Spurs at Heat: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat (-4, 204)
What might have been an intriguing rematch of last season's NBA Finals has lost some luster as the San Antonio Spurs head to Miami missing several key players for their showdown with the Heat. The Spurs are down three starters — center Tiago Splitter (shoulder), forward Kawhi Leonard (finger) and guard Danny Green (finger) — but still managed a 105-79 win at Atlanta on Friday to open their three-game road trip. The Heat have won four straight regular-season meetings with San Antonio.
The Heat also have been short-handed recently with star guard Dwyane Wade missing the past four contests because of his ailing knees, but Wade is expected to play against the Spurs, allowing Ray Allen to move back to a reserve role. "It's a luxury to have the group that we have, to be able to rely on other guys when we have some of our big guys out," Heat star LeBron James told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. "With D-Wade being out for a period of gime, to be able to have a Hall of Famer backing him up … it definitely helps us." Miami has won four straight at home, where it boasts an 18-3 record and has won seven of its eight matchups with Western Conference opponents, while San Antonio is 6-0 on the road against Eastern Conference teams.
ABOUT THE SPURS (33-10): San Antonio has reeled off a season-high six-game road winning streak since its last defeat away from home Dec. 16 against the Los Angeles Clippers. The streak survived a trip to Atlanta on Friday as reserves Boris Diaw (21 points) and Patty Mills (18) were the unlikely stars. "We've got big shoes to fill until everyone gets back, Mills told reporters. "Guys go down and we have to stick to the game plan."
ABOUT THE HEAT (31-12): Miami has won four of five following a season-high three-game losing streak and remains entrenched in the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference. With Wade sidelined, Chris Bosh has been the No. 2 option behind James (26.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists) and the big man poured in 31 points in Thursday's 109-102 win over the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. The Heat nonetheless will welcome Wade's return — they're 24-6 when he plays and 7-6 without him.
TRENDS:
* Spurs are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 road games.
* Heat are 2-5 ATS in their last seven vs. Western Conference.
* Under is 6-2 in Spurs last eight overall.
* Over is 9-3 in Heat last 12 home games.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. James has scored in double figures in 537 consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak in NBA history.
2. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is tied with Red Auerbach for 10th place all-time with 938 wins.
3. Miami is 25-1 when holding opponents under 100 points.
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
San Antonio Spurs at Miami Heat
At the midway point of the season the Miami Heat sit at 31-12 but the two-time defending champions aren't up to the challenge against the betting line as they're an awful 18-25 against-the-spread. Heat cashing 33.3% of tickets in South Beach (7-14 ATS) where they net 107.3 points/game while allowing visitors 99.6 per/contest have a huge home test on deck Sunday. Miami faces San Antonio for the first time since knocking off Spurs in seven during last years Championship series (3-4 ATS). Those whose focus is on basketball handicapping understand that it demands digging a little deeper to get a better take on the situation. To that end, these folks have come up with the fact Sunday will be extremely tough for Miami. The Heat are just 3-6 ATS at home vs a team with a winning record and Spurs uncharacteristically better on the road (16-3, 12-7 ATS) than at home (17-7, 10-14 ATS) this campaign hit the hardwood 4-0 (3-1 ATS) vs. the Southeast this season. One other interesting NBA betting note they've discovered, Heat are 6-7 ATS vs the Western Conference, Spurs are on a sparkling 11-4 ATS stretch vs the East including 6-0 ATS on the road.
Suns at Cavs: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Phoenix Suns at Cleveland Cavaliers (-1.5, 204.5)
The Phoenix Suns had built some momentum with three wins in their previous four games before a setback against Washington at home on Friday. A Sunday visit to Cleveland could do them well, with three straight wins over the Cavaliers. The Suns handed the Wizards 21 turnovers last time out and were beaten on the boards 44-30 - a familiar recipe for disaster, according to forward P.J. Tucker, who told the Arizona Republic, "Whenever that stuff goes together, it's a setup for a bad situation."
Cleveland snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Milwaukee on Friday and after wrapping up 2013 11 games under .500 at 10-21, the Cavaliers have shown subtle improvement at 6-6 in the month of January. Forward Tristan Thompson said the team is progressing as a group, albeit slowly, telling the Cleveland Plain Dealer, "It's a process and we've got to keep working at it and getting better." Thompson (14 points, 10 rebounds) and guard Kyrie Irving (10 and 10) each notched double-doubles, while Anderson Varejao led all scorers with 16 points in Friday's win.
