NBA betting news, trends, odds and predictions for MOnday December 18th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
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Monday’s NBA
Home side won eight of last nine Knick-Hornet games; New York covered three of last four games in Charlotte. Last five series games went over the total. New York won its last four games, is 2-8 vs spread on road, 0-2 as a favorite. Knicks’ last five games went over the total. Charlotte lost 10 of last 12 games; they’re 8-6 vs spread at home, 1-3 as an underdog. Under is 7-2 in Hornets’ last nine games.
Celtics won their last four games with Indiana; they’re 4-2 vs spread in last six visits here. Last three series games went over the total. Boston split its last six games; they’re 7-3 vs spread as road favorites. Over is 11-4-1 in their last 16 games. Pacers won five of their last seven games; they’re 3-3 vs spread as home underdogs. Five of their last six games stayed under the total.
Miami won six of last eight games with the Hawks; they covered their last four games in this building. Eight of their last ten games stayed under the total. Miami won four of its last five games; they’re 2-3 as road favorites. Heat’s last five games went under the total. Atlanta lost eight of its last ten games; they’re 4-6 as home underdogs. Four of their last six games went over the total.
76ers lost nine of last ten games with Chicago; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to the Windy City. Eight of last ten series games went over total. 76ers lost five of their last six games; they’re 2-1 as road favorites. Last three Philly games went over the total. Chicago won its last five games, covered its last six; they’re 6-2 vs spread in last eight tries as a home underdog. Four of Bulls’ last five games went over total.
Nuggets won last two games with the Thunder after losing previous eight; 2-3 vs spread in last five visits here. Last three series games stayed under total. Denver is 3-4 in its last seven games; they’re 3-5-1 as road underdogs. Five of their last seven games went over the total. Oklahoma City won six of its last nine games; they’re 0-5-1 vs spread in last six games as a home favorite. Four of their last five games went over.
Houston is 6-4 in its last ten games with Utah; over is 7-1 in last eight series games. Jazz is 2-4 vs spread in last six visits here. Utah lost five of last six games and now Goobers is hurt; they’re 4-2 in last six games as a road underdog. Four of last five Jazz games went over the total. Houston won its last 13 games; they are 6-7 as home favorites. Five of their last six games went over total.
Portland won seven of its last nine games with Minnesota; they’re 4-0 vs spread in last four trips to Twin Cities. Under is 5-1 in last six series games. Portland won its last three games, by 7-7-2 points; they’re 4-2-1 as road underdogs. Seven of their last nine games stayed under total. Minnesota is 7-8 in its last 15 games; they’re 1-8 vs spread in last nine games as a home favorite. Six of their last nine games went over.
Suns won three of last four games with Dallas; they’re 3-2 vs spread in last five visits here. Four of last six series stayed under the total. Phoenix lost five of its last six games; they’re 5-2 vs spread in last seven games as a road dog. Four of their last five games stayed under the total. Dallas lost five of its last six games; they’re 3-3 as home favorites. Six of their last eight games stayed under the total.
Clippers are 6-4 in their last ten games with the Spurs; they’re 3-3 vs spread in last six visits to the Alamo. Over is 5-5 in last ten series games. Clippers lost six of their last nine games; they covered last five games, are 5-6 vs spread as road underdogs. LA’s last four games stayed under the total. San Antonio won five of its last seven games; they’re 8-6 as home favorites. Three of their last four games stayed under.
Lakers lost their last four games with Golden State; Warriors are 1-3 vs spread in last four visits here. Seven of their last nine games stayed under the total. Golden State won its last eight games; they’re 8-8 as road favorites. Warriors’ last four games all stayed under the total. Lakers lost seven of their last nine games; they’re 5-6 vs spread as home underdogs. Four of their last six games stayed under.
armadillosports.com
Monday's NBA Essentials
December 18, 2017
By Tony Mejia
VegasInsider.com
Game of the Night - Portland at Minnesota, (FS North, 8:05 ET)
After opening a five-game road trip with a 111-104 loss in Oakland against the Warriors, the Trail Blazers won three games in four nights against the Heat, Magic and Hornets before arriving in Minneapolis for an opportunity to head back home with the Northwest Division lead. They’ve regained the services of center Jusuf Nurkic and are the healthiest they’ve been all season, setting up a great opportunity to salvage a month that opened with four straight losses and looked like it could be disastrous given the trip East.
Since Portland has a four-day break between games on Dec. 23 at the Lakers and Dec. 28 against the 76ers, the team can really settle in for a festive holiday if it continues its strong play this week in games against Minnesota, San Antonio, Denver and L.A.
Tonight’s game against the Timberwolves had no line as of early this morning due to the status of star wing Jimmy Butler, who is listed as questionable with a back issue. If he’s able to be cleared, we’re likely looking at Minnesota being favored by 4-to-6 points despite coming off a puzzling loss to Phoenix where they were done in by G-League import Isaiah Canaan.
Butler was in visible pain against the Suns, leaving for the locker room before returning for the finish, where he was angered by a lack of consistency on the defensive end that contributed greatly to an upset as a 12-point favorite.
This game will close out a five-game homestand for the Timberwolves on which they’ve gone 2-2, dropping games against the 76ers and Suns in which they were shredded while clamping down to defeat the Mavs and Kings. Considering those two entered Monday with a combined record of 17-42, firmly entrenched as two of the bottom three out West, one can hardly say that Minnesota has been playing well. Philadelphia is the only team it has faced with a winning record all month until tonight’s encounter with Portland.
The Blazers had a five-game run of holding opponents to 95 or fewer points this time last month and will be looking to pull that off four a fourth straight time on this trip. In addition to steady backcourt with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum performing well, Portland has gotten strong contributions from glue guys like forwards Al-Farouq Aminu, Evan Turner, Ed Davis and Noah Vonleh.
