NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Friday, April 7th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Miami is 4-5 in its last nine games; they’re 4-1-1 vs spread in last six road games. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games. Toronto won nine of last 11 games; they’re 6-4 vs spread in last ten home games. Five of their last six games went over total. Home side won six of last seven Miami-Toronto games; Raptors won six of last nine meetings, with last three staying under total. Heat lost last four visits to Canada (1-3 vs spread).
Hawks won three of last five games, covered three of last four road games; under is 9-2 in their last 11 games. Cleveland won its last four games (3-1 vs spread); they’re 3-5-1 vs spread in last nine home games. Over is 7-3 in their last ten games. Cavaliers won nine of last ten games with Atlanta, which lost five of last six visits here (1-5 vs spread). Four of last five series games went over total.
Pistons lost its last nine road games (1-8 vs spread); they’re 1-7 in last eight games overall. Under is 10-4 in their last 14 games. Houston won six of last seven home games; they’re 1-4 vs spread in last five games overall. Four of their last five games stayed under. Rockets won seven of last ten games with Detroit; over is 5-2 in last seven series games. Pistons lost four of last five visits to Houston (2-3 vs spread).
New York split its last six games; they’re 4-1 vs spread in last five away games. Knicks’ last six games stayed under the total. Grizzlies lost their last three games, are 4-1 vs spread in last five home tilts. Under is 8-4 in their last dozen games. Knicks lost eight of last ten games with Memphis; they lost last five visits here (1-4 vs spread). Three of last four series games went over total.
San Antonio won eight of last ten games; they’re 6-3 vs spread in last nine road games. Seven of their last nine games stayed under. Dallas lost six of its last seven games; they’re 1-4-1 vs spread in last six home games. Under is 6-3 in their last nine games. Spurs won eight of last nine games with Dallas, but Mavericks covered last three; San Antonio won last three games in this building (2-1 vs spread). Under is 7-3 in last ten series games.
Timberwolves lost three of last four games; they’re 1-8 vs spread in last nine road games. Five of their last six games went over total. Jazz won four of its last five games; they’re 5-2 vs spread in last seven home tilts. Three of their last four home games stayed under. Utah won five of last six games with Minnesota; four of last five series games stayed under the total. Teams split last four series games played here.
New Orleans is 3-4 in its last seven games, 1-3 vs spread in last four road games. Four of their last five games went over total. Denver lost four of last six games, is 5-3 vs spread in last eight home games. Over is 7-2 in their last nine games. Road team won eight of last nine Pelican-Nugget games; Denver just won 134-131 on Bourbon Street Tuesday nite. Over is 5-2 in last seven series games. Pelicans won last three games in Denver.
Oklahoma City won four of last six games; they’re 4-1-1 vs spread in last six road games. Three of their last four games stayed under. Suns lost their last 13 games, are 4-2-1 against the spread in last seven. Seven of their last eight games went over the total. Thunder won eight of last ten games with Phoenix; teams split last four series games played in desert. Over is 7-2 in last nine series games.
Kings won four of last six games, are 3-1 vs spread in last four road games. Six of their last seven games stayed under. Lakers won their last two games, covered their last three- they are 5-3 vs spread in last eight games at Staples Center. Lakers lost nine of last ten games with Sacramento; last five series games stayed under total. Kings won/covered last four series games in Staples.
Armadillosports.com
Friday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Game of the Night – Heat at Raptors
These two squads played an exciting seven-game series in the second round of the playoffs last season as Toronto knocked out Miami to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat (38-40 SU, 46-31-1 ATS) are on the outside looking in for the eighth spot in the East after the Bulls and Pacers won on Thursday to pull one half-game ahead of Miami. Erik Spoelstra’s squad snapped a two-game skid by downing the Hornets on Wednesday, 112-99 as 2½-point road underdogs, led by Goran Dragic’s 33 points.
The Raptors (48-31 SU, 43-35-1 ATS) blew a 19-point lead in Tuesday’s 108-90 setback at Indiana, but Toronto pulled out a massive rally the next night in Detroit by erasing a 20-point deficit in a 105-102 triumph. Kyle Lowry returned from an 18-game absence with a wrist injury to score 27 points and dish out 10 assists for Toronto, who enters Friday’s action tied with Washington for the third seed in the East. With Wednesday’s victory, the Raptors improved to 9-2 SU and 7-4 ATS the last 11 contests, while sitting two games behind Boston atop the Atlantic division with three games remaining.
