Mr. A's
Toronto Raptors - 10½
Houston Rockets - 12½
Denver Nuggets - 13½
Johnny Guild
Indiana Pacers (22-36) at Toronto Raptors (32-24)
Toronto Raptors have won their last four games at Air Canada Centre and 15 of their last 22. Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers dropped four straight and 13 of its last 16.
The struggling Pacers have not been successful away from home. Indiana is 1-5 both straight-up and against the spread in its last 6 games on the road, just 11-18 this season. Take the energized Raptors at home to grab their fourth straight win overall and a season sweep over the Pacers. Toronto is 5-1 both straight-up and against the spread versus Indiana.
Toronto Raptors - 10.5
CBB
Cornell Big Red - 17.5
Winning Points Online NBA
***BEST BET
Chicago* over Washington by 18
Bulls are happy to be rid of the Ben Wallace anchor.The trade deadline is behind them. Washington has been out on the road without a real chance to scout what Chicago has been doing with new rotations, or practice/plan for it. Surprises are not good. Yao Ming got hurt, and they had no clue at Houston, a team that will be "figured out" soon enough. But new stuff, in its infancy, is the hardest to play against.
Washington's M.O. without Butler and Arenas has clearly out there and they will begin suffering for it. Chicago has shooters, Washington has erratic scorers.DeShawn Stevenson had 30-and-change at New Orleans because they didn't fear him. Won't hear much from him on a regular basis. Bulls have already won in D.C. by 11 points when they were playing like garbage earlier this season. CHICAGO, 105-87.
Wunderdog
Indiana at Toronto
Pick: Toronto -10
The Pacers haven't been able to get much going over the second half of the season, as they have been just 7-22. They have dropped seven of eight to teams with winning records on the road, with five of those losses coming by 13 or more points. The Pacers have not fared well as a dog either, as they are now just 1-9 ATS in their last ten getting points.The Raptors have been eating up the sub-.500 teams on their home-court. They sport a 12-1 record at home vs these teams, and have won all of them by 9+ points! Their last ten wins vs the sub-.500 teams have all come by 11 points or more, and by an amazing average of 18.9 ppg. They are crushing these teams, and we expect more of the same tonight.
WINNERS EDGE
Houston Rockets - 12 , 2 units
LA Clippers + 13.5 , 3 units
Michael Cannon
20 Dime –
HAWKS
Take the Hawks as the home chalk tonight over the Knicks.
New point guard Mike Bibby has had enough time to mesh with his teammates and the results were on display in Wednesday’s win over the Kings.
Bibby was able to get everyone involved in the offense and I expect the same to happen tonight against the defensively deficient Knicks.
Atlanta is 11-4-1 ATS in its last 16 home games while the Knicks are just 1-5 ATS in their last six after a SU win.
Take the Hawks as the home chalk as they grab the win and cover.
10 Dime –
RAPTORS
Take the Raptors as the big home chalk tonight over the Pacers.
Toronto has won and covered four straight against Indiana, including Monday’s 102-98 road win.
The Raptors have been money as a home chalk this year, going 16-6 ATS.
Each of Toronto’s last eight wins have come by at least 17 points, and the average margin of victory is 22.3 points.
Take the Raptors as the big home chalk as they grab the win and cover.
