NBA Knowledge
Friday's hot teams
-- Wizards won five of their last six games (5-3 last 8HF).
-- Charlotte won eight of its last ten games (5-3 last 8AU).
-- Detroit won its last four games (15-5-1 last 21HF).
-- Hawks won six of their last seven games (4-2 ast 6HF).
-- Raptors won seven of their last nine games (9-5AU).
-- Miami won three of its last four games (2-5 last 7HF).
-- Spurs won seven of their last eight games (3-1 last 4HF).
-- Golden State won nine of its last ten games (6-2 last 8HF).
Cold teams
-- Minnesota lost four of its last six games (3-1 last 4AU).
-- Bucks lost four of their last five games (5-1 last 6AU).
-- Houston lost four of its last five games (3-5 last 8HF).
-- Orlando lost its last five games (2-4 last 6AU).
-- Memphis lost five of its last seven games (3-2 last 5AU).
-- Sacramento lost eight of its last ten games (2-4 last 6HF).
-- Suns lost five of their last eight games (4-2 last 6AU).
-- Denver lost four of its last six games (2-5 last 7AU).
-- Lakers lost five of their last six games (3-3HF).
-- Dallas lost eight of its last ten games (3-0 last 3AU).
Series records
-- Minnesota lost last three visits to Washington by 14-4-13 points.
-- Hornets won four of their last five games with Detroit.
-- Hawks are 7-3 in last 10 games with Milwaukee, but lost last two.
-- Home side won nine of last ten Toronto-Houston games.
-- Magic lost nine of last ten games with Miami.
-- Spurs won last three games with Memphis by 20-10-14 points.
-- Kings won three of last four games with Phoenix.
-- Lakers lost four of last five games with Denver.
-- Warriors won nine of last 10 (8-2 vs spread) games vs Dallas.
Totals
-- Under is 4-1 in Washington's last five home games.
-- Five of last six Charlotte games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Milwaukee games stayed under total.
-- Last five Toronto games stayed under the total.
-- Last eight Miami games went over the total.
-- Seven of last ten Memphis games went over the total.
-- Six of last eight Sacramento games stayed under.
-- Five of last seven Denver games stayed under total.
-- Four of last five Golden State games stayed under total.
Back/backs
-- None
Armadillosports.com
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Toronto at Houston
Houston scrambling to sneak into postseason, Toronto with their spot wrapped up and Casey not above resting players the Rockets are the choice in this one. The fact this contest is in Houston is yet another nod towards Rockets, since the team has compiled an impressive 8-0 (5-2-1 ATS) streak and 13-2 (9-5-1 ATS) stretch hosting the Raptors.
Friday's Tip Sheet
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Hornets at Pistons
The best division race down the stretch is in the Southeast as the Hawks, Heat, and Hornets are separated by less than one game heading in Friday’s action. Charlotte (41-30 SU, 37-33-1 ATS) has won the first two meetings with Detroit this season, beating the Pistons by double-digits each time at Time Warner Cable Arena. In the previous matchup two weeks ago, Charlotte dominated Detroit, 118-103 as four-point favorites, while seven Hornets scored in double-figures, led by 22 points from Marvin Williams.
Charlotte is continuing a four-game road trip after holding off Brooklyn on Tuesday, 105-100 as six-point favorites. Steve Clifford’s team has won eight of its past 10 games on the highway, while finishing ‘under’ the total in five of the last six contests overall. Eight of the final 11 games for the Hornets come away from Charlotte, while seven of those games are against teams currently outside the playoff race.
Detroit (38-34 SU, 36-34-2 ATS) is starting to distance themselves from Chicago and Washington for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons have won four straight games, beating four non-playoff teams at home over the last week (Sacramento, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Orlando), while the loss on their current homestand came to Southeast-leading Atlanta. Since late February, Stan Van Gundy’s club has won seven of their last eight games at the Palace of Auburn Hills, while covering five times.
Raptors at Rockets
Houston (35-37 SU, 31-41 ATS) is going the wrong way at the worst possible time, losing three straight games to fall below the .500 mark and outside the Western Conference playoff picture. The Rockets squandered an 18-point lead in Wednesday’s 89-87 home setback to the Jazz, while finishing ‘under’ the total for the third straight game. Houston scored just 38 points in the second half against Utah, while getting outrebounded for the first time in the last five games.
Toronto (48-22 SU, 38-32 ATS) saw its four-game winning streak come to an end in Wednesday’s 91-79 setback at Boston as 3½-point underdogs. The Raptors couldn’t pull off the season sweep of the Celtics as point guard Kyle Lowry sat out to rest an injured right elbow, as Toronto cashed the ‘under’ for the fifth consecutive contest. The absence of Lowry obviously hurt Toronto’s offense, who scored below 100 points for the first time in 13 games.
The Rockets rallied past the Raptors in their previous matchup at the Air Canada Center earlier this month, 113-107. Houston cashed as eight-point underdogs, while erasing a 10-point halftime deficit thanks to a 40-point effort by James Harden. The Raptors haven’t had much luck at the Toyota Center, losing eight consecutive meetings in Houston dating back to 2007.
Grizzlies at Spurs
In spite of numerous injuries to key personnel over the last two months, Memphis (41-31 SU, 38-33-1 ATS) is hanging on to second place in the Southwest division. The Grizzlies are still without point guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol, but forward Zach Randolph has averaged 19.3 points per game in his last three games since returning to the lineup from a knee injury. Memphis suffered a brutal loss on Tuesday at Staples Center, falling to the Lakers, 107-100 as three-point favorites to end a modest two-game winning streak.
