Sean Higgs
Washington Wizards vs. New Orleans Hornets
Play: Over 198.5
We are not going to force anything tonight. After starting the month in a hole we battled back and finished up for the month. Passing tonight. Going OVER the total here. Hornets have been pushing the ball lately going over in 3 of the last 4. This is actually their second total under 201 and they went over that one of 193 finishing with 213. Hornets haven' been playing any defense of late giving up 104ppg and scoring just 100. Wizards give up 101 on the season and I can see this one easily passing the 200 point barrier.
Craig Trapp
Houston Rockets vs. San Antonio Spurs
Play: Houston Rockets +11
Houston is 2-1 straight up and ATS verse SA on the year. The Rockets are coming off a back to back win but this is a fairly young team and the travel is not bad. Look for the Rockets to attack the lane then kick out for a ton of three pointers. SA is playing much better when Ginobli is healthy but he is banged up and missed last game where they lost to New Jersey. Look for the Rockets to have a chance to win this one straight up as this banged up old team in SA just does not beat teams by a ton even when they do win!
Dennis Macklin
Heat vs. Pistons
Play: Heat -7
The Miami Heat have won five straight (3-1-1 ATS ) and looking closely at their schedule, if they put their mind to it and it made a difference in their playoff position, could run the table and finish with 13 straight wins. Look at these bowling pins ... at Detroit, at Indiana, at Minnesota, Philadelphia, Detroit, Knicks, at Philly, Nets. The Pistons are playing out the string and check in 0-8 SU and ATS over the L15 days. When you are 23-50, there aren't going to be many positives or techs. Motown 4-10 ATS in L14 versus winning records and in horrific 6-14 ATS spot after allowing 105+ points in previous outing. Detroit has always struggled with Miami going 2-7 ATS L9 in the series and 0-5 ATS L5 in Auburn Hills. Teams met on this floor in the last meeting with Miami (-2) winning 92-65. In that game, the light rebounding Heat won the battle of the boards 58-32. Can't imagine Detroit showing little if any resistance here tonight. Miami 98-83.
Black Widow
1* on L.A. Lakers +1
Any time you find the Lakers in the role of the underdog it has been a good idea to back them over the last few seasons. The Lakers are 35-17-2 ATS in their last 54 games as an underdog overall. The Hawks are just 1-4 ATS in their last 5 vs. NBA Pacific division opponents. The Lakers did lose to the Hornets last time out, but this is an L.A. team that rarely loses back-to-back games. Only 3 times all season have the Lakers lost back-to-back games. L.A. is 25-10 ATS (+14.0 Units) in road games versus up-tempo teams averaging 83 or more shots/game over the last 3 seasons. Take the Lakers and the points.
Red Dog Sports
VCU at Saint Louis
Play St Louis +1.5
The Billikens are a slight underdog at home to VCU. The Rams were just 6-7 on the road this year. Saint Louis is coached by Rick Majerus and he has more experince even though his team is young. The 5000+ crowd will be behind his team tonight so look for Saint Louis to win and force a Game 3 on Friday night!
Nelly
Atlanta - over Los Angeles
This is a tough situation for the Lakers, now playing a fifth straight road game and nearly completely across the country in Atlanta after a recent southern trek through Texas and New Orleans. Los Angeles has lost two of the last three games and the Lakers are just 4-6 ATS in the last ten contests. Atlanta has had a few slip-ups on the road but at home the Hawks remain reliable. The last eight home games have all been S/U wins and there has been quality competition in that stretch with wins over Milwaukee, Charlotte, San Antonio, Orlando, and an improved Indiana team. The Hawks have also been off since Sunday and having two consecutive days off this time of the year, particularly without travel is huge. Atlanta is 23-14 ATS at home this season despite some heavy spreads and the Hawks are 30-7 S/U at home. The Lakers appear to be limping into the playoffs and this has been a poor ATS team all season, sitting just 31-40-3. The home team has won the last five meetings in this series and Atlanta has had a lot of success on Wednesdays this season as this can be a tough travel spot in the middle of the week. The Lakers are 6-13-1 ATS in the last 20 games and there is little sign of improvement given the recent injury to Andrew Bynum and a very difficult late season schedule.
Stan Lisowski
ATLANTA
Hawks have revenge against a Laker club that is on the last game of a 5-game road trip. Home team has won 5 straight in the series while covering 4 of those affairs. LA 3-7 outright as a road dog.
Chris Jordan
Virginia Commonwealth at ST. LOUIS
I think the Billikens realized in Game 1 of this series they're going to need to produce points in order to keep up with Virginia Commonwealth.
VCU won the opener 68-56 Monday in Richmond, Virginia, and St. Louis needs to win tonight to force a decisive third and deciding game in the championship series.
