NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Saturday, February 4th, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Orlando lost five of its last seven games; they’re 4-3 vs spread in last seven road games, all of which went over the total. Hawks won 7 of last 10 home games but are 0-3 vs spread in last three; over is 5-2 in their last seven games. Magic won three of last four games with Atlanta; road team won five of last seven series games. Orlando won by 7-11 points in last two visits here. Under is 5-3 in last eight series games.
Detroit lost five of its last six road games; they’re 4-3 in last seven games overall, 2-6 if they played night before. Last seven Piston games went over total. Pacers won their last five games, are 5-2-1 vs spread in last eight home tilts. Last three Indiana games stayed under. Indiana won four in row, 7 of last 8 games with Detroit; over is 5-3 in last eight series games. Pistons lost last three visits to Indiana by 5-12-12 points.
New Orleans lost its last four road games, four of last five overall; they’re 6-3 vs spread in last nine road games. Over is 6-2 in their last eight games. Wizards won last six games (5-1 vs spread); they’ve won 16 in a row at home (13-2-1 vs spread). Over is 6-3-1 in their last ten games. Washington won nine of last ten games with New Orleans (8-2 vs spread); Pelicans lost last four visits here (2-2 vs spread). Under is 8-2 in last ten series games.
Philly lost its last three road games, is 2-5 vs spread in its last seven; they lost four of last five games overall. 7 of their last 8 games went over total. Miami won won its last nine games; they ar e6-1 vs spread in last seven home tilts. Under is 6-3 in their last nine games. 76ers lost five of last six games with Miami but covered three of last four; they lost last three visits to South Beach by 5-5-11 points. Three of last four series games stayed under.
Cleveland won three of last four games but lost five of last six on road; they’re 6-12 vs spread in last 18 road games. Over is 6-2 in their last eight games. New York is 4-7 in its last 11 games, 2-7 in last nine at home. Three of their last four games went over. Knicks lost their last eight games with Cleveland (0-3 vs spread in last three); Cavaliers won won last six visits to Manhattan, covering three of last four. 8 of last 9 series games stayed under total.
Grizzlies won three of last four games, all on road; they’re 5-3 in last eight games overall. Last five Memphis games went over total. Minnesota won six of its last seven home games; they’re 2-5 vs spread in last seven games overall. Last six Wolves games went over. Memphis is 5-3 in its last eight games with Minnesota; home side won five of last six series games. Grizzlies lost by 5-36 points in last two visits here. Over is 6-2 in last eight series games.
Denver won four of last six games, covered 9 of last 12; they lost three of last four road games. Last five Nugget games went over total. San Antonio won 7 of last 9 games, is 12-3 vs spread in last 15 home games. Over is 9-3 in their last 12 games (0-2 in last two). Spurs won nine of last ten games with Denver, covering four of last five; Nuggets lost last five visits to the Alamo (2-3 vs spread). Over is 7-2 in last nine series games.
Milwaukee lost five in row, 10 of last 11 games; they’re 0-7 vs spread in last seven road games. Four of their last six games went over total. Suns snapped 5-game skid last night; they’re 5-2 vs spread if they played night before. Over is 5-1 in their last six games. Bucks won three of last four games with Phoenix; road team won four of last five series games. Milwaukee won last two visits here, by 2-6 points. Last four series games stayed under the total.
Charlotte lost its last six games, is 0-7 vs spread in last seven; they’ve lost nine road games in a row (2-7 vs spread). Three of their last four games went over. Utah won 8 of last 11 games, 8 of last 10 at home. Four of last five Jazz games stayed under the total. Home side won last six Hornet-Jazz games; Charlotte lost last four visits to Utah (0-3-1 vs spread). Six of last eight series games stayed under the total.
Warriors won their last five games (4-1 vs spread); they’re 5-2 vs spread in last seven road games. Three of their last four games went over. Sacramento lost 8 of last 9 home games, is 1-10 vs spread in last 11 at home. Over is 5-2 in their last seven games. Golden State won its last ten games with he Kings (8-2 vs spread); Warriors won last five trips to Sacramento (3-2 vs spread). Three of last four series games went over total.
Armadillosports.com
Lowly Knicks host Cavaliers
By: Zach Cohen
StatFox.com
The Knicks will be looking to get their season back on track with a victory over the Cavaliers on Saturday.