Toronto has taken two of three matchups from Miami this season, including a 101-84 triumph at American Airlines Arena on March 23 as four-point underdogs. All three meetings have finished UNDER the total, while the Heat have been limited to 87 points or fewer in both losses to the Raptors. Miami has lost in seven of the past eight visits to Air Canada Center with the only victory coming in overtime in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.
Stop Fooling Us
LeBron James can claim all he wants that the regular season doesn’t mean much, but his Cavaliers threw a knockout punch on the Celtics in Wednesday’s 114-91 blowout to grab a one-game advantage for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. After Boston lost at Atlanta last night, the Cavaliers built a 1½-game edge for home-court in the East with four games remaining. Cleveland has won four consecutive contests since a three-game skid, while starting a home-and-home set with Atlanta.
The Cavaliers host the unrested Hawks as Atlanta rebounded from a 2-9 stretch by routing Boston on Thursday. Since the All-Star break, the Hawks posted a dreadful 1-10 ATS record at Philips Arena prior to last night’s victory, while dropping six of its past seven road games. Mike Budenholzer’s squad has covered in five of seven opportunities as a road underdog since mid-February, while winning at Cleveland as 7½-point ‘dogs in November, 110-106.
All Locked In
The Rockets wrapped up the third seed in the Western Conference after holding off the Nuggets on Wednesday, 110-104. Houston failed to cover for the fifth straight game, while Wednesday’s contest showcased the second-highest total of the season in the NBA at 240½ and easily finished UNDER. The Rockets host the reeling Pistons at Toyota Center as Houston edged Detroit at the Palace of Auburn Hills in November, 99-96.
Detroit is on its last playoff legs, sitting 3½ games out of eighth place in the East with four games remaining. The Pistons suffered their worst loss of the season from a morale standpoint by squandering a 20-point lead in Wednesday’s three-point defeat to the Raptors. Stan Van Gundy’s club owns a 2-10 SU and 3-9 ATS in the past 12 contests with the only victories coming against the Nets and Suns. Detroit has lost nine of its previous 10 games away from the Palace of Auburn Hills, while posting an 0-5 SU/ATS mark as an underdog of eight points or more this season.
Sit Right Down
The top three playoff positions in the Western Conference are spoken for as San Antonio has clinched the Southwest division at 60-18 and is seeded second. So of course that means that head coach Gregg Popovich will pull the plug on several of his stars as the regular season winds down. The Spurs make the short trip to Dallas as Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge won’t play tonight for San Antonio. On Wednesday, the Spurs were tripped up by the Lakers as 13½-point home favorites, 102-95, although Leonard, Aldridge, Tony Parker, and Pau Gasol all played fewer than 20 minutes.
The Mavericks return home from a dreadful 1-4 road trip, punctuated by Wednesday’s 112-101 defeat to the Clippers. Dallas has lost four of its last five games at American Airlines Center, but has covered in all three matchups with San Antonio this season, including in a 105-101 upset of the Spurs as 12-point road ‘dogs in late January.
Battle for Four
The Jazz and Clippers are fighting it out for home-court advantage in the first round as Utah owns a half-game edge over Los Angeles for the fourth seed. Utah faces Minnesota in a huge revenge spot after the Timberwolves embarrassed the Jazz last month in Salt Lake City, 107-80 as 6½-point underdogs. The Wolves play with no rest tonight after getting chased in the fourth quarter in Thursday’s 105-98 loss at Portland as the Blazers outscored Minnesota, 25-11 over the final 12 minutes.
Minnesota looks to improve on an 8-4-1 ATS record with no rest this season, while Utah has won seven consecutive home games since the blowout to the Wolves on March 1. The Jazz have covered four in a row in the favorite role, while winning five of the previous six matchups with Minnesota since January 2016.
Head-to-Head Trends
The Knicks and Grizzlies last met in late October at Madison Square Garden as New York pulled out a 111-104 victory. New York travels to Memphis with no rest following Thursday’s three-point home loss to Washington as the Knicks have covered in seven of their last 10 games. In spite of that October defeat, the Grizzlies have captured eight of the past 10 meetings with the Knicks.