Nurkic’s return from a three-game absence due to an ankle sprain saw him grab 11 rebounds while adding two blocks in Orlando and he played 25 minutes the next night, banging with Dwight Howard in Charlotte, so the team is confident he’s healthy. Meyers Leonard went from starting at center in his absence to joining Mo Harkless in slipping out of the frontcourt rotation as younger guys Jake Layman and Zach Collins have begun getting run, so a healthy spirit of competition has produced results.
The opposite can be said about the Timberwolves, where criticism over head coach Tom Thibodeau’s doling out of minutes have been a central theme all month. Butler, who shot 5-for-18 against Phoenix, had played 40 or more minutes in December’s first six games before that streak ended last Thursday. He played 37 minutes despite Saturday night’s discomfort. Forward Taj Gibson has played 40 in two of the last three, which has given Gorgui Dieng less opportunities to play his way into a rhythm. He’s made five of his last 17 shots as his time has been cut.
Reserve guard Jamal Crawford has made no secret of his frustration over playing less than 18 minutes per night and blames the lack of game reps on a current run that has seen him shoot 4-for-17, which includes going 1-for-9 from 3-point range. Despite an impressive 14-6 conference mark and a first-place standing, all is not exactly peachy in Minnesota.
Portland, sporting an impressive 9-5 road mark that ranks fifth-best in the NBA behind heavyweights Houston (12-1), Golden State (13-3), Boston (12-4) and Cleveland (10-4), will attempt to take advantage in the first meeting between these Northwest rivals this season. Hopefully Butler can play without limitations, as his inclusion would give us a first glimpse at how these teams intend to match up against one another.
If Butler is out, look for this game to be closer to a pick’em, since the Timberwolves are 0-2 when he’s been missing from the lineup, falling 130-107 to Indiana and 122-101 to Detroit. Even with him in the mix, Minnesota ranks 25th in defensive rating, which you know is keeping Tom Thibodeau without sleep.
Portland ranks fourth, surrendering 101.5 points per 100 possessions, which is certainly a surprise considering head coach Terry Stotts is considered an offensive guru. The ‘under’ has prevailed in four straight Blazers games and is now 21-8 for the season thanks to a run nine n a row from Nov. 5-22.
The Trail Blazers won three of four games in the season series against Minnesota in each of the last two seasons and have won 32 of the last 39 meetings over the past decade, taking 16 straight from 2007-12.
Injury Concerns
New York pulled off an impressive 111-96 win over Oklahoma City on Saturday night without Kristaps Porzingis (knee), spoiling Carmelo Anthony's return to Madison Square Garden. Michael Beasley filled in and scored 30 points to spoil his friend's big night as seven Knicks managed to score at least nine points. With Tim Hardaway, Jr. (leg) also sidelined, Doug McDermott and Ron Baker got in the mix and combined to shoot 6-for-9 from 3-point range. Hardaway is likely still out at least another week with a stress injury, but Porzingis, who tweaked the knee against the Nets, is listed as questionable to return against Charlotte. New York is 1-4 when the Unicorn is absent, but on the bright side, is on a winning streak without him.
Hassan Whiteside remains out with a knee injury for Miami, who has also lost key forward James Johnson for a few weeks due to an ankle issue. Justise Winslow (knee) will travel but s also unlikely to play against the Hawks, which means more playing time is in store for newcomer Kelly Olynyk and young big men Bam Adebayo and Jordan Mickey against the Hawks. Atlanta got back promising rookie John Collins late last week, but remains without starting center Dewayne Dedmon and stretch-four Mike Muscala.
The Thunder have a winning record without center Steven Adams this season, but all you have to do is watch to see how vital he is to everything they do. OKC may have to make due without him against Denver's collection of big men if he doesn't clear protocol, but haven't ruled him out officially yet. Dakari Johnson started for him against New York. Defensive catalyst Andre Roberson returned to the Thunder over the weekend.
The Nuggets got Nikola Jokic back in the fold after missing more than two weeks due to a severe ankle sprain and can add him to a frontcourt that has seen Trey Lyles emerge as an offensive weapon in his absence. Both small forward Will Barton and shooting guard Gary Harris surpassed Jokic for the team scoring lead in his absence. Backup guard Emmanuel Mudiay is questionable vs. OKC.
Houston survived a double-OT test against the Bucks 115-111 on Thursday night to earn their 13th straight win, but won without center Clint Capela, who comes into the week leading the NBA in both field goal percentage and defensive rating. He's questionable against the Jazz with a bruised left heel, while James Harden is expected to play through knee soreness.
The Jazz have been cursed by injuries all season and saw Rudy Gobert lost until mid-January after suffering a Grade 1 MCL sprain and a bone bruise in his tibia after fellow big man Derrick Favors accidentally rolled into his knee on Friday. Favors is listed as questionable against the Rockets due to an eye injury.
Draymond Green will miss another game for Golden State due to a lingering shoulder issue, but Nick Young is expected to play against his ex-mates with the Lakers after clearing concussion protocol. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who was absent against Cleveland due to a legal order that prohibits him from leaving the state of California, is expected back in the starting lineup for L.A.
Golden State is already without starters Steph Curry (ankle) and Zaza Pachulia (shoulder) in addition to Green, and will also be without key reserve Shaun Livingston (knee). Despite all the attrition, Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson have done the heavy lifting as the defending champs roll into Staples on an eight-game winning streak. This will be the Warriors' last road game until Jan. 3, as they'll be at Oracle Arena for the next seven games, highlighted by the Christmas Day clash with the Cavs.