Heat at Knicks: What Bettors Need to Know
By Covers.com
Miami Heat at New York Knicks (+4.5, 198)
When the Miami Heat last tasted defeat, they were clinging to a half-game lead over the New York Knicks for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Things have taken a dramatic turn since. The Heat will enter Sunday's matinee showdown at Madison Square Garden riding a 13-game winning streak and holding a comfortable 6 1/2-game edge over the Knicks. Miami still has some unfinished business with New York, which has won both meetings between the teams this season - each by a 20-point margin.
The Heat overcame a sub-par outing by LeBron James to keep the win streak intact with a gritty 98-91 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Miami has won five in a row away from home, all coming by double digits. The Knicks used a strong fourth quarter to knock off the Washington Wizards on Friday night. It was the third consecutive victory following a four-game skid for New York, which is tied with the Indiana Pacers for the second seed in the East.
ABOUT THE HEAT (42-14): While James earned his fourth consecutive Eastern Conference Player of the Month Friday, teammate Dwyane Wade is quietly putting together his own stellar stretch. Wade scored a team-high 22 points against the Grizzlies and is averaging 29.5 points in his last four games. Wade is shooting a blistering 63.1 percent and has added eight steals and five blocked shots during that span. He is averaging 27.3 points in his career vs. the Knicks despite scoring a combined 28 points in the two meetings this season.
ABOUT THE KNICKS (35-20): New York routed the Heat in Miami on Dec. 6 without leading scorer Carmelo Anthony, who is on a scoring spree of his own. Anthony put up 30 points against the Wizards and is averaging 31.5 points in the last four games. But he continues to struggle from 3-point range, connecting on just 20 percent of his attempts (8 of 40) over the past six games.
TRENDS:
* Heat are 5-0 ATS in their last five road games.
* Knicks are 1-7-1 ATS in their last nine games overall.
* Over is 4-0 in Heat’s last four overall.
* Over is 4-1 in Knicks’ last five overall.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. A victory Sunday will allow Miami to match