Friday Night NBA Betting Action
Doug Upstone
The Chicago Bulls would like to forget about their latest game, when their five-game road winning streak ended by blowing a late lead. Theyd especially like to erase the memories of their last trip to Atlanta. The Bulls look to bounce back on the road Friday night against the Hawks, who have won eight of nine at Philips Arena and handed Chicago its worst loss of the season there in December.
The Bulls (23-24, 2-23-2 ATS) lost the first two games of a recent seven-game road swing, but stunningly closed with five consecutive victories over teams with winning records - the first time thats been done on the same trip in NBA history. They looked flat in a 90-82 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers upon returning home Tuesday, and had their road streak snapped Wednesday in Philadelphia against a team which entered with a 7-16 home record. Chicago led by six after 24 minutes and by one in the final seconds of regulation but ended up losing 106-103 in overtime.
We didnt have the energy weve had in past road games, said guard John Salmons, who had 17 points off the bench. We have to make sure we stay focused from beginning to end. Salmons and teammates are 18-6 ATS playing against a team with a winning record in the half of the season over the last two years.
The Bulls were focused at the beginning of their trip to Atlanta on Dec. 9, trailing the Hawks (31-17, 30-18 ATS) by one after a quarter. Atlanta, however, outscored Chicago 65-36 over the next two quarters en route to a 118-83 win.
Former Bull Jamal Crawford had 29 points and Maurice Evans 18 for a Hawks bench which outscored the Bulls reserves 66-32. Kirk Hinrich was 0 for 9 from the field as Chicago lost its fourth straight in Atlanta. The Bulls fell behind Atlanta by as many as 14 on Dec. 19 at the United Center before battling back to win 101-98 in overtime behind 32 points from Derrick Rose.
Joe Johnson scored a season-high 40 points, but Crawford was limited to 14. Atlanta is 8-9 when Crawford is held under 15. Three of Johnsons six career 40-point games have come against the Bulls and his team is 14-6 ATS facing a club with a losing record this season, winning by 12.5 points per game.
The four-time All-Star has averaged 25.5 points over his last 12 games, and hes carried the offensive load in the last two. Johnson scored 37 in a 106-99 loss at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, then had 14 of his 34 during a fourth quarter in which the Hawks came from nine down to beat the Clippers 103-97 on Wednesday. Its ridiculous how much he was scoring, said fellow All-Star Al Horford, who had 16 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double in eight games. He just goes about it like a business.
Horford and former University of Florida teammate Joakim Noah (listed as out) should provide a solid battle underneath, though Noah is dealing with nagging plantar fasciitis. Noahs 12.0 rebounds per game are a main reason the Bulls lead the NBA (45.6), but so far Horford has gotten the best of him. Noah has averaged 4.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in the last five meetings with the Hawks, while Horford has averaged 15.0 points and 11.0 boards - missing one game due to a knee injury.
Chicagos Tyrus Thomas, who missed the first two meetings with a fractured forearm, has averaged 11.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game over his last four.
Sportbet.com has Atlanta listed as 7.5-point favorites with total of 197 and they are 20-5 and 17-8 ATS at home. The Hawks win by 10.2 PPG at Phillips Arena and are 23-13 ATS as a favorite and are 11-1 OVER as home chalk of 6.5 to 12 points this season.
Even with Chicago record close to their recent road excursion, they still are unflattering 9-16 as visitors (12-13 ATS). What the Bulls have been able to do is counter aggressive offenses and are 12-3 ATS in road games versus good offensive teams scoring 99 or more points per game in the second portion of the year over the last two seasons. This leads to Chicago being 13-5 UNDER against shooting teams making 46 percent or more of their shots. Tipoff will be just after 8:00 Eastern on ESPN.
Following the Eastern clash is a matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets brings two of the leagues premier scorers into the spotlight. Theres a chance neither could play this time, though. With Kobe Bryant nursing a sore left ankle and Carmelo Anthony recovering from a left ankle sprain, Friday nights meeting between division leaders could be missing some of its luster.
Bryant will be a game-time decision for the Pacific Division-leading Lakers (38-12, 22-26-2 ATS) after aggravating his already-sore foot when teammate Lamar Odom stepped on it late in the first half in Wednesdays 99-97 win over Charlotte. The 12-time All-Star originally sprained his ankle in a win at Philadelphia last Friday.
With his jumping and speed clearly hindered, Bryant made just 2 of 12 shots to finish with a season-low five points, well below his average of 27.9 - fourth-best in the NBA. It was just stiff - stiff and tight, said Bryant, who passed Jerry West in Mondays loss to Memphis as the Lakers career scoring leader. Lamar stepped on my foot as I was changing directions, so it just made it worse. It just set it back to Square One.
Odom picked up the scoring slack Wednesday, hitting 8 of 10 shots to finish with 19 points, one off his season high. Odom, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest will likely be more involved in the offense if Bryant cant go. Bryant has been bothered by injuries throughout the season, most notably a broken finger on his shooting hand, but has still started 234 regular-season games dating back to the 2006-07 season. The Lakers have covered four of last five following a non-cover.
Anthony hasnt been nearly as durable for the Northwest-leading Nuggets (33-16, 22-25-2 ATS). The former Syracuse star is tied with Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant for the league lead in scoring with an average of 29.7 points, sat out the first five games in January because of a right knee contusion and has missed Denvers last six games with an injured ankle. Anthony suffered his injury Jan. 23 against New Orleans, and it has taken longer than expected to heal.
The Nuggets lost for just the fourth time without their three-time All-Star forward in Wednesdays 109-97 home defeat to Phoenix.
Chauncey Billups is carrying Denvers offense in Anthonys absence and found out before Wednesdays game that he was added to the All-Star squad. Billups, who is also suffering from a sprained left ankle, struggled against the Suns and finished with 11 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
I couldnt get the lift I wanted, Billups said of his ankle. I was trying to go out and give the team what I had. I cant really attack. Denver is 3-7 ATS after a SU defeat.
One of his worst shooting performances of the season came in the only meeting between Denver and Los Angeles on Nov. 13, but Anthony was able to offset Billups struggles to help the Nuggets get the best of Bryant and the Lakers. With Billups held to six points on 1-of-8 shooting, Anthony went 11 for 20 and finished with 25 points to lead the Nuggets to a 105-79 home win.
Bryant had 19 points on 7 of 17 shooting as Los Angeles lost for just the second time in eight meetings with Denver. The Lakers have had a decisive advantage against the Nuggets in Los Angeles, winning 21 of 23 meetings (15-6 ATS) there since Bryants rookie season in 1996-97.
The Lakers are enjoying similar success at Staples Center this season, posting a league-best 24-3 home record; however are pedestrian 13-13-1 against the spread.
Denver is 3-8-1 ATS in last dozen road contests and is 5-12 ATS playing with one day off. The underdog Nuggets are 11-3 UNDER taking on a team with a winning record. The Lakers are a 50-50 proposition after a victory since the end of December with 5-5-2 ATS mark and they are 10-3 UNDER if their opponent has winning record. In last fourteen meetings between these Western Conference clubs the UNDER is 11-3.