Karl Garrett
10 DIMER - NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
I like the "home cooking" tonight, as the host in this series has won, and covered the last 4 series meetings, including both this season.
Houston has dropped 2 of their last 3 straight up, and they have failed 4 of their last 6 against the spread.
New Orleans is on a 9-2 straight up run entering tonight's action, and they have covered in 5 of their last 7 games.
G-Man will lay the small home impost, as the home team moves to 5-0 both straight up, and against the spread the last 5 meetings.
Take New Orleans.
Brandon Lang
20-Dime Charlotte Bobcats
FREE - Oklahoma City
Raging Bull
Rockets vs. Hornets under 183
Spurs vs. Thunder under 187
Las Vegas Sport Picks
2* Houston Rockets +4
4* Raptors/Bobcats under 194
NSA
20* Oklahoma City +5.5
10* Charlotte -6.5
10* Memphis +6.5
10* Houston +4
10* Denver -12.5
Bob Balfe
Oklahoma City +5
Dr. Canada
Capitals/Thrashers over 6.5
Erin Rynning
Playmaker - Houston
MTi Sports
5* Tor/Char Under 194
4* Denver
Billy Coleman
5*N Jersey/Den Over 208
Kevin Rogers
Rockets at Hornets
Pick: Under 182.5
The Hornets have been struggling to find their groove offensively lately, scoring 95 points or below in three of their last four games, as New Orleans gets set for a division showdown with Houston. The Rockets are coming off a grind-it-out loss at home to the Spurs on Saturday, falling 88-85, Houston's fifth straight UNDER. The Rockets and Hornets are used to playing low-scoring games, with five of the last six meetings going UNDER the total, including both games this season, finishing at 173 and 167 points. The winner of this game may be the first to 90, and I see the trends of this series staying true tonight. I'll take the Hornets and Rockets to finish UNDER the total.
Matt Moore
Houston at New Orleans
Play: Under 182
Under is 5-0 in Rockets last 5 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600.
Under is 5-0 in Rockets last 5 overall.
Under is 4-0 in Rockets last 4 road games.
Under is 4-0 in Rockets last 4 games against teams from the Western Conference.
Under is 6-1 in Rockets last 7 games against a team with a winning SU record.
Under is 6-1 in Rockets last 7 games following a SU loss.
Under is 4-1 in Rockets last 5 games against teams from the Southwest Division.
Under is 4-1 in Rockets last 5 games as an underdog.
Under is 16-5 in Rockets last 21 games following a ATS loss.
MTi Sports
5* Tor/Char Under 194
4* Denver
New Jersey at Denver
Play: Denver -13
The Nets, desperate for a win, went all-out last night in an effort to get one vs the Clippers. Vince Carter was on the floor for 43 minutes and was 13-of-26 from the field for 41 points. Nonetheless the Nets came up short 105-107. The loss puts them at 0-3 over the first three games of a five game road trip. Here, they are in a very tough spot and we expect they’ll mail this one in to save their best effort for the last game of the trip, which is in New York. Clearly, they’re best chance to avoid the 0-5 road trip, is vs the Knicks, where they will be rested. the relevant trend here is that the Nets are 0-5 ATS (-11.4 ppg) on the road with no rest after a loss on the road in which Vince Carter played more than 40 minutes, losing every game straight up, by an average margin of 17.8 points per game.As is well known, the Nets opened a can of whup-ass on the Nuggets in their first meeting this season, beating them 114-70. After opening up a 59-39 half-time lead, New Jersey did not let up, outscoring the Nuggets 57-31 in the second half. The loss was Denver’s worst ion over ten years and they were actually laying 2’ points. The Nuggets can be counted on in this situation. Denver is 9-0 ATS (7.1 ppg) as a favorite when facing an Eastern Conference team they lost to as a favorite in their first match-up of the season. In a related trend, the Nuggets are 4-0 ATS at home when seeking revenge for a road loss in which Carmelo Anthony was the Nuggets' high scorer.Denver is off a 107-94 win over the Clippers in which they were sloppy with the ball but made up for it by dominating the boards. They committed 22 turnovers but out-rebounded the Clippers 56-30. This are exactly the kind of stats that produce ATS wins. Denver is 7-0 ATS as a favorite after a game in which they controlled at least 60% of the available rebounds and 4-0 ATS THIS season, as a favorite after a game in which they committed at least twenty turnovers.Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Nets have allowed 100+ points for six straight games now. So, we expect Denver to light up the scoreboard -- especially because the Nets have no rest in the fourth game of a five game trip. Indeed, New Jersey is 0-5 ATS since the All-Star break on the road when they allowed one-hundred-plus points for at least two straight games. After what happened earlier this season in New Jersey, can’t imagine the Nuggets letting the Nets in the back door here. Lay the points.
