Tom Freese
La Clippers at Minnesota
Minnesota is 8-1 ATS off a double digit loss and they are 10-2 ATS off an ATS off an ATS loss. The T'Wolves are 11-4 ATS when playing with one day of rest and they are 7-3 ATS their last 10 home games vs. the Clippers. Los Angeles is 8-20 ATS off an ATS win and they are 3-11 ATS on Monday. The Clippers are 2-8 ATS after allowing 100 or more points and they are 1-7 ATS vs. a team that scored 100 or more points in their last game.
PLAY ON MINNESOTA
Matt Fargo
Boston Celtics at San Antonio Spurs
Pick: San Antonio Spurs -3.5
Reason: The Spurs are back home following a disastrous road trip where they went 0-3, culminated by a loss at Philadelphia on Saturday. San Antonio has dropped five straight road games but at home, it has won seven in a row. This team desperately needs to get back into the groove, similar to the one it had just a couple weeks ago when it won 11 straight games. The Spurs were 15-1 in a string of 16 games and that one defeat was in Boston which gives San Antonio even more motivation this time around.
This is the start of a brutal run for the Celtic who face four of the top teams in the Western Conference during this roadtrip. With Houston on deck tomorrow, will the Celtics be prepared for tonight or looking ahead to break that 22-game winning and trying to prove they are still the best team in the NBA? It is tough to say but the last time Boston was on a trip like this, it went 2-3 with defeats in the first three games. In their last 12 games, the Celtics have faced only three playoff teams.
For the Celtics, Ray Allen is doubtful for this game but he is most definitely out as head coach Doc Rivers said that he does not want to jeopardize the health of his team heading into the playoffs. We lose some value with the line because of this but it should not even come into play. Back to that first meeting, the Spurs were without Tony Parker and San Antonio still had a chance but Boston got the call, going to the free throw line 34 times compared to just 13 times for the Spurs.
As mentioned, San Antonio is home after that three-game roadtrip and this is a spot it has thrived in all season long. When coming back to the AT&T Center following at least two consecutive road games, the Spurs are 7-1 straight up and 5-2-1 ATS. The lone outright loss came against the Pistons after getting outscored by 15 points in the first quarter. Those seven wins came by an average of 11.4 ppg. Boston is 43-8 against teams ranked outside the top 10 but just 9-5 against the ten best in the NBA including a 3-3 road mark. Play San Antonio Spurs 1 Unit
BEN BURNS
NBA BASKETBALL
UNDER Wizards/Hawks
Game: Atlanta Hawks vs. Washington Wizards
Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on Washington and Atlanta to finish UNDER the number. The Hawks saw yesterday's game at New York finish above the total, as they won by a score of 108-98. However, they've seen the UNDER go 5-2 this season when coming off a double-digit victory and the last time they played the second of back to back games (03/08) they combined with Miami for 191 points in a game which stayed below the number by nearly double-digits. Looking at the last six times that the Hawks faced an Eastern Conference opponent, when playing the second of back to back games, and we find that five of those six games produced 198 combined points or less. These teams have faced each other three times this season. All three games had over/under lines in the low to mid 190s. Tonight's number is several points higher, giving us excellent value. The primary reason for the bigger number is that Washington has been involved in several high-socring games recently. However, its worth noting that they've seen the UNDER go 4-1 this season after playing three or more consecutive home games and 5-2 when playing at home with an over/under line ranging from 200 to 204.5 Two of the earlier three games fell below the number and all three produced 200 points or less. In fact, the UNDER is 6-1 the last seven series meetings and none of those games produced more than 200 combined points. Looking back further and we find the UNDER at a highly profitable 15-4 the last 19 times that these teams faced each other here at Washington. The Wizards won the most recent meeting, at Atlanta in January. That's worth noting as we find the UNDER at 12-6 this season when the Hawks were attempting to avenge a home loss. They've also seen the UNDER go 27-17 their last 44 divisional games. Look for tonight's final score to be lower than expected once again. *Eastern Conf. TOW
GRIZZLIES