The Nuggets and Pelicans hook up for the second time in four days as Denver outlasted New Orleans on Tuesday, 134-131 to easily eclipse the OVER of 227. Another shootout is expected tonight at Pepsi Center as the road team has won in each of the three matchups this season with the Pelicans blowing out the Nuggets, 115-90 on March 26. Denver returns home from a 2-3 road swing as the Nuggets own a 5-3 record in its previous eight contests at Pepsi Center.
The Suns are playing out the string as Phoenix tries to snap a 13-game skid against Oklahoma City. The Thunder continues a four-game road swing following Wednesday’s 103-100 triumph at Memphis as OKC has won two of three matchups with Phoenix. The Suns won the previous meeting at home last month, 118-111 as five-point underdogs, snapping a six-game skid to the Thunder that dated back to 2015.
The Lakers and Kings meet for the final time this season at Staples Center as Los Angeles goes for the series split. Los Angeles captured the first matchup at Golden 1 Center in November, but the Kings have won each of the past two meetings. All three matchups have finished UNDER the total, while the Lakers have covered three straight games overall.
Friday’s NBA Game of the Day: Heat at Raptors
By Covers.com
Miami Heat at Toronto Raptors (-5.5, 206)
The Miami Heat are one of three teams fighting over two spots at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and are staring at the most difficult closing stretch of the group. The Heat will begin a stretch of four games against teams in the top four of the East to close the season when they visit the Toronto Raptors on Friday.
Miami snapped a two-game slide with a 112-99 win at Charlotte on Wednesday to kick off a three-game road trip that concludes at Washington on Saturday, and it finishes the season with home games against Cleveland and the Wizards. The Heat appeared to be falling off the pace with losses in four of six before James Johnson stepped into the starting lineup to provide a spark along with stars Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside. The Raptors own the No. 3 spot in the East heading into play on Thursday but are fighting off a charge from Washington. Toronto won nine of its last 11 games and got a huge boost when All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry returned from a wrist injury and delivered 27 points and 10 assists in Wednesday's 105-102 win at Detroit.
LINE HISTORY: The Raptors opened as 5.5-point home chalk against the Heat and the spread hasn’t moved off that number. The total hit the betting board at 207.5 and has been inching down as low as 206, where in currently stands. Check out the complete line history here.
INJURY REPORT:
Heat - SF Luke Babbit (Questionable, hip), SG Dion Waiters (Out Indefinitely, ankle), PF Josh McRoberts (Out Indefinitely, foot), SF Justise Winslow (Out For Season, shoulder), PF Chris Bosh (Out For Season, illness)
Raptors - No injuries to report
POWER RANKINGS: Heat (-3.8 ) - Raptors (-7.9) + home court (-3) = Raptors -7.1
CHAMPIONSHIP FUTURES:
Heat +25000
Raptors +1800
ABOUT THE HEAT (38-40 SU, 46-31-1 ATS, 36-42 O/U): Miami coach Erik Spoelstra avoided putting Johnson in the starting lineup all season before finally relenting with the team needing a spark on Wednesday. The veteran power forward responded by scoring 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-7 from 3-point range. "There's no other call," Spoelstra told reporters of the decision to start Johnson. "How many guys do we have left? The minutes he gave us were crazy good. What else are we going to do? We’ve cycled through basically everybody. We're at the stage in the season. It's go time."
ABOUT THE RAPTORS (48-31 SU, 43-35-1 ATS, 43-36 O/U): Lowry sat out 21 games after undergoing surgery on his right wrist but returned without missing a beat and went 9-of-16 from the floor while logging 42 minutes on Wednesday. "He did so many positive things throughout the game, so it wasn’t necessarily one play," Toronto coach Dwane Casey told reporters of Lowry. "He makes so many winning plays, attacks before the defense is set, he reads situations, gets to the rim, gets calls, makes free throws, makes the right decision with the ball. You can’t really put a number on a play on his effect on the game." Fellow All-Star DeMar DeRozan picked up some playmaking duties when Lowry was down and continued upon his return with 10 assists on Wednesday.
TRENDS:
* Heat are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
* Over is 9-2 in Heat last 11 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
* Over is 7-0 in Raptors last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
* Favorite is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
* Home team is 6-1 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
CONSENSUS: 61 percent of the spread wagers are on the home favorite Raptors while 60 percent of the totals selections are on the Over.