The Rams ranked 33rd in the nation this season with 76.4 points per game, and even on the road, they can be a dangerous team; thus, Rick Majerus is going to have his troops ready to run in the end, when this game should end up over the posted total.
Though Monday’s Game 1 fell short of the posted total of 130 points, VCU reamins on 'Over' streaks of 5-1 overall, 40-15 on the road, 5-1 after a straight-up win and 14-5 in non-conference play.
Saint Louis, on the other hand, is on 'Over' binges of 4-1 following an ATS loss, 9-3 at home against teams with a losing road record and 14-5 on Wednesdays.
Play this one high.
2♦ VCU/ST. LOUIS OVER
Karl Garrett
New York (+10) at PORTLAND
Now is the time of year when you are going to see inflated numbers on teams vying for playoff positions, and that is indeed the case at the Rose Garden tonight, as Portland is simply laying too many points against the Knicks.
G-Man will take the double-digits, and go-against a Portland team that is only 2-4 against the spread when laying 9-points or more this season, and they do have a big TNT game tomorrow night in Denver on-deck, so you can see the Blazers leaving the good old backdoor wide open in this spot.
New York upset Portland in early December, and have covered the last 3 series meetings, and 6 of the last 8 overall in this series. The Knicks also come into Rip City having covered in 5 of their last 8 overall.
G-Man taking the points.
3♦ NEW YORK
Chuck O'Brien
Phoenix at NEW JERSEY (+7)
Wednesday’s complimentary release comes from the NBA, as I’ll back the Nets as a big home underdog against Phoenix.
Came real close to pulling the trigger on New Jersey as a premium play, but couldn’t quite get there because I fear the team is vulnerable to a letdown after rallying to beat San Antonio on Monday. Not only was it a huge upset for the Nets, but it was their 10th victory of the season and ensured they won’t go down as having the worst season in NBA history.
If New Jersey, which is on a modest 3-1 SU and ATS run, can get over the “euphoria” of such a milestone win and come with a focused effort tonight, it can definitely hang in with the Suns in this contest. That’s because Phoenix will be dealing with its own letdown issues tonight. First off, it won its eighth game in a row last night (111-105 in Chicago), and that victory locked up a playoff spot. Secondly, this is the Suns’ third road game in four days, as they continue a five-game, eight-day road trip. And while Phoenix is riding an eight-game winning streak, four of the last five have been by six points or fewer.
The Suns have not been a strong bet in back-to-back situations, either, going 6-11 ATS on the season. (On the other hand, New Jersey has cashed in seven of its last eight after getting a day off.) Also, the home team is on a 13-5-1 ATS run in this rivalry.
Phoenix is way overdue for an off night, and after having to rally on Tuesday in Chicago and playing the third road game in four days, this is a perfect spot to fade the Suns and back a New Jersey squad that’s actually playing with confidence.
4♦ NEW JERSEY
Derek Mancini
LA Clippers (+10) at TORONTO
Nice hit with the Thunder routing the 76ers last night 111-93! Going with the dog tonight, as the short-handed Clippers visit the Raptors in a game that will be closer than expected.
As much as it pains some gamblers to put any money on the Clippers, this is one of those few spots you can do so. People seem very willing to lay a boat load of points here with Toronto, but did you forget they have covered just ONE game since the All-Star Break at the Air Canada Centre (1-9 ATS)?!
Gamblers are also happy to tout the absence of Baron Davis, but how many times have we seen a star player go down, and his teammates pick up the slack. Clippers have a capable backup in Steve Blake, and more importantly, the red-hot frontline trio of Kaman, Gooden, and Jordan (off the bench) can carry this Clippers team to the cover.
Underdog has been the play in this series (10-4 ATS L14), and despite the Raptors 5-1 run ATS, I'm not laying this many, even against the Clippers. The Raptors have done one thing consistently since the All-Star Break, and that's cost their backers money at home. LA Clippers plus the points Wednesday.
3♦ LA CLIPPERS
Stephen Nover
L.A. Clippers (+10) at TORONTO
Toronto is not a very together or well coached team. The Raptors shouldn't be laying this many points to any team - even the Clippers.
The makeup of the Raptors is composed of players from various nations. Their defense isn't very good nor is the communication. Chris Bosh is an impending free agent. The team lacks a killer instinct.
All of this leaves the back-door wide open for the Clippers. Toronto is 1-9 ATS in its last 10 home contests, including 0-6 when laying points. Toronto is 3-7 ATS the past 10 times it has been favored by more than six points. These facts show the Raptors can't be trusted at home and in a favorite's role.
The Raptors are off a huge road win against Charlotte this past Monday that has put them temporarily in the playoffs.