Game: Charlotte Bobcats vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Prediction: Memphis Grizzlies Reason: I'm taking the points with MEMPHIS. Yes, the Bobcats are still in the playoff race. However, they've fallen to 12th place in the conference and it's hard to say how motivated they really are to work to try and reach the playoffs, when they know that would only mean a sweep at the hands of the Celtics. Regardless of their motivation level, the Bobcats' problem is that they can't win when playing away from Charlotte. They've never won at Memphis before and they're an awful 6-25 on the road for the season. Asking them to lay points on the road against a Western Conference opponent is asking an awful lot, even if it is Memphis. The Grizzlies have certainly struggled. They don't get the luxury of playing as many lower tier teams as the Bobcats do though. When taking a closer look at their last stretch of games we find that they've lost road games at Cleveland, Houston, Chicago, Phoenix, Denver and Golden State. The Bobcats would have very likely lost at all those venues too though. Looking at the games played here at Memphis during that stretch and we find that the opponents have also been very tough. In fact, their last five home games came against Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, New Jersey and Boston. The Mavs, Suns, Jazz and Celtics are all among the league's best teams meaning that the Nets represented the best chance at a win. Facing that beatable opponent, the Grizzlies took advantage and played their best, winning by seven points as +2.5 point underdogs. Tonight, certainly represents another winnable game and I expect the Grizzlies, who find themselves a similar-sized underdog, to again rise to the occasion with their best effort. The Grizzlies played very well last time out, losing by only three points at Golden State. They had yesterday off. Charlotte, on the other hand, played the Cavs tough at Cleveland. Despite a 3-point win at Washington earlier this month, they're still just 4-12 the last 16 times that they played the second of back to back games. The Bobcats are also just 6-22-1 ATS against Southwest opponents the past three seasons and I look for their road woes to continue for another evening. *Non-Conference Game of the Month
UNDER Raptors/Jazz
BEN BURNS
HOCKEY
MINNESOTA
Game: Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild
Prediction: Minnesota Wild Reason: I'm laying the price with MINNESOTA. This is a huge game in the Western Conference as these teams both have 84 points which has them in a tie for first place in the Northwest division. This will be the sixth series meeting of the season with the home team having gone 4-1 through the first five. That's no surprise though as both teams have been stronger on home ice all season. The Wild, who won both meetings at Minnesota, are 20-11-5 at home and 18-15-3 on the road. The Avs, who won two of the three meetings at Colorado, are 16-16-4 on the road and 23-13-2 at home. Its true that the Avs have been the better team over the past couple of weeks. However, its also true that they got cooled off in their last game, losing 4-2 vs. New Jersey. Conversely, the Wild come off a much needed victory, shutting out the Kings by a score of 2-0. That snapped a losing skid and I look for them to carry the positive momentum into this evening's game. Marian Gaborik scored one of Friday's two goals, which brought the Wild to an impressive 22-2-2 when he scores a goal. Gaborik will be in the lineup this evening which is worth noting, as he didn't play in either of the games which Colorado won this season. Including this season's two victories, the Wild have won three straight home games in this series and five of the last seven meetings here. That fact that they embark on a 4-game road trip after this adds even greater importance to tonight's game. Look for a huge effort as they continue their recent success on home ice in this series, earning an extremely valuable two points. *annihilator
Vegas Experts
Atlanta Hawks at Washington Wizards
Wizards know they have to keep winning. They did it Thursday night, downing Cleveland here at home, and then got by the Clippers at home in their next Saturday night in a letdown spot. They should be back up tonight for another Eastern Conference foe and one chasing them in the standings. Hawks come in without rest and represent a class-drop for the Wizards who have beaten them 13 of the last 16 meetings. Washington is 23-10 ATS on the season against teams with losing records.
Play on: Washington
LT Profits
New York Knicks +8.0
The New York Knicks may be awful this season at 19-47 overall, but the Indiana Pacers have not exactly been setting the world on fire and they do not merit this much favoritism.
The Pacers are just 25-41 straight up, and they have a losing home record at 13-18 AU and 14-17 against the spread. Indiana is actually getting slightly outscored at home by a small average of -0.7 points per game, and it is difficult to lay this many points with a team that is surrendering a disgusting 105.8 points per game overall and an astronomical 111.2 points per over the last five contests.
As bet as the Knicks are, they are actually over .500 on the road at 16-15-1 ATS. They are also 3-2 straight up in their last five visits to Indiana, including a 108-106 decision as nine-point underdogs the last time they played here in Conseco.
These may be two bad teams, but the Knicks hole value at this price.
