Saturday's Best NBA Bets
By Covers.com
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers (-3, 192)
The San Antonio Spurs are the antithesis of the Los Angeles Clippers.
While Lob City is splashed all over highlight programs all across the country the Spurs just keep doing the same thing they always do – win games.
The Spurs have won nine straight games, including the first five of their annual Rodeo Road Trip and have gone 7-0-1 against the spread during the surge.
Tony Parker scored 34 points and dished out 14 assists to help San Antonio get out of Toronto with a 113-106 win, pushing as a 7-point favorite.
"Our bench this year in addition to Tony (Parker) playing at the level he's playing and [Tim Duncan's] steadiness, we wouldn't be here without them," coach Gregg Popovich told reporters. "About three or four of them have been magnificent at both ends of the court for us. While Manu (Ginobili) has been out for us that has kept us above water."
The Clippers have been hot and cold lately, so we’ll continue to ride the Spurs.
Pick: Spurs
Atlanta Hawks at Portland Trail Blazers (N/A)
Josh Smith may not be heading to the All-Star Game, but he’s certainly playing like he belongs in the show.
He put up 30 points, 17 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in Atlanta’s 101-99 road win over Phoenix, helping the Hawks narrowly cover as 1-point favorites.
"Josh was just magnificent," Hawks coach Larry Drew told reporters after the game. "He did it all, on both ends of the floor. He gave us the energy we needed to power through and that's all you can ask for on the back end of a back-to-back set like this."
The win snapped a two-game skid for Atlanta, but you have to give the Hawks a long look against Portland. They have covered in six straight matchups with the Blazers.
LaMarcus Aldridge is still questionable with his ankle injury, which is holding up the line for this one.
Whether he plays or not, our initial lean on this one is toward the Hawks.
Pick: Hawks
SAN ANTONIO (21 - 9) at LA CLIPPERS (19 - 9) - 2/18/2012, 3:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 17-32 ATS (-18.2 Units) after allowing 105 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 11-3 ATS (+7.7 Units) as a favorite this season.
SAN ANTONIO is 12-1 ATS (+10.9 Units) in a road game where where the total is between 190 and 194.5 points over the last 2 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 244-190 ATS (+35.0 Units) after a non-conference game since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 78-113 ATS (-46.3 Units) in February games since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 11-28 ATS (-19.8 Units) against Southwest division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 5-17 ATS (-13.7 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 6-2 against the spread versus LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 7-1 straight up against LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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NEW JERSEY (8 - 23) at CHICAGO (25 - 7) - 2/18/2012, 4:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 5-4 against the spread versus CHICAGO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 6-3 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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GOLDEN STATE (11 - 16) at MEMPHIS (17 - 14) - 2/18/2012, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
GOLDEN STATE is 8-19 ATS (-12.9 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 75-50 ATS (+20.0 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 38-25 ATS (+10.5 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 39-23 ATS (+13.7 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 32-17 ATS (+13.3 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 16-6 ATS (+9.4 Units) on Saturday games over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 22-5 ATS (+16.5 Units) when playing on back-to-back days over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 28-16 ATS (+10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 33-21 ATS (+9.9 Units) versus poor defensive teams - allowing 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
MEMPHIS is 4-4 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
MEMPHIS is 5-3 straight up against GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
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ATLANTA (19 - 11) at PORTLAND (16 - 15) - 2/18/2012, 10:05 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 5-0 against the spread versus PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 5-0 straight up against PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
4 of 5 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO vs. LA CLIPPERS
San Antonio is 5-1-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 10 of San Antonio's last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of the LA Clippers last 6 games
LA Clippers are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games
NEW JERSEY vs. CHICAGO
New Jersey is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing on the road against Chicago
New Jersey is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing at home against New Jersey
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 7 games at home
GOLDEN STATE vs. MEMPHIS
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Golden State's last 6 games when playing on the road against Memphis
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Golden State's last 9 games on the road
Memphis is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Memphis's last 6 games when playing at home against Golden State
ATLANTA vs. PORTLAND
Atlanta is 15-8 SU in its last 23 games
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Atlanta's last 6 games when playing Portland
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Portland's last 7 games when playing at home against Atlanta
Portland is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Atlanta
SAN ANTONIO at LA CLIPPERS
SAN ANTONIO: 19-7 Over as a dog
LA CLIPPERS: 11-3 ATS as a favorite
NEW JERSEY at CHICAGO
NEW JERSEY: 31-14 Under off 7+ losses
CHICAGO: 15-9 ATS off SU win
GOLDEN STATE at MEMPHIS
GOLDEN STATE: 28-9 ATS off double digit loss
MEMPHIS: 11-2 ATS off win by 3 pts or less
ATLANTA at PORTLAND
ATLANTA: 8-0 Under as a road dog
PORTLAND: 11-3 ATS off an ATS loss
Hot Teams
-- Clippers won eight of last eleven home games. San Antonio won last nine games, covered eight of last ten.
-- Chicago won seven of its last eight games.
-- Memphis won four of its last five games.
-- Hawks won five of their last six road games.
Cold Teams
-- Nets lost their last eight games (2-6 vs spread).
-- Warriors covered once in their last four road games.
-- Portland lost its last four home games.
Wear and Tear
-- Spurs: Had last two nites off. Clippers: 6th game/9 days.
-- Nets: 3rd game/4 days. Bulls: 3rd game/5 days.
-- Warriors: 5th game/7 days. Grizzlies: 4th game/5 nites.
-- Hawks: Had last two nites off. Blazers: 4th game/5 nites.
Totals
-- Three of Spurs' last four games went over total.
-- Over is 7-3 in New Jersey's last ten games.
-- Last four Golden State games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Atlanta road games stayed under total.
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