N.Y. SPORTS INVESTORS
GEORGETOWN +1.5
Alatex
Murray State
CALIFORNIA SPORTS
3* Denver Nuggets
PPP
3% Jazz
3% Golden State
Donnie Black
New Orleans/ Sacramento Under
Matt Fargo
10** WESTERN CONFERENCE GAME OF THE YEAR
10* Sacramento Kings
This is an ugly as play as you can get but ugly is what makes money in this league. Sacramento has played the most road game of any team in the Western Conference and it is tied with Milwaukee and Toronto for the most played in the entire league. It has been a rough stretch recently as 10 of its last 14 and 20 of its last 32 games have all come on the road. The All-Star break was a welcomed break as the Kings were able to stay in the same place for more than a day only once in the past month so the fact that they got to remain home for seven days was a big energizer. Sacramento split its first two games off the layoff before getting drilled against the Mavericks, where else but on the road. Taking a look at this recent 32-game stretch tells us quite a bit and that is, like most NBA teams, the Kings are night and day depending on where they play. In those 20 road games, they are getting outscored by an average of 12.3 ppg while in the 12 home games during this stretch, they are getting outscored by 9.5 ppg. That may not seem like a big difference but that home margin is skewed by two games, one against Boston where it lost by 45 points and another against Orlando where it lost by 32 points. Take those two games out and he scoring margin dips to only -3.7 ppg. Those two games were both on one day rest following a home game so it is possible that the lack of travel actually went against the Kings in those spots. It may not seen right to pull out those Orlando and Boston games for this analysis as New Orleans fits in that same mold of the “NBA Elite”. Or does it? It doesn’t anymore and as great as Chris Paul is, he hasn’t been able to carry this team of late. New Orleans dropped to 13-13 on the road after another blowout loss, this one against Utah on Saturday. While that record is definitely better than most teams can say, considering it only lost 15 road games all of last season, this is definitely not the same team. Even the road games they have won, the Hornets are far from dominant. They have dropped five of their last six away from home including losses at Memphis and Minnesota while the lone victory was a squeaker by two points at Oklahoma City. It will be argued that the Hornets are in desperation mode and this is a must win game and the public is buying into this as the Hornets are getting backed big in this one. One thing the public is getting hit with is the fact that New Orleans is only 2-12 when an underdog on the road but 11-1 when a favorite on the road. Those records will bring any Joe onto the Hornets bandwagon. However, they are 7-4-1 ATS in those 12 games as a road favorite and that includes a 1-2-1 ATS mark when favored by seven points or more. As a matter of fact, when favored by seven points or more no matter the venue, the Hornets are 5-10-2 ATS this season. On the flip side, the Kings have not been a good proposition as a home underdog, going just 4-11 ATS in their 15 games in that role. However, the majority of the time they have been getting small numbers as only three games they have seen a number greater than seven points and they are 1-2 ATS in those games. On the season, Sacramento is 0-22 against the Eastern Conference (6-16 ATS) and 12-23 against the Western Conference (20-15 ATS). Center Tyson Chandler is far from 100 and is questionable once again. He isn’t having a spectacular season but his presence inside makes the Hornets a completely different team as his replacement Hilton Armstrong does not get or need the same attention on defense. In the 18 games Chandler has missed this season, New Orleans is 8-10 and in the games he has played, New Orleans is 24-12. That is not coincidence. New Orleans has not fared well against teams it should be able to produce against as it is 3-12 ATS this season against teams that are allowing 46 percent shooting or worse and 0-7 ATS against teams that are allowing 103 ppg or more on the season. The home team is 12-3 ATS in the last 15 meetings and the Kings, despite being the worse team, has won three of the last four meetings outright while covering all four. This is far too many points for the Hornets to be putting down especially in a game that they can easily lose outright. We will take the generosity but may not even need it. 10* Sacramento Kings
SPORTS BANK
300 Georgetown
SPORTS UNLIMITED
5* Hawks/Jazz Under
The Soccer Expert
NYK vs. Indiana under 225
Western Carolina at Wofford over 140
I am out of here guys have to take the kid to the Doctors please post anything that I haven't so far.