Jack Jones
Minnesota Timberwolves -5.5
The Minnesota Timberwolves really need this win against the Charlotte Bobcats tonight to get back on track. Minnesota currently sits in 11th place in the Western Conference, just 3.5 games back of Utah and Denver for the 8th and final playoff spot. Because of where they sit, the Timberwolves will not take Charlotte lightly.
While the Timberwolves are 3-6 in their last nine games overall, a lot of that can be attributed to a brutal schedule. Eight of those nine games were on the road, and six were against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season were to end today. Finally, the schedule softens up a bit, starting tonight.
Charlotte is clearly the worst team in the league this season. The Bobcats are now just 7-40 on the year, and you could argue that they have quit trying. They have the least talent of any team in the NBA, so that doesn't help matters, either. Charlotte is 0-4 SU & 0-4 ATS in their last four games overall, losing all four by 7 points or more, and three by 13 or more.
Minnesota won their lone meeting this season with the Bobcats 102-90 back on February 15th. Charlotte is 9-24 ATS revenging a loss vs opponent this season. The Timberwolves are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games following a S.U. loss. The Bobcats are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games as a home underdog of 5.0-10.5. Bet Minnesota Wednesday.
Steve Janus
Cleveland Cavaliers +1
The Cavaliers come in having lost 7 of their last 8 overall. I took my chances on them +9 at Philadelphia last night, but they wound up losing by 18-points. While it would be easy to jump on the Pistons after a loss like that, I think the Cavaliers are showing some great value at home as a 1-point underdog.
The schedule has been pretty brutal for Cleveland over their last eight games. They finally catch a breather with the Pistons. Detroit went on the road and beat Washington 79-77 on Monday to snap a five-game losing streak. They were lucky to win that game, as they went into the 4th quarter down 9-points.
Cleveland is in desperate need of a win, which should have them playing with a lot of energy at home tonight. The Pistons on the other hand will likely be looking ahead to their game in Chicago on Friday.
It's also worth noting that the Pistons are just 5-20 on the road this year. They should NEVER be favored on the road! Detroit is just 4-13 ATS in road games after having lost 4 of their last 5 games over the last 2 seasons.
Stephen Nover
Minnesota / Charlotte
Play: Over 200
It's understandable if seeing a total of 200 on a Bobcats game has you thinking under the total. After all, Charlotte is last in the league in scoring at 87.6 points per game and has had only three over/unders above 200 all season.
But let's keep an open mind.
The Bobcats are the worst team in the NBA by a large margin. They are going to lose every time. The question is how are they going to lose. Charlotte coach Paul Silas has decided the best way is to play up-tempo and at least utilize the speed of his many young players.
This latest game plan has resulted in six overs in their last seven games. The Bobcats fell behind Boston by 22 points in their latest loss this past Monday. But thanks to their reserves outscoring the Celtics' bench, 59-9, by racing up and down the court Charlotte only lost by a respectable seven points.
This is what Silas said following that game: “That’s the only way we can give ourselves a chance to win… to run, run, run… push it up the floor on every possession.”
It makes sense because the Bobcats are expansion bad. They can't match up to any foe. Their record is 7-40. The next worse team, Washington, has 11 victories.
Now the Bobcats take on Minnesota, a good offensive team that plays little defense. The Timberwolves score 99 points a game, which ranks fifth best. They also allow 99 points per contest, which puts them among the bottom seven defensive clubs.
In the last 16 games, Minnesota's scoring has gone up to 105 points per game, which is an increase of nearly nine points per game from their first 34 games. During this span, the Timberwolves are allowing 106.8 points, an increase of more than 11 points per game from the first half.
Some of this rise in scoring can be attributed to losing Ricky Rubio for the season. The Timberwolves were more deliberate with Rubio, who was adept at running Rick Adelman's set plays. Rubio would keep the ball in his hands a long time directing traffic, which slowed down the game. Now Kevin Love and Michael Beasley get more touches and aren't afraid to hoist shots up fast.
Scoring has increased dramatically, too, for Charlotte during the second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, the Bobcats are averaging 98.7 points per game, a 12.2 increase from the first half of the season. Charlotte is giving up 100 points per contest during this span, up nearly three points from the first half.
The Bobcats know that with dwindling attendance, they need to do something. They aren't good enough to win - having lost 18 of their 22 home games - but at least they can try to be more entertaining so they've picked up the pace. Customers obviously want scoring and dunks not boring half-court basketball.
Oddsmakers aren't stupid. They've caught on, but not completely. So while this total may look high on the surface, the window of opportunity is still there to cash more over tickets on the Bobcats. This is another instance.
Dave Price
Pittsburgh -9
Expect Pitt to bounce back strong to even the series tonight. Plays on favorites off a close road loss by 3 points or less, playing their 2nd game in 3 days, are 78-38 (67.2%) ATS the last 5 seasons. Also, Pitt is 10-1 ATS off a close road loss by 3 points or less under coach Dixon. It has won these games by an average score of 70.3 to 59.6. The Panthers are also 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a loss and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 7.0-12.5 points. Take Pitt.