Pick: Knicks +8
Tony Karpinski
Charlotte Bobcats vs. Memphis Grizzlies
Play: Charlotte Bobcats
Despite Charlotte’s recent slide, they have been playing many quality opponents tough on the road. Charlotte played Houston and Cleveland very close in their last two road games, covering against the spread in each game. Despite the Bobcats poor road record, they have been able to beat weaker teams on the road. Charlotte is 5-3 straight up and 7-1 against the spread in their last eight games. This team has been playing better, as they are looking to get one of the last playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, Memphis has been playing much worse since losing Pau Gasol. The Grizzlies are also in a tough situational position of being sandwiched between two road trips. They are coming off of a three game road trip against Phoenix, Denver, and Golden State. All three of those teams love to run up and down the court, which makes it even tougher stamina wise. Now they have to pla! y across country and play another game, then go on the road again in another day. To make things even worse, the Grizzlies are only 2-17 overall since the start of February. I look for Charlotte to control this game throughout as they dominate the road weary Grizzlies. PREDICTION: Charlotte Wins 103-89
Rocketman Sports
Boston @ San Antonio
Play On: 1* San Antonio -3
San Antonio is 27-5 SU at home this year. San Antonio is allowing only 88.8 points per game at home this season. San Antonio is 18-3 SU overall vs Boston since 1996 including 9-1 SU at home since 1996. Celtics are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games vs. a team with a winning SU record. Celtics are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 when their opponent allows 100 points or more in their previous game. Celtics are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600. Favorite is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings. Celtics are 3-7 ATS in the last 10 meetings. We'll recommend a small play on San Antonio tonight!
Jack Clayton
Knicks
RedZone
Colorado Avalanche
Mighty Quinn
Magic
Cappers Access
Clippers
Jazz
NATIONAL SPORTS SERVICE
Cleveland/Orlando OVER 204
ARTHUR RALPH
Vancouver
Jim Feist
Celtics-Spurs Under
Totals4u
Hawks-Wizards Over
Joe Wiz
Cavs
Hawks
Vegas Steamline
NY-Indiana Under
Scott Spreitzer
Bulls
Huddle Up Sports
Jazz
Dave Cokin
Twolves
Glen Mcgrew
Bobcats
Razor Sharp Sports
Hawks-Wizards Over
Bob Donahue
Hornets
Sportscapping
Pacers - 7
National Sports Advisors
Boston @ San Antonio UNDER 177.5
Gameday Sports Network
Charlotte @ Memphis OVER 208
Wunderdog MLB
Atlanta at St. Louis
Pick: Atlanta +104
Anthony Reyes (7.00 ERA) will square off against Mike Hampton (0.00) this afternoon. The Cards have had trouble producing runs this spring, as only three teams have scored less. At the same time, they have given up the fifth-most runs in the Grapefruit circuit, and even when playinghome they have been a sub-.500 team. The Braves have been producing runs second only to the Reds in the Grapefruit circuit, and at the same time have been able to produce a winning mark on the road. Hampton had a minor setback with some groin discomfort, but threw on the side and had no pain last week. He has not yielded a run yet this spring, while Reyes has been lit-up and the Braves ability to produce runs this spring makes them the choice here.
Priceless Picks
1 Unit on Bulls/Hornets OVER 202
New Orleans is coming off a terrible performance at Detroit Sunday, in which the Hornets scored just 84 points. They'll waste no time trying to atone for that loss with a big performance back at home tonight. With the trades that have gone down, Chicago's defense has struggled, especially on the road. The Bulls have allowed 109.5 ppg over their last 4 games. Both games played in this series at New Orleans the past 3 seasons have gone OVER the total and 15 of the last 21 games the Bulls have played on the road in this matchup have gone OVER. The Over is 5-0-1 in Hornets last 6 games as a home favorite of 5.0-10.5, 7-1 in Hornets last 8 games following a SU loss of more than 10 points, and 12-3-1 in Hornets last 16 games as a home favorite. The Over is 5-1 in Bulls last 6 overall and 5-1-1 in Bulls last 7 road games. Take the OVER.