MTi’s FORECAST: DENVER 118 New Jersey 86
Chris Jordan
600♦ NUGGETS - You know the deal boys, the Nets are coming in on the second of back-to-back nights after playing in Los Angeles, and losing to the Clippers, 107-105, last night. Making matters worse - or better, for us - is the Nets are playing their fourth road game in six nights, and have lost the first three both straight-up and against the spread.
The first three road games have seen this team forced into fast-paced affairs, losing at Golden State (112-116), Portland (100-109) and last night's setback at Staples. And trust me when I tell you, the Nuggets haven't forgotten about the first meeting, in which New Jersey denounced them by a wicked 44 points back on Feb. 7. And in regards to that loss, the Nuggets were playing their fourth game in five nights and third straight on the road in that stretch. Prior to that, the Nuggets had won and covered three straight in this series, including last year's game here, 100-85.
Denver has played three straight at home, and has won two in a row now, having knocked off the Thunder and Clippers, each by 13. The Nuggets have one of the best records at home, sporting a 25-8 mark at the Pepsi Center, and much of that has to do with the rarified air. Tonight that altitude will make all the difference in the world, with a weary Nets team coming in with no legs whatsoever.
And if it makes any difference, this team has done some extensive traveling since March 3, as this will be its sixth road game over the past 14 days. And while that might not seem that bad, given this is the NBA, that's simply ridiculous for any team in any day-to-day sport. Especially when there were home games sandwiched in between there. This is the Nets' eighth game overall in these past two weeks, and when you travel to Milwaukee, home for the defending-champion Celtics, to Orlando, home for New York and then on this current road trip, you're bound to be exhausted.
I could go on and on, but why ... you can see this is a steal with the Nuggets on point to wipe this team off the court, as the Nets have allowed 108.5 points on average last six games.
Lay it with the home chalk.
DOC
NBA
4-Unit Play Take Oklahoma City +5 Over San Antonio
For the first time in a long time this Thunder team is healthy and we expect them to start playing better and covering some spreads the next couple weeks. This team has Kevin Durant, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook all in the lineup for their Saturday game against the Suns on the road. The team played well but they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter and that was the difference in the team not covering. These guys shook off the rust, we think, in that first game back as a nucleus and they will get Nick Collison back tonight as well. In one meeting this season, in San Antonio, they lost by just five after being down by 20 after the first quarter. But they won every other quarter in the game and we think that they give an even better effort tonight in front of the home fans. They had a pretty rough road trip with two blowout losses but this team has won three straight at home and we think they come to play tonight. The home team is 13-4-1 ATS in the last 18 meetings.
NHL
2 Unit Play. Take Under 6½ in Washington at Atlanta
The Cap's are off a fast paced up and down game vs Carolina on Saturday and head to Atlanta to play a Thrashers team coming off three road wins and winner's of five straight with the last two being a pair of 4-3 overtime wins. These teams have meet three teams this year resulting in three over’s combining for twenty six goals in nine periods of hockey. So one would think money in the bag right? I don't look at like that, the odds maker adjustment has gone from two six under minus money in the first two games to the last one being six and a half goals and now to today another six and half but looks like Atlanta sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is going to miss and the Cap's Sergei Fedorov has the Flu and that is usually not limited to one guy. I think both teams may be flat here and totals don't get any higher then six and half in the NHL. Small play here on the under.