ABOUT THE SUNS (24-18): Phoenix sits seventh in the Western Conference standings at present but with Dallas just a half game in its rear view and at 4-6 in its last 10 games, things aren't exactly comfortable. But the Suns are a team that has surprised this season and is only a few days removed from a 24-point thrashing of the powerhouse Indiana Pacers, allowing them to look at Friday's slip-up as an aberration. "It was a tough night," said Jeff Hornacek and Channing Frye took it as a lesson, adding, "We can't win like that."
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (16-27): Cleveland's effort against Milwaukee left was appreciated by coach Mike Brown, who said, "I'll take this every game." The Cavaliers are still a team that is very much trying to find its identity, however, and part of that comes with taking the same approach to every game at this level. "We've got to be professionals," said Thompson, adding, "We can't wait for a guy to dunk on us or (Brown) to show some emotion for us to turn on the engine."
TRENDS:
* Under is 7-1 in the last eight meetings.
* Suns are 5-0 ATS in their last five Sunday games.
* Cavaliers are 6-2 ATS in their last eight home games.
* Over is 4-1 in Suns last five overall.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Phoenix is 6-4 in its last 10 visits to Cleveland and has won three straight as the road team in the series.
2. The Suns' 104.2 points per game is good for seventh in the NBA, while the Cavaliers rank in the bottom third of the league in scoring, averaging 96.4 points.
3. Cleveland has been solid on the offensive boards all year, averaging 12.5 per game - good for sixth in the league.
Trail Blazers at Warriors: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Portland Trail Blazers at Golden State Warriors (-5, 216)
The Golden State Warriors are losers of five of their last seven games and are watching their defense abandon them since a 10-game winning streak that bridged December and January. The Warriors will need to tighten that up in a hurry when they take on the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. The Trail Blazers lead the NBA in scoring average and took down the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-104 on Saturday.
Golden State limited opponents to 92.8 points during its winning streak but is surrendering 108.4 over the last seven contests, including a 121-120 home setback to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. “We’ve done a bad job - everybody on the floor, breakdowns,” coach Mark Jackson told reporters. “There is not one guy that is doing their job defensively. Everybody in uniform has been bad defensively for us and it’s disappointing right now.” Portland can spread teams out beyond the 3-point line or pound it inside to LaMarcus Aldridge.
LINE: The line opened at -5. The total has moved up slightly from 216 to 216.5.
COVERS POWER RANKINGS: Portland (-10.7) - olden State (-12.4) + home court (-3) = Golden State -4.7
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (33-11, 25-19 ATS): Portland took a 113-101 decision at Golden State on Nov. 23 in a game that included three ejections. Aldridge led the way with 30 points and 21 rebounds in that win and has put up at least 21 points in 11 straight games. The Blazers did not have it from 3-point range on Saturday, going 4-for-16, but took to the interior to outrebound (50-40) and outscore the Timberwolves in the paint (60-46). Portland has had its struggles on the road, however, dropping its last two away from home.
ABOUT THE WARRIORS (26-18, 19-23-2 ATS): Stephen Curry recorded 33 points and 15 assists on Friday but could not get off a potential go-ahead shot in the final minutes and was upset about not winning while putting up 120 points. “It’s not winning basketball and we’ve got to figure it out,” Curry said. “There’s not much else to really say about it, just we’ve shown we can do it and good teams do it every game. Three losses in the last four or five games where we’ve scored over 115 points, so scoring the ball is not a problem.” Curry is averaging 29.2 points and 10 assists over the last five but struggled to 22 points on 8-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 assists and five turnovers in the Nov. 23 meeting.
TRENDS:
* Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings in Golden State.
* Over is 4-1 in the last five meetings.
* Warriors are 10-4 ATS in the last 14 meetings.
* Road team is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Warriors have allowed 30 or more first-quarter points in seven of the last 11 games.
2. Portland matched last season’s win total with the win over the Timberwolves on Saturday.
3. Golden State G Klay Thompson is 15-for-30 from 3-point range over the last four games.