Flu-like symptoms rule Yao out of tonight's game
Center Yao Ming was ruled out of tonight's game because of flu-like symptoms.
The game will be the fourth he has missed this season, but comes at a time with Yao on a roll offensively, making 25 of 37 shots in his past three games, averaging 19 points.
With at least one blocked shot in his past 16 games, averaging 2.56 in that stretch, he has the longest streak of games with a blocked shot in his career and has averaged three blocked shots in his past nine games.
Yao has averaged 20 points in the previous two games against the Hornets, with the teams each winning on their homecourt, but averaged 29 points and 15 rebounds against New Orleans last season.
BeatYourBookie
100* Play Oklahoma City (+5) over San Antonio (NBA)
Oklahoma City is 18-7 ATS when the total is between 190 and 199.5 points
Oklahoma City is 16-3 ATS after having lost 2 of the last 3 games
13-5 ATS when playing their 2nd game in 5 days
Other Hoops & Hockey Plays
30* Play Los Angeles (-110) over Nashville (NHL)
Matt Fargo
10* NBA DIVISION GAME OF THE YEAR
10* New Orleans Hornets
Both teams enter this game off losses and it sets up a contest with 2nd place in the Southwest Division on the line. The edge goes to the home team in this one for a number of reasons which will be touched upon. First and foremost, New Orleans is home once again following a four-game roadtrip through the Eastern Conference in which it ended up splitting 2-2. The last game was an embarrassing 18-point loss in Chicago so it will be looking to regroup from that outing. The Hornets have won five straight games at home and are 7-1 in their last eight at New Orleans Arena with the only loss coming against Boston. It can be argued that because of that loss New Orleans may not be capable of beating the elite teams but included in this recent home string was a victory over Orlando by 32 points so that argument can be tossed. The Hornets are a respectable 9-14 against the league�s top ten teams but that includes a 6-3 record at home. The losses came against the aforementioned Celtics and the Lakers twice. The question is can New Orleans bounce back over that big loss against the Bulls? The answer is yes. New Orleans is 16-4 ATS in its last 20 games over the last two seasons when coming off a road loss by 10 points or more. It won those games by close to nine ppg. Houston has lost two of its last three games, both losses coming at home with the win coming on the road against Charlotte. That road win was rare as it is just 16-17 on the season in its 33 road games. Houston has won 12 of its last 16 games, going 9-2 at home but just 3-2 on the road during this stretch. This shows that the Rockets have been fortunate to have played the majority of their recent games at home. Going back further, the Rockets are only 6-11 in their last 17 road games so it is a typical NBA team where the results are much better at home than on the road. This concludes an extremely tough stretch for the Rockets as they have faced the Nuggets, Lakers and Spurs since the start of last week. Houston is 11-11 against the league�s top ten but that includes a dismal record of 3-7 on the road with those three wins coming by a combined 11 points so those victories were far from sure things. This less than stellar record is partly due to its 17-23 ATS record within the conference and 4-8 ATS within the division. The home teams is a perfect 4-0 ATS in the last four meetings and the Hornets have had the upper hand of late, going 7-3 ATS over the last 10 meetings. 10* New Orleans Hornets
Chris James Sports
2* Charlotte Bobcats -7
2* Nets/Nuggets Under 204.5
Jay " JR " Wright
San Antonio Spurs -5
Portland / Memphis UNDER 188.5
KBHoops
5* Raptors/Bobcats UNDER 194.5 **POD**
5* Oklahoma City +5
Executive
250% Charlotte
250% Houston
Seabass
200* Toronto/Charlotte Under
30* New Orleans
20* Oklahoma City
California Sports
4* Denver Nuggets
Paul Leiner
50* Den/NJ Over 207.5
25* Spurs -5
10* Hornets -3.5
SCORE
400 CHARLOTTE
300 Houston
SPORTS BANK
300 Oklahoma City
SPORTS UNLIMITED
5* Houston