NBA Betting News and Notes
By Steve Merril
Covers.com
Houston Rockets
The Rockets have had their ups and downs over the past two weeks. Houston jumped to the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference after winning four consecutive games, all on the road, last week.
But after their triumphant trip, the Rockets lost their last four games with three of those losses coming on their home floor. Houston’s playoff hopes took a major hit with a 105-102 home loss to Denver Monday night.
“Right now it’s difficult because we just blew away our margin for error and the season is now four games shorter,” said Luis Scola. “It’s just painful because we lost four games in a row against teams who are right there behind or in front of us. It really hurts because we could have been clinching the playoffs right now today. Instead we are just seeing what’s going to happen, if we’re going to get in the playoffs or not.”
Houston’s last four losses have been due to poor third-quarter play. The Rockets were outscored by an average of 31-19 in the third quarter in those games. Houston will go into its game in Dallas Wednesday night on a 0-4 ATS slide after going a perfect 4-0 ATS in its previous four games.
Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant has missed the last five games with a bruised tendon in his left shin. Heading into their home game against San Antonio Tuesday, the Lakers have gone 4-1 SU and 3-2 ATS without Bryant in the lineup.
There’s no timetable for Bryant's return and head coach Mike Brown hasn't ruled out sitting him for the rest of the regular season. As long as the Lakers keep playing like they are, then there's no reason to rush Bryant back on the court. In his absence, the Lakers’ offensive production has come from Metta World Peace and Matt Barnes - two players known more for their defensive efforts.
“You talk about different guys stepping up at different times, we’ve had that offensively,” said Brown.
The Lakers have two home games and three road games remaining this season. At home, they are just 15-16 ATS heading into Tuesday night’s game against the Spurs, while going a money-burning 11-19 ATS on the road this season.
Memphis Grizzlies
This was an under-the-radar team coming down the stretch. The Grizzlies are 10-5 SU over their last 15 outings, heading into their meeting at Minnesota Tuesday. But unfortunately, center Marc Gasol injured his knee in their 88-75 loss at New Orleans Sunday night.
Gasol’s MRI revealed a bone bruise and not a more serious injury, like a torn MCL. Gasol’s status is questionable for the rest of the week, but he did tweet: “It's all good. I'll be back as soon as possible,” after finding out the results of his test.
Memphis will miss Gasol’s presence in the paint and, since it's fighting for the No. 4 seed and home court in the first round of the playoffs, caught an unfortunate break at the wrong time.
Despite its strong record, Memphis hasn’t been covering spreads, going just 8-7 ATS over its last 15 games, including a 1-3 ATS run in its last four road contests entering Tuesday night.
New York Knicks
It’s pretty amazing that the New York Knicks own a winning record (31-29 SU) coming into their home game against Boston Tuesday.
The Knicks have been through a tumultuous season with the resignation of Mike D’Antoni in mid-March and the myriad of injuries to their best players like Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Jeremy Lin.
Of that trio, only Anthony has returned to the court. Lin had knee surgery and is most likely lost until next year. But the Knicks got good news as Stoudemire is slated to return when New York plays in Cleveland Friday. Stoudemire has missed 11 straight games, with the Knicks going a respectable 7-4 ATS in that span.