The Cavaliers are coming off of a 125-97 victory over the Timberwolves and the team really needed that win. The defending champs had lost four of their previous six games heading into that game on Wednesday, and there has been some panic in Cleveland. Now the Cavaliers have a golden opportunity to earn a second straight win, as they’re facing the lowly Knicks on Saturday. New York is coming off of a victory over Brooklyn, but the Knicks trailed almost the entire game and it was really a pathetic performance against one of the league’s worst teams. The Knicks had lost two straight games and three of their past four heading into that one, but maybe getting back into the win column will get them back on track. They are, however, facing a Cavaliers team that has already beaten them twice this season. One thing that bodes well for the Knicks in this game is the fact that they are facing a Cavs team that is just 7-14 ATS when playing on the road this season. The Knicks are also an impressive 15-9 ATS when playing at home on the season. PF Kevin Love (Back) is likely to miss this game for Cleveland, and PG Derrick Rose (Ankle) should be out for New York.
With the Cavaliers in desperate need of a victory on Wednesday, SF LeBron James (25.7 PPG, 8.6 APG, 8.0 RPG, 1.5 SPG) played one of his better games of the year. James dominated the Timberwolves, finishing with 27 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds on 11-for-14 shooting from the floor. He also chipped in two steals and a block on the defensive end. If James can play that type of bully ball more often then the Cavaliers will have no trouble getting back to their winning ways. He was not settling for jumpers, and that is a blueprint he’d be wise to follow against the Knicks on Saturday. PG Kyrie Irving (24.2 PPG, 5.9 APG, 1.2 SPG) also delivered an excellent performance for the Cavaliers on Wednesday. Irving had only 14 points in the game, but he dished out a season-high 14 assists. Perhaps he heard LeBron James’ call for another “playmaker” and decided to do what he can to set his teammates up. Still, Irving is one of the better scorers in the league and he shouldn’t stray too far away from what he’s good at. He is averaging 28.5 PPG in two meetings with the Knicks this season, and the Cavaliers will win this one if he reaches that number again on Saturday.
The Knicks almost lost an embarrassing game against the Nets on Wednesday, but they ended up pulling out a 95-90 victory with SF Carmelo Anthony (23.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG) on the bench down the stretch. Anthony was 6-for-22 from the floor in 27 minutes on Wednesday, and he’ll need to be a lot better than that this weekend. Fortunately for New York, PF Kristaps Porzingis (18.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 2.0 BPG) had a good game against Brooklyn. Porzingis had been slumping heading into Wednesday’s game, but he had 19 points, 12 boards and two blocks in the victory. It’s important that he comes through with a similar effort on Saturday or the Knicks are going to have no chance of winning. One other guy to watch out for in this one is C Willy Hernangomez (6.1 PPG, 5.6 RPG). Hernangomez gave the Knicks a huge lift against the Nets on Wednesday, racking up 16 points, 16 rebounds, two steals and a block in 25 minutes of action. In 14 games where Hernangomez has played 20 or more minutes, the big man has averaged a double-double. It’d be wise for the Knicks to do what they can to get him some more time.
Inside the Paint - Saturday
By Chris David
VegasInsider.com
After watching the favorites go 10-1 straight up and 9-2-1 against the spread in the NBA on Wednesday, we’ve seen the underdogs rebound the last couple nights. Despite going 5-8 SU the last two days, the pups have owned the betting counter with an 8-5 ATS mark. The ‘over’ has gone 15-10 (67%) the last three days.
Game of the Night – Cavaliers at Knicks
Madison Square Garden will headline Saturday’s nationally televised showdown as Cleveland (33-15 SU, 20-26 ATS) meets New York (22-29 SU, 29-22 ATS). This will be the third meeting between the pair this season and if the trends hold steady in this series, we’ll be looking at another lopsided win for the Cavaliers.
Cleveland dropped New York at home by 29 points (117-88) on Oct. 25 and followed it up with a 126-94 thrashing of the Knicks in its first visit to MSG on Dec. 7.
Including those wins, the Cavaliers have won eight straight against the Knicks and have managed to cover four of those games. Total bettors should note that the ‘under’ has gone 7-1 during the Cavs’ win streak and New York hasn’t been able to crack 100 points in any of the eight losses.