After this game, the Raptors play the 76ers and Warriors - two more bad teams. So I don't see the Raptors very excited about this matchup, especially in a letdown spot.
The Clippers seem to show up every third game. They just were blown out by the Bucks and Warriors. Look for the Clippers to play better in this matchup and get the pointspread cover.
4♦ CLIPPERS
Bobby Maxwell
L.A. Lakers (+1) at ATLANTA
I'm on a 74-50-3 streak with my FREE plays and today I'm delivering an NBA winner for you as I go with the Lakers on the road in Atlanta, taking on the Hawks.
Kobe and the Lakers don’t like to get embarrassed, and that’s exactly what happened on Monday against the Hornets in New Orleans, losing 108-100 to a team that the night before had been eliminated from playoff contention by the Blazers.
The Lakers have won three of four against Atlanta and five of seven against these Hawks and I expect to see some determination in their eyes as they take the court here in Atlanta. They are 2-2 on this road trip and want to go home on a positive note.
Meanwhile, the Hawks have been alternating wins and losses the last five games, but managed to take care of the Pacers 94-84 on Sunday at home, cashing as eight-point favorites.
Los Angeles presents some matchup problems for the Hawks because now Al Horford has to guard the mobile and good shooting Pau Gasol while Lamar Odom gets to face a smaller forward. And expect Ron Artest to lock up either Joe Johnson and even Josh Smith if they are having trouble with him getting looks.
The Lakers took a 118-110 win at home over the Hawks way back on Nov. 1, but came up just short as an 8 ½-point favorite. They come into this one as a small ‘dog and they are 35-17-2 ATS as an underdog, plus 5-1 ATS coming off a non-cover.
Atlanta is just 2-5 ATS against Western Conference teams and 2-5 after getting two days off. Look for the Lakers to make a statement with this win. Play Los Angeles.
4♦ L.A. LAKERS
Michael Cannon
Milwaukee (+9') at CLEVELAND
I am 22-12 with my last 34 overall free plays.
Take the Bucks plus the points on the road over the Cavaliers.
Cleveland has won nine of its last 10 games, but is just 4-6 ATS during that span.
The Bucks have won two straight both SU and ATS. Milwaukee has covered the last two meetings in this series, including a 92-85 home win earlier this month. The Bucks are also on a 5-1 ATS run in their last six trips to Cleveland.
The road team is also on a 10-4 ATS roll in this series.
The Cavs are just 2-7 ATS in their last nine at home against teams with a losing road record. The Bucks, who have the league’s second-best pointspread record, are on positive ATS streaks of 36-17-1 overall, 20-7 on the road, 5-0 getting points on the road, 15-3 when playing on no rest, 7-2-1 against winning teams and 18-7-1 against Eastern Conference foes.
Take the points as Milwaukee stays within the number.
3♦ MILWAUKEE
Jeff Benton
Back to my free-play winning ways Tuesday, as the Thunder hammered the 76ers. That’s now 10 of 11 freebie winners, and in addition to that I’m on runs of 49-23-2, 39-18-2 and 30-13-2 with plays that I’m giving away!
For Wednesday, I’ll head back to the NBA and play the Raptors minus the points against the Clippers. Those of you who were with me for Tuesday’s 10 Dime winner on the Milwaukee Bucks over the Clippers know that I said L.A. has thrown in the towel on this season. Sure enough, L.A. went out and laid a big fat egg, falling 107-89 as a 10½-point underdog – this 48 hours after losing 121-103 to the lowly Warriors at home.
The Clippers now have three wins in their last 16 games and they’re 3-24 in their last 27 on the road. And of their last 28 losses dating to mid-January, a whopping 22 have been by double digits. On top of that, despite catching some hefty pointspreads, Los Angeles is just 4-13 ATS in its last 17 games overall and 2-9 ATS in its last 11 on the road.
Like Milwaukee last night, Toronto has a LOT to play for tonight. The Raptors are clinging to the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth, 1½ games ahead of the Bulls. Thus this game against an awful opponent playing on the second night of a back-to-back is the definition of “must-win” for Toronto, which has cashed in five of its last six games overall.
Finally, look at the recent results between these teams: Toronto has won the last three meetings by margins of 22, 24 and 15 points, the latest coming in Los Angeles in mid-November (104-89 as a three-point favorite). In addition to going 3-0 SU and ATS in the last three games against the Clippers, the Raptors have won six of the last seven clashes and are 8-2 ATS in the last 10.
Throw in the fact that the Clippers are 1-5 ATS in their last six when playing on back-to-back days and once again will be without starting point guard Baron Davis (back injury), and this one is a no-brainer.
6♦ TORONTO RAPTORS