroit 5-1. That’s a combined 10-1 over two potent offenses. They followed that up by beating Montreal and Boston by a combined score of 7-1. Against four of the best in the business they outscored them by a combined 17-3. The Thrashers confidence is soaring through the roof and you can be 100% sure that they cannot wait to get back on the ice. The Avalanche work as hard as any team in the league but they’re not in a favorable spot here. They returned home from a three-game trip through Western Canada in its last game and beat the putrid Wild 7-4. They head right back out on a five game trip following this one and they’ve been off since a matinee game on Saturday. They allow far too many quality scoring chances because of a defense that is more minor-league level than NHL caliber. The Thrashers have also performed well on the road with a .500 record and that was before they heated up. Play: Atlanta +1.10 (Risking 2 units).

Phoenix +1.22 over NASHVILLE

The Coyotes are coming off an uncharacteristic outing in which they led 3-1 over the Ducks and then were subsequently outscored 5-1 the rest of the way to make the final look like 6-4. That’s not who the Coyotes are. Phoenix is a team that will grind you to death. They work hard every shift of every game and pride itself on its back-checking forwards and tough defense. That loss will not sit well with them and they’ll be reminded that’s what happens when you get away from your game. You can expect to see the Coyotes get back to the style that saw them win seven in a row before that loss to the Ducks. The Predators are a team that can be shut right down. They’re as offensively challenged as any team in the business and that makes them a huge risk as a favorite. In fact, the Preds have scored just six goals over its last five games and when they do win a game it’s usually in a shootout. This host simply cannot score enough goals to warrant being a favorite over a strong defensive team and after that poor second and third periods against the Ducks, you can be assured that the Coyotes will put forth an honest effort here. Play: Phoenix +1.22 (Risking 2 units).

Tony George

San Antonio Spurs vs. Golden State Warriors
Play: San Antonio Spurs -4.5

They own Golden State in this series and have won 8 in a row dating back to 2008 in this series SU! When you allow 108 ppg your last 5 games on defense and score only 98, you ARE NOT going to beat a team like the Spurs, who 's offense is clicking with those type of numbers, bottom line. Good matchup in the backcourt tonight but ther Spurs have been nailing 3 pointers like crazy, GS has not.

Jimmy Boyd

1 Unit on Cleveland Cavaliers +6.5

Cleveland defeated Boston at home by 8 points earlier this season, and I like its chances of keeping this one within the number tonight. The Celtics are a lousy 16-37-1 ATS in their last 54 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5 points while the Cavaliers are an impressive 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games as a home underdog of 5.0-10.5 points. The Celtics are also 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 games as a favorite and 3-8 ATS in their last 11 meetings in Cleveland. Under coach Rivers, Boston has gotten rusty when getting too much rest. In fact, it is just 15-28 ATS in its last 43 when playing with 3 or more days rest, only winning by 1.6 points on average in this situation. The underdog is 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings. We'll take the Cavs and the points.

Jack Jones

Los Angeles Lakers -5.5

Coming off back-to-back losses, the Los Angeles Lakers respond with a blowout victory at Memphis tonight. It is rare for this team to lose two in a row, but they tend to respond like the champions they are in this situation. The Lakers have taken seven of eight from the Grizzlies and will look to avoid their first three-game losing streak of the season when they travel to Memphis on Tuesday night. L.A. already beat the Grizzlies 124-105 earlier this month, and have won 6 of their last 8 meetings by 9 points or more.

The Grizzlies are just 7-10 this season and cannot seem to turn the corner. Memphis is 5-12-1 ATS in their last 18 games as an underdog. The Grizzlies are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. The Lakers will only be playing their 3rd game in 7 days, so not only will they be motivated they'll also be fresh. Los Angeles is 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite of 5.0-10.5, including 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a road favorite of 5.0-10.5. Bet the Lakers Tuesday.

Jeff Alexander

1 Unit on Spurs/Warriors OVER 215

We've seen 222 and 263 total points scored in 2 of the last 3 meetings between these teams. So far this season, San Antonio is proving to be even more high-powered offensive than it was during its championship years. The Spurs are 20-9 Over versus terrible defensive teams allowing 103 or more points per game over the last 2 seasons. The Spurs have played to the Over in 5 straight. Plus, the Over is 11-4 in the last 15 meetings between these teams. Bet the Over.

Info Plays

3* on San Antonio Spurs -4

Reasons the Spurs cover:

1.) System Play. We'll Play On - Any team (SAN ANTONIO) - explosive offensive team - scoring 103+ points/game on the season, after trailing in their previous game by 15 or more points at the half. This is a 108-55 ATS System hitting 66.3% since 1996.

2.) The Spurs are 13-1 SU & 9-4-1 ATS in their last 14 games overall. They have won 8 straight games against Golden State, seven times winning by 5 points or more. Bet San Antonio on the road.