NESS INSIDER
SPURS
REASON FOR PICK: The Celtics returned from the All Star break and promptly lost the first three games of their five-game road trip vs Western Conference opponents (at Denver, Golden St and Phoenix). The team then won at Portland and LA (Clippers), sparking 11 wins in 12 games (8-4 ATS), including an easy 99-77 win a Milwaukee on Saturday. That game was the first of a five-game road trip that continues tonight in Sa Antonio against the Spurs. Boston is 52-13, 4 1/2-games better that the Pistons, who own the NBA second-best mark. However, this four-game stretch (over six days), has them visiting the Spurs (44-22), Rockets (46-20), Mavs (44-23) and Hornets (44-21). The Spurs enter this game having lost FIVE of six games (0-6 ATS), although all five losses have come away from San Antonio (Spurs are 27-5 SU at home). Boston's the league's best defensive team, ranking No. 1 in both opponents PPG (90.3) and FG percentage (41.8), while the Spurs rank 3rd in PPG (91.3) and eighth in FG percentage (44.9). The Spurs have been used to dominating the Celtics but that was before the "Big Three" of Pierce (19.9-5.3-4.7), KG (19.7-9.4) and Allen (18.3). The Spurs broke an 15-game losing streak in San Antonio last year (pre-KG and Allen, by the way!) and earlier this season, beat the Spurs 98-90 in Boston, in a contest in which neither KG played for the Celtics nor Parker played for the Spurs. Allen sat out the game at Milwaukee with an ankle sprain and is listed as questionable for this game. Cassell saw his most action as a Celtic in that game, playing 23 minutes, making five-of-nine shots and scoring 10 points (had five assists). The Celtics complimentary players have been very underrated this year and Cassell could be a GREAT addition to that underappreciated group. Parker (18.7-5.7 APG) missed nine straight games (late-Jan thru mid-Feb) while resting his ankle but he's looked very good lately, averaging 25.7 PPG on 68.0 percent shooting in San Antonio's last three games. Ginobili (20.2-5.0-4.7) is having a career-season and of course Duncan (19.7-11.5) is just Duncan. San Antonio is in a 'dog fight' in the West, as just 4 1/2 games separate the No. 1 seed from the No. 8 seed. San Antonio enters this game on a three-game losing streak and this proud franchise (four NBA titles in the last nine seasons!) has not had a four-game losing streak since early in the 2003-04 season. I'm backing the defending champs here. Las Vegas Insider on the SA Spurs (8*).
Utah
REASON FOR PICK: With all the major trades (Gasol, Shaq, Kidd) in the West being made after the first of the year, Utah getting Kyle Korver from Philly on Dec 29 (little-mentioned at the time), has surely sparked the Jazz. Korver's first game for Utah came on Dec 31, a night the Jazz ended Portland's 13-game winning streak. The Jazz are 28-8 overall since that night, including 18 straight home wins (12-6 ATS). Utah sports an NBA-best 28-3 (21-10 ATS) home mark and will try for win No. 19 in a row tonight, against the struggling Raptors. Chris Bosh (22.6-8.9) remains sidelined for the Raptors and they are 2-7 SU and ATS over his nine-game absence (are 4-10 this year in games he hasn't played). This contest marks Toronto's final game of a five-game road trip and the Raptors have yet to win, going 1-3 ATS. While the Raptors are the league's best three-point shooting team, at 40.4 percent, they are just not the same without Bosh. In the Jazz, they'll face a team which is not only the NBA's second-best shooting team (49.6 percent) but one which outscores opponents at home by the average game score of 108.0-to-94.9! Lay the points with Utah as the Jazz extend their home winning streak to 19 with an easy win and cover.
LT'S LOCK
Magic -7
Sports Gambling Hotline
LA Clippers at MINNESOTA -6'
For Monday we will lay the points with the Minnesota Timberwolves over the visiting Clippers.
Minnesota comes back home off a two game road trip that saw them split a pair in the pacific northwest, as the Wolves have won 3 of their last 5 games both straight up, and against the spread.
Los Angeles continues to stink up the joint, as the Clips head to the Target Center having lost their last 3. LA has won just 2 of their last 13 games straight up, and with the points it hasn't been much better, as Los Angeles is on a 3-10 spread run. Included is a home loss to Minnesota 9 days ago in the City of Angels as the 4-point favorite.
The Timberwolves have now won and covered 3 of the last 4 series meetings, and we like them again tonight to add to that total.
Play on the T-Wolves.
1* MINNESOTA
Tony Mathews
INDIANA PACERS -7
We will lay the points with the Indiana Pacers as they face-off against the New York Knicks in Monday's NBA contest. The Indiana Pacers have a big advantage on the offensive end. The Indiana Pacers (at home) are scoring an average of 104.2 points per game, while the New York Knicks (on the road) are scoring an average of only 94.3 points per game. As you can see, the Indiana Pacers have a big advantage on the offensive end. The Indiana Pacers have already proven they are much better then the New York Knicks. In fact, the Indiana Pacers are 5-1 SU & ATS in their last 6 meetings against the New York Knicks.
Take the Indiana Pacers -7