NBA betting trends, odds and predictions for Saturday, October 21st, 2017 from various handicappers and websites
NBA Knowledge
Embiid won’t play for Philly, because its a back/back. Toronto won 9 of last 10 games with Philly, covering 7 of last 9 meetings (over 7-2). 76ers lost their last four visits here (1-3 vs spread). 76ers lost their first two games, by 5-10 points (over 1-1). Raptors beat Chicago by 17 in their home opener Thursday.
Cavaliers won their last 10 games with Orlando (8-2 vs spread); Magic are 1-4 vs spread in last five visits to Ohio. Over is 3-1 in last four series games. Orlando split its first two games (over 2-0); they lost 126-121 in Brooklyn last nite. Cavaliers won their first two games (over 1-1), by 3-19 points; they won in Milwaukee Friday.
Rockets won six of last seven games with Dallas (5-2 vs spread); Mavericks are 2-3 vs spread in last five visits here. Under is 4-1 in last five series games. Dallas lost its first two games, both at home, by 5-6 points (over 1-1). Rockets won their first two road games by combined 6 points (under 2-0), winning in Oakland/Sacramento.
Home team won last seven Detroit-New York games; Pistons lost last four games in Manhattan (0-4 vs spread). Under is 4-1 in last five series games. Detroit split their first two games (over 1-1) but covered both- they lost by 4 in Washington last nite. Knicks lost their opener by 21 in Oklahoma Thursday night.
Home side won last ten Indiana-Miami games; Pacers lost last five visits here, going 0-4 vs spread in last four. Under is 6-1 in last seven series games. Pacers split their first two home games (over 1-1); they lost to Portland last nite. Heat lost their opener by 7 in Orlando three nights ago.
Home side won last six Spurs-Bulls games; San Antonio lost its last three games in Windy City, with last three staying under total. Bulls covered four of lat six series games. Spurs won their home opener by 8 over Minnesota. Chicago is missing Mirotic/Portis; they lost their opener by 17 at Toronto Thursday.
Warriors are 8-2 in last ten games with Memphis (7-3 vs spread), winning four of last five visits here (3-2 vs the spread). Under is 5-3 in last eight series games. Golden State split its first two games; they won in New Orleans last nite. Grizzlies beat those same Pelicans by 12 in their home opener Wednesday.
Bucks won four of their last five games with Portland; under is 7-2 in last nine series games. Blazers lost four of last five games in this building (1-4 vs spread). Portland won in Indiana last night; they won their first two games (under 2-0). Bucks lost at home to Cleveland last night, after winning their opener in Boston (over 2-0).
Denver won its last two games with Sacramento after losing previous five meetings; Kings won three of last four visits here. Last three series games stayed under the total. Sacramento split its first two games, winning in Dallas last night (under 2-0). Nuggets lost their road opener by 10 in Utah Wednesday.
Thunder won seven of last eight games with Utah (6-2 vs spread); they’re 3-2 in last five visits here. Under is 7-3 in last ten series games. OKC beat the Knicks by 21 in their home opener on Thursday. Jazz beat Denver by 10 in their home opener Wednesday.
Clippers won their last four games with Phoenix (3-1 vs spread); Suns lost their last four series games here (1-3 vs spread). Over is 4-1 in last five series games. Clippers beat Lakers by 16 in their opener Thursday. Suns lost their first two games (over 2-0)- they lost at home to the Lakers last night.
Armadillosports.com
NBA Pick 'N' Roll: Saturday's Betting Analysis
Covers.com
The first Saturday of the new NBA season produces 11 games on betting board for fans to pick their winners. There are 12 teams playing on the second night of a back-to-back set and so far NBA squads are 2-1 straight up and 1-2 against the spread playing on zero days’ rest.
Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks (+2, 205.5)
The NBA changed its lottery rules making it less likely teams with the worst records are assured a top three pick. The change won’t come into effect until next season – which is good news for Knicks fans. New York has its own pick this season and is trying like holy hell to get one of the prized prospects in this year’s draft.
The Knicks played their best center – Willy Hernangomez – for just three minutes and gave Ron Baker and Ramon Sessions 40 minutes at point guard, leaving rookie Frank Ntilikina just under eight minutes of floor time in Game 1 against the Thunder.
Weird rotations aside, the Knicks are messed up. Head coach Jeff Hornacek was almost ejected against OKC and New York reporters described it as the most visibly angry he’s been during a game as the Knicks head coach.
Pick: Pistons -2
Indiana Pacers at Miami Heat (-9.5, 213)
The Pacers finally became the up-tempo team Larry Bird wanted to see them become. Unfortunately it just happened after he stepped down as club president.
Indiana fought to pivot from an old-school, defense-first and plotting offense to an fast-paced, quick-trigger attack with former coach Frank Vogel and franchise player Paul George. Both Vogel and George were there when Indiana made it to the Eastern Conference finals with the former approach and they were both resistant to change with the rest of the league.
Vogel and George are gone now and Indiana showed it can get up and down in a hurry. The pace in Wednesday’s game between the Brooklyn and Indiana (116.5) was the highest in an NBA game in almost 10 years. Indiana couldn’t match its high-tempo against the Blazers and failed to hit the century mark in points.
The Pacers will play fast this year but they still don’t have a lot of shot makers – especially with big man Myles Turner sitting out with concussion symptoms. Miami will be without its Game 1 leader scorer (Hassan Whiteside) in this contest too.
Pick: Under 213
Yesterday’s picks: 0-2
Season record: 3-5
Total Streaks
* The over is a collective 6-0 in Golden State, Orlando and Milwaukee’s games. All three teams play on Saturday.
* The under is a collective 4-0 in Sacramento and Portland’s games. Both teams play on Saturday.
Injury To Note
The entire league feels like a mash unit right now. Kawhi Leonard continues to sit out for the Spurs with a quad injury. Chris Paul will miss two to four weeks for the Rockets. The Magic could be without two starters against the Cavs. Point guard Elfrid Payton has already been ruled up after picking up an injury on Friday night. Combo forward Aaron Gordon sat out Friday with a sore ankle and is iffy for Saturday.
Top Trends
* Here are the undefeated ATS teams this season with at least two games played and are in action tonight: Sacramento, Detroit, Portland and Utah.
* Here are the winless ATS teams this season with at least two games played and are in action tonight: Golden State and Dallas.
Consensus
Nearly 75 percent of Consensus players like the Pacers to cover as 9.5-point underdogs at Miami tonight.