Jimmy Boyd
Sacramento Kings +4
The aging Spurs just played last night, which puts them at a disadvantage against the youthful Kings, who check in with a days' rest on their side.
The Spurs are just 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games when playing without a day of rest. Plus, they haven't shown they can be trusted laying points on the road. They are only 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games as a road favorite of 4.5 points or less.
The Kings are an outstanding 16-6 ATS in their last 22 games as an underdog, 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a home underdog and 8-0 ATS in their last 8 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game. The Kings are also 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog of 4.5 points or less.
The Kings won in San Antonio by 2 points earlier this season and have what it takes to take the Spurs down to the wire tonight. We'll take the points.
Jeff Scott Sports
4 UNIT PLAY
Orlando/ New York Under 189: Google News Play. Really gotta like the Under in this one. Defense has been the name of the game for the Knicks, of late, as they have allowed just 86 ppg in the 8 games since Woodson took over and just 83.5 ppg in their last 5 games. Now the Knicks have also gotten away from that transition up and down game and they come in averaging averaging just 87.8 ppg in their last 4 games and having Stoudamire and Lin out won't help this team offensively. That was evident on Monday as gthey took on a Milwaukee team that has been allowing a ton of points of late and they were able to score just 89 points on them without Lin or Amare in there. Also facing the 4th ranked defense of Orlando (91.9 ppg) won't help this offense get going either. The Magic did put up 117 points on the Raptors the other night, but this is still a team that has averaged just 92.6 ppg on the road and 90.6 ppg in their last 5 games overall. Both teams are defensive minded and both offenses are not that good at the moment. This game could land in the 170's.
3 UNIT PLAY
Minnesota/ Charlotte Over 200: the Bobcats are last in the league in scoring at 87.8 ppg, but that have made the move to a more wide open style and it has helped them average 93.2 ppg in their last 6 games. Still not great, but they will be taking on a Minnesota team that also likes to rune and has allowed 105.9 ppg (Regulation) in their last 9 games overall and 101.9 ppg on the road this year, so i do see increased scoring from the Bobcats tonight. Minnesota has scored a lot this year, thanks to their uptempo style, as they have averaged 99.2 ppg overall and 100.9 ppg on the road, plus in their last 9 overall (regulation) they have averaged 103.7 ppg. tonight they get to take aim at a Charlotte team that has been bad on defense all year long, as they have allowed 100.7 pg overall and 105.3 ppg in their last 4 games. The Pace of thios game should be uptempo and that should allow Charlotte to have one of their better offensive showings of the year, while Minnesota will get plenty of points of their own vs this bad Charlotte defense. This game should hit 205+ points with ease.
2 UNIT PLAY
Indiana/ New Jersey Over 195: The Nets have been playing bad defense this year , allowing 98.9 ppg overall and 100.6 ppg at home. Indiana's scoring has increased of late as they have averaged 113.7 ppg in their last 3 games, but their defense has been suffering of late as they have allowed 99.4 ppg in their last 7 games. The Nets don't score a whole bunch, but they should get increased scoring tonight vs this struggling Indiana defensive team. The Pacers put up 105 points on Miami the other night and they should be good for at least that here, while the Net's should put up around 95 points of their own. This game should top 200.
1 UNIT PLAY
Minnesota -5.5 over CHARLOTTE: THe Bobcats are a bad team and when they lose it's usually big. Overall this year they have been outscored by 13.1 ppg, while at home they have been outscored by 9.9 ppg. Charlotte is just 8-14 ATS at home and just 13-25 ATS when they have 1 days or less rest, while Minnesota is 9-7 ATS on zero rest this year. T-Wolves should roll in a high scoring game.
SPORTS WAGERS
TORONTO +153 over Denver
The Raptors are an ugly 16-34 but they’ve given plenty of clubs a run for their money all season. They have been anything but an easy out. Prior to losing by 16 to the Magic in its last game, Toronto had played the Knicks and Bulls twice each. They split with New York and they took the Bulls to OT in Chicago before losing by a point. A letdown against the Magic was no surprise and you can expect this enthusiastic bunch to compete here against a beatable Nuggets team that plays no attention to defense. Prior to beating the Bulls on Monday, Denver had allowed 117, 121, 115 and 112 points in its previous four games. That’s a difficult way to try and win on the road and it was just the Nuggets third road win in their past 11 tries. It is also the Nuggets fourth straight on the road. Finally, the Raps are very aware of that they haven’t beaten Denver in five years and aside from giving it their best to get this proverbial monkey off their backs, the Nuggets could come in a little too complacent and get burned. Raps outright. Play: Toronto +153 (Risking 2 units).