Spritzer
tko.................sixers
tko.........................seatt
5 star.....................knicks
Cokin
window.....................cornell
under the hat...............hornets
3 star.......................seattlte
Feist
total..........knicks over, heat over
personal best..................hawks
inner circle goy.............seattle
5 star.................raptors
GamblersWorld
Prediction: Brown Bears
Current Line: -13 Over/Under: 118
Reason: The Princeton Tigers and the Brown Bears will both be gunning for a victory on Friday when they meet at Pizzitola Sports Center. Oddsmakers currently have the Bears listed as 13-point favorites versus the Tigers, while the game's total is sitting at 118. Current streak: Princeton has lost 7 straight games. Team records: Princeton: 5-19 SU, 8-11 ATS Brown: 15-9 SU, 10-8 ATS Princeton most recently: When playing on Friday are 7-3 Before playing Yale are 4-6 After playing Dartmouth are 5-5 After a loss are 1-9 Brown most recently: When playing on Friday are 3-4 Before playing Pennsylvania are 6-4 After playing Cornell are 8-2 After a loss are 8-2 A few trends to consider: The total has gone OVER in 4 of Princeton's last 5 games The total has gone OVER in 4 of Princeton's last 5 games on the road The total has gone OVER in 4 of Princeton's last 5 games when playing Brown Princeton is 9-3 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Brown Brown is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games at home Brown is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games Brown is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Princeton The total has gone OVER in 4 of Brown's last 5 games when playing Princeton
Nick Parsons
Game: Columbus Blue Jackets @ Vancouver Canucks
Pick: 1 unit TOTAL: Under 5
Both teams lost their last time out, however Columbus will be in for another challenge Friday. The Canucks are 10-2-1 against the Blue Jackets all-time at home, winning seven times by one or two goals, while goaltender Roberto Luongo is 5-3-2 with a 1.78 goals-against average versus Columbus. Its interesting to note that the total has gone under the number in five of the Blue Jackets last seven on the road and in six of their last eight vs. the Canucks. As things tighten up down the stretch, I look for all of these trends to continue this evening making the UNDER a must play!
Rocco Vincintore
500* Buffalo -125
NBA Friday
2 units Utah +4
Naw'leans, as impressive as they've been this season are getting a home court benefit on this one. Last time out th Jazz gave the Hornets a 110-88 beat down and covering the spread. The same was the case earlier this season. I trust Sloan not to let this one get away. The Hornets should also be tired after playing 5 games in 7 nights. And to be honest, Naw'leans aint much of a home court advantage anyway. Take Utah.
2 Units Indiana vs Toronto Under 210
Twice this season the games were held UNDER. Indiana has been devasted with key injuries this season and I dont see that much fire power in them tonight. I say 102-91.
1 Unit LA Lakers -7
Going to be tough to find that line at -7 but its on that looks intriuging. The Lakers looked amazing last night against Miami and Kobe should be well rested as the game was wrapped up at tipoff. 😀 The Lakers are red hot!! Covering 9 out of their last 10 including a game against the Trail Blazers. Portland is reeling a bit at the moment and are coming back to reality.
Bob Balfe
Mia/Sea O199
Northcoast Sports Community Line
Billy Coleman 3* San Jose-Detroit UNDER
Young Gun Sports 4* NY-Atl OVER
Gator's NBA/CBB 70% Report
NBA
Friday: Play Against NBA favorites of 10 or more points after allowing 80 points or less against an opponent after allowing 110 points or more
32-8 ATS since 1996 (80.0%) PLAY: Memphis Grizzlies +13
Teddy Covers AFL
Los Angeles Avengers -8.0 / 3 units
New Orleans was a bad team last year, finishing with a 5-11 mark. They were routinely hammered by quality teams on the road, losing by 23 at Tampa Bay, by 9 at Orlando, by 44 at Philly and by 26 at Georgia, unable to get stops or trade points with top tier opposition. There’s absolutely no reason to expect this team to be any better in 2008. Quarterback Steve Bellasari is mediocre at best, completing only 62% of his passes last year while throwing a dozen interceptions. Their receiving corps has been decimated after losing five of their top seven receivers in the offseason, then watching prized free agent pickup Derrick Lewis tear his ACL in preseason practice. Five of their top six defenders moved on in the offseason as well. This is a rebuilding team in a rebuilding city, hardly a candidate to go out on the road and play competitively in Week 1. Throw in other key injuries to OL Konrad Dean, WR DeAndrew Rubin and DB Chris Bown and this team appears to be in a world of hurt to start the campaign.
