Hot and Cold Bets - Week 14
By Matt Fargo
The NBA is approaching the All-Star break and this is a big stretch for some teams before taking some time off. Matt Fargo will be looking into Hot and Cold NBA bets throughout the season and he takes a look at four games that you will want to pay attention to coming up over the weekend.
NBA Hot Bets
Friday – Boston Celtics at New York Knicks 7:35 PM ET
This is a tough spot for the Celtics who are coming off a massive game on Thursday against the Lakers. Win or lose, that is a difficult game to rebound from. Boston will be playing for some revenge as it came into New York on January 4th and lost by 12 points. That was the first of four straight defeats before running off 12 consecutive wins. The Celtics were 7-0-1 ATS in the prior eight meetings before that latest setback with New York. The Knicks are playing some excellent basketball right now despite coming off a loss on Wednesday against Cleveland. It has been a tough week with that game following a game against the Lakers. The Knicks were rolling along with six wins in its last seven games before the Lakers came to town. New York is on an 8-1 ATS run and is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 home games going back to that Boston victory. That has improved the Knicks ATS mark at home to 15-10.
Sunday – Los Angeles Lakers at Cleveland Cavaliers 3:30 PM ET
The good news for the Lakers is that they will have had a couple days off in-between playing the Celtics on Thursday and the Cavaliers on Sunday. All the time off in the world may not do much difference here however. The Lakers have been great on the road but they will be facing the only NBA team that has yet to lose at home as the Cavaliers are a perfect 23-0 on their home floor. While the Lakers will have had two full days off to prepare and rest, Cleveland will have had three days since its last game was Wednesday against the Knicks. The Cavaliers will be looking to avenge the 17-point loss in Los Angeles from last month which is the biggest loss of the season. The Cavaliers are 18-5 ATS at home which is even more impressive considering the large spreads associated with being undefeated. The Lakers top scoring offense will have much tougher time against the Cavaliers top scoring defense on their home floor this time around.
NBA Cold Bets
Saturday – Miami Heat at Philadelphia 76ers 7:05 PM ET
When it looked like Philadelphia was finally coming out its season long slump, things are digressing once again. The Sixers started the season a disappointing 13-20 and the horrendous start led to the firing of head coach Maurice Cheeks. The Sixers started turning things around with a 10-2 run but they have since lost their last two games heading into Thursday’s game against the Pacers. A win there will help ease some of the recent problems and even the current homestand record at 2-2 but there are concerns. Most notably they have not been able to finish games as they have lost eight games this season in which they led after three quarters. Miami is playing pretty average ball right now and it has yet to put a major run together. The Heat are 12-11 ATS on the road and is coming off a loss in Detroit on Wednesday. That has been beneficial going forward so far this season as Miami is 16-5 following a loss, going 13-8 ATS in those 21 games.
Friday – Los Angeles Clippers at Memphis Grizzlies 8:05 PM ET
Oh what can you say about the Clippers? This team is playing horrible right now as injuries have taken their toll and completely disrupted the chemistry of this team. Los Angeles is tied with Washington for the worst record in the NBA and its 20-29 ATS record is certainly nothing to be proud of. The Clippers have dropped seven straight games heading into this contest and none of those have been close. All seven setbacks have been by at least 12 points with an average scoring margin of 20.3 ppg. The Grizzlies have won two in a row for the first time since mid-December and those two victories snapped a 12-game losing streak. New head coach Lionel Hollins may be on to something although it is too little, too late. Memphis does own the worst ATS record in the league at 17-30-1 but it is 6-5 ATS at home against losing teams. The favorite has covered six of the last eight in this series and the home team is on a 4-0 ATS run. Both of those runs will favor Memphis on Friday.