Sunday's Best NBA Bets
By Covers.com
Utah Jazz at Denver Nuggets (-10, 203.5)
The Nuggets may not have any superstars after dealing Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks last season, but they are a team more than ever. Denver is 8-4 after hammering the Heat on Friday night. With the win, George Karl's squad improved its home record to 6-1 (5-2 ATS).
“We have a group of unselfish players,” said guard Arron Afflalo. “That alone will allow you to have some type of camaraderie. The group that had been here was here for about four or five years. From that standpoint, there was an awareness of who you were on the court with. But from a selfish mentality to the willingness to grow and learn together, this group is very good.”
The Jazz, meanwhile, had won five in row prior to an overtime home loss to the Lakers on Wednesday.
It must be noted, though, that Utah is a different team at home than it is on the road. At home the Jazz are 5-1 overall and 4-2 ATS. On the road they are just 1-3 overall and 1-3 ATS.
Pick: Nuggets
Phoenix Suns at San Antonio Spurs
Normally the San Antonio Spurs don't have an advantage injury-wise over opponents, with Manu Ginobili out until at least February due to a hand injury. This time, though, the Phoenix Suns will likely be in even worse shape on Sunday.
Both Steve Nash and Grant Hill missed Friday night's home loss to the Nets with quadriceps injuries. Nash has a contusion and Hill is dealing with a tendon strain. By the sound of things, the Suns are not going to risk bringing them back too early.
"They're kind of beat up," head coach Alvin Gentry admitted. "If it was a playoff game, yeah, (they would play). But to risk it, when we're about to go on a trip and play five games, I don't know if it makes sense. I don't know if it's worth doing. They are really hurt. To stick them out there and have something worse happen would be disastrous."
If Nash and Hill cannot go on Sunday, they will again be replaced by Ronnie Price and Shannon Brown, respectively. This is not a recipe that can be expected to end a three-game slide. Phoenix is coming off losses to the Lakers, Cavs, and Nets, and the team failed to cover the spread in all three.
Pick: Spurs
GOLDEN STATE (3 - 7) at DETROIT (3 - 9)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
DETROIT is 3-1 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
DETROIT is 2-2 straight up against GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
4 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
UTAH (6 - 4) at DENVER (8 - 4)
Top Trends for this game.
DENVER is 56-40 ATS (+12.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DENVER is 8-5 against the spread versus UTAH over the last 3 seasons
DENVER is 8-7 straight up against UTAH over the last 3 seasons
10 of 14 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX (4 - 7) at SAN ANTONIO (8 - 4)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 9-2 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
PHOENIX is 7-4 straight up against SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
9 of 11 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
GOLDEN STATE vs. DETROIT
Golden State is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games when playing Detroit
Golden State is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Detroit's last 7 games when playing at home against Golden State
Detroit is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games when playing at home against Golden State
UTAH vs. DENVER
Utah is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Utah's last 8 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Denver's last 8 games when playing at home against Utah
Denver is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Utah
PHOENIX vs. SAN ANTONIO
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
The total has gone OVER in 9 of Phoenix's last 11 games when playing San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of San Antonio's last 6 games at home
San Antonio is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
Hoop Trends - Sunday
By Vince Akins
VegasInsider.com
SU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Spurs are 0-10 ATS (-13.8 ppg) since December 23, 1999 at home after a win in which they committed at least twenty turnovers.
OU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Warriors are 0-15 OU (-8.2 ppg) since November 18, 2009 when playing the second of back-to-back road games after losing the first.
PLAYER BASED TREND OF THE DAY:
The Jazz are 11-0 OU (15.2 ppg) since May 07, 2008 on the road as a dog after losing the previous matchup on the road in which Paul Millsap was not the Jazz’s high scorer.
CHOICE TREND:
The Jazz are 13-0 OU (14.0 ppg) since March 09, 1997 on the road when seeking revenge for a road loss in which they had no rest.
TODAY’S TRENDS:
The Pistons are 8-0 ATS (8.6 ppg) since November 18, 2003 at home off a road win that broke at least a three-game losing streak.
GOLDEN STATE at DETROIT
GOLDEN STATE: 27-9 ATS off a road loss by 10 points or more
DETROIT: 13-26 ATS when playing 8 or more games in 14 days
UTAH at DENVER
UTAH: 11-22 ATS after a non-conference game
DENVER: 18-7 ATS after playing 2 consecutive home games
PHOENIX at SAN ANTONIO
PHOENIX: 14-5 ATS after failing to cover the spread in 3 or more consecutive games
SAN ANTONIO: 11-15 ATS on Sunday games
Hot Teams
-- Denver won six of its seven home games (3-2-1 as home fave). Jazz won six of last seven games, covering five of last six.
-- San Antonio is 8-0 at home (5-2-1 as home favorite).
Cold Teams
-- Warriors lost seven of last eight games; they're 0-4 on road, with dogs covered three of the four games. Detroit lost six of last seven games.
-- Suns lost their last three games, by 16-11-7 points.
Totals
-- Five of last six Golden State games went over the total.
-- Three of four Utah road games stayed under the total.
-- Under is 7-3-1 in Phoenix games this season.
Wear and Tear
-- Warriors: 4th game/6 nites. Pistons: 7th game/10 nites.
-- Jazz: 4th game/6 nites. Nuggets: 3rd game/5 nites.
-- Suns: 4th game/6 nites. Spurs: 8th game/12 nites.