LA has solid roster continuity from last year, starting at the QB position where former Texas Tech standout Sonny Cumbie has developed into a solid quarterback. Cumbie will have an attractive new weapon at his disposal this year in Timon Marshall. Marshall was amazing last year with a dismal Grand Rapids squad, single handedly keeping the team competitive for a good portion of the year with his receiving ability and special teams acumen before the Chicago Bears signed him. He’s back in the AFL now, and should have an immediate impact along with returning receiving threats Rob Turner and Kevin Ingram giving them three guys who caught 100+ passes last year. The Avengers defense is adept at putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks, masking their inexperience in the secondary. Bottom line? LA’s offense is extremely potent, and I don’t expect New Orleans to be able to trade scores with them for very long before this one gets out of hand. Take LA.
SportsInsights
Welcome to this week's edition of the Sports Marketwatch – NBA Edition, where the Team at SportsInsights gives sports fans unprecedented insight into the NBA point-spread marketplace. If you ever wanted to know what was really happening on the sportsbook side, you now have an all-access pass with Sports Marketplace! The NBA Edition of the Sports Marketwatch will be a weekly column published on Friday, normally by around 5PM, Eastern Time.
The staff at SportsInsights.com speaks directly with the line managers at some of the sports betting industry’s largest sportsbooks about which games the public is chasing and the Sharps are pounding. We’ll take a look at what’s in store for today’s NBA games.
Sports Marketplace – NBA Edition
Recapping Last Week’s Action
Last week, we went 1-1, with Charlotte “pushing,” as the Bobcats lost by one point in overtime. The Bulls won their game outright for our winning selection. However, the resurgent 76ers couldn’t get it done versus Orlando. Overall, the NBA Marketwatch is still under water – but is climbing back to respectability.
2007-08 NBA Games to Watch: 7-10-1 = 41.2%
*Source: SportsInsights.com
Sports Marketwatch 2/29/08 – Games to Watch
Sacramento Kings +9.5 over Dallas Mavericks
As our readers know, we sometimes need bad teams to do good things against good teams. This matchup is shaping up to be one of those “Pepto Bismol” games. It’s not that Sacramento is that horrible; they are actually just below .500. However, Sacramento is a very weak 9-21 on the road – while Dallas is tied with Utah for the best record at home in the NBA this season!
Dallas is fighting for first place in their division and boasts an impressive 24-3 record at home. So why do we “like” Sacramento in this matchup? SportsInsights’ sports marketplace statistics show that with only 30% of the bets landing on the Kings, the line actually decreased from the opener of Sacramento +9.5 to Sacramento +9.
This is an indicator of “smart money” betting on Sacramento to stay close enough to Dallas – to cover the game. As usual, we’ll join the “smart money” and take the Kings at a “recent low” (they’ve lost three in a row) and “sell” the Mavs at a “home high.”
Sacramento Kings +9.5
Indiana Pacers +10.5 over Toronto Raptors
At first glance, these teams look like they are headed in opposite directions. Toronto has won 7 of its last 10 while Indy has lost 7 of its last 10. Toronto is firmly established as a playoff contender while Indiana has dropped into a tie for last place in its division.
However, when you take a closer look, you can see that recent performance has magnified the differences between these two teams. That is, up until a few weeks ago, Indy was playing better than .400 ball while Toronto was just barely above .500. That makes us feel that getting double-digit points on Indy is a good value.
This game falls into our “buy low, sell high” value category. Let’s “buy” the Pacers at a “low” and “sell” the Raptors at a “high.” With only 30% of the bets coming in on Indy, the line increased from an opener of Indy +10 to Indy +10.5.
Indiana Pacers +10.5
Washington Wizards +5.5 over Chicago Bulls
SportsInsights’ premium analytical tools helped us to circle this game. The sports marketplace shows that about 70% of the bets are coming in on the lowly Chicago Bulls. The “Public” may be fading the Wizards because of their recent poor play (dragging them below .500!).
However, we love taking the Wizards plus the points against an inferior Chicago Bull team (that is only above .400 ball due to a win in their last outing)! As usual, we’ll “Bet Against the Public” – and take the side of the sportsbooks.
Washington Wizards +5.5
Games to Watch: 7-10-1 = 41.2%
Sacramento Kings +9.5
Indiana Pacers +10.5
Washington Wizards +5.5