Backing the Cavs seems like the obvious choice but you should be aware that they’ve gone 1-4 both SU and ATS in their last five games on the road and the defense has allowed 100-plus in every contest. Overall, the Cavs have gone 11-10 SU and 7-14 ATS on the road.
New York enters this game off a 95-90 road win over Brooklyn on Wednesday and is 2-2 SU and 3-1 ATS in its last four games. At home, the Knicks have been a solid investment (13-11 SU, 15-9 ATS) this season for bettors.
Saturday’s does have an additional storyline that surrounds Kevin Love and Carmelo Anthony. The Knicks supposedly offered ‘Melo for Love but the Cavaliers didn’t bite. The trade rumors surrounding Anthony continue to heat up, specifically with the Cavs and Los Angeles Clippers.
No opening line was posted due to the uncertain status of Knicks point guard Derrick Rose (ankle). New York has gone 5-7 SU and 6-6 ATS when installed as a home underdog this season.
These teams will meet for the fourth and final time of the season right after the All-Star break from Cleveland on Feb. 23.
Streaking Teams
We’ve got four teams in action on Saturday that enter the day with win streaks of five-plus games.
The Pacers have won five straight and are 4-1 ATS during this run, with the lone non-cover missing by a half-point. Indiana hosts Detroit tonight and both are playing on no rest (see below).
The Wizards own a six-game winning streak (5-1 ATS) but their home run is even more impressive. Washington has won 16 straight at the Verizon Center and covered 14 of those games, one of the ATS losers coming on Thursday versus the Lakers. The Pelicans visit tonight and they’re mired in a 1-4 skid.
Miami is the hottest team in the league, winners in nine straight games. They’ve only been favored three times during this run and have covered all of them to go 9-0 ATS. The Heat (-8 ) are laying a healthy price tonight to Philadelphia, who was on an incredible run in January. Unfortunately, the 76ers are 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS in their last five.
It’s rare to see Golden State struggle due to its talent but its ability to cover numbers lately has been impressive. The Warriors are 10-1 SU in their last 11 games and they’ve produced a stellar 8-2-1 ATS mark during this span while laying some heavy digits. Golden State is listed as a healthy road favorite (-12) over Sacramento, who lost on a buzzer beater to Phoenix last night.
Back-to-Back
Saturday’s card will feature nine teams playing on no rest. Listed below are SU and ATS records for each clubs plus any notable trends to watch.
Denver: 2-8 SU, 4-5-1 ATS, 7-3 O/U (Both wins occurred on the road)
Detroit: 2-6 SU, 2-6 ATS (Pistons have dropped three straight B2B games, all by double digits)
Indiana: 2-7 SU, 1-8 ATS, 6-3 O/U (All nine opponents scored over 100)
Memphis: 9-3 SU, 8-4 ATS (Just 1-3 last four on no rest after 8-0 start)
Milwaukee: 2-8 SU, 2-8 ATS, 6-4 O/U (The ‘over’ has cashed in five straight)
Minnesota: 4-3 SU, 5-2 ATS, 4-3 O/U (Two of three losses came at home)
Phoenix: 4-4 SU, 5-3 ATS (3-0 last three games and ‘under’ on a 4-0 run)
Orlando: 3-7 SU, 7-3 ATS (2-3 last five but 5-0 ATS, ‘over’ 6-1 run)
Sacramento: 3-8 SU, 5-5-1 ATS (Nine of 11 played on the road, 0-2 at home)
Super Bowl 51 Props – Best Bet
The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has released hundreds of proposition wagers for Super Bowl LI between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons for Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.
Included in that mix are “Cross-Sport” prop wagers, which allow bettors to focus on pro football and other sports, one of them pro basketball.
For Saturday, there are four games in play and there is one particular prop that caught my attention.
Stephen Curry -2½ Points & Assists over Patriots-Falcons 1st half combined points
I like the Golden State All-Star in this matchup and it’s apparent the oddsmakers just looked at his season numbers (22.7 PPG, 6.8 APG) rather than his current form. He’s on a roll right now and if you average his points and assists over his last three games, the total comes out to an eye-opening 45.3. In his first meeting versus the Kings, Curry dropped 30 points and six assists at Sacramento. Barring a ridiculous effort by the Patriots and Falcons on Sunday, I believe he’ll get close to 40 combined points and assists on Saturday.