The Spurs (60-11 SU, 42-29 ATS) continue to roll at home by improving to 36-0 at the AT&T Center after routing the Heat on Wednesday, 112-88 as 10½-point favorites. San Antonio owns a 23-13 ATS record at home, while allowing 88 points or less in four of its past five home contests. In spite of the cover on Wednesday, Gregg Popovich’s team hasn’t picked up back-to-back ATS wins since early March, while compiling a 4-7 ATS record in the past 11 games. San Antonio will be without dynamic forward Kawhi Leonard, who left the victory against the Heat with a quad injury.
San Antonio cruised past Memphis in each of the first two matchups this season, limiting the Grizzlies to 82 and 83 points in the two victories. In the first meeting at the AT&T Center in November, the Spurs held on for a 92-82 triumph as eight-point favorites, while owning an 8-2 SU and 7-3 ATS record in the past 10 games against Memphis since 2013.
Mavericks at Warriors
There has never been a team to finish undefeated at home in the NBA regular season, but two clubs can accomplish that goal this season. San Antonio has won all 36 home games, while Golden State (64-7 SU, 40-29-2 ATS) isn’t far behind with a 33-0 record at Oracle Arena as the defending last lost a regular season home contest on January 27, 2015 in overtime to Chicago. The most recent home win for the Warriors came on Wednesday against the Clippers, pulling off the four-game season sweep in a 114-98 triumph to cash as 10 ½-point favorites.
Dallas (35-36 SU, 38-32-1 ATS) continues its four-game road trip after falling at Portland on Wednesday, 109-103, but the Mavs covered as 6½-point underdogs. In spite of the loss, Rick Carlisle’s team owns a solid 4-1 ATS record in the last five games (all as a ‘dog), while covering three straight games away from the American Airlines Center. Dallas has allowed at least 100 points in 17 of the last 19 contests, but the Mavs are 3-0 to the ‘under’ in their past three road games.
These teams are hooking up for the second time in a week after the Warriors chased the Mavericks in Dallas, 130-112 last Friday night as nine-point road favorites. Golden State dropped 42 points in the opening quarter, while Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson combined to knock down 16 three-pointers. The Mavericks are one of seven teams to hand the Warriors a loss this season, beating Golden State (without Curry) in late December, 114-91. Dallas has lost six straight visits to Oracle Arena, as each of the past four defeats in Oakland have come by 14 points or more.
Hornets, Pistons square off
By Sportsbook.ag
CHARLOTTE HORNETS (41-30) at DETROIT PISTONS (38-34)
Sportsbook.ag Line: Detroit -2, Total 206
The Pistons will be going for their fifth straight win when they host a very good Hornets team on Friday.
Charlotte has looked like one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams lately. The Hornets have won 11 of their past 13 games and one of those victories happened to be over an elite Spurs group.
Detroit, however, is also extremely hot coming into this one. The Pistons faced the Magic on Wednesday and won 118-102 as six-point home favorites. It was the team’s fourth straight win and it has also won seven of its past 10 as well.
The Hornets and Pistons have already met twice this season and the series has been all Charlotte so far. The Hornets have won both games by double digits and they are also an impressive 7-2 both SU and ATS when facing the Pistons over the past three seasons.
It is worth noting that 15 of the 19 games played between these teams in Detroit have gone OVER the total since 1996.
The Hornets are 33-16 ATS versus Central division opponents over the past three seasons.
The Pistons, however, are 17-6 ATS as home favorites this season.
The Hornets have emerged as a serious contender in the Eastern Conference and a lot of that has to do with the improved play of PG Kemba Walker (21.0 PPG, 5.2 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.6 SPG). Walker seriously improved his outside shot during the offseason and he is up to 37.1% from three on the year. He is, however, shooting just 27.3% from behind the arc over the past five games. The Hornets need him to find his stroke soon, as it will not be easy to defeat the Pistons if Walker isn’t on top of his game.
One guy who has been hot recently is SF Nicolas Batum (15.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 5.6 APG, 1.0 SPG). Over the past five contests, Batum is averaging 21.4 PPG, 6.0 APG, 5.6 RPG and 1.8 SPG. He is shooting 42.4% from the outside over that span and is really helping his team through Walker’s struggles on the perimeter.
The x-factor for the Hornets in this game could be PG Jeremy Lin (11.8 PPG). Lin has scored 22.0 PPG over the past three contests and really brings some firepower off the bench for Charlotte. If he can get it going in this one then the Hornets should have a real chance to win this game on the road.
The Pistons are playing some really good basketball at the moment and C Andre Drummond (16.7 PPG, 14.9 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 1.4 BPG) has been dominant in the paint. Over the past five games, Drummond is averaging 18.4 PPG and 13.6 RPG on 57.7% shooting from the field. The Hornets really don’t have anybody that can match Drummond’s blend of size and athleticism, so the Pistons would be wise to get him a ton of touches inside.
Detroit will, however, need PG Reggie Jackson (18.7 PPG, 6.3 APG) to play well in this one. Jackson is averaging just 15.0 PPG on 38.2% shooting from the floor and 25.0% from the outside over the past five games. If he cannot regain his shooting stroke then it’ll be tough for Detroit to win. He needs to hold his own against Kemba Walker or things will get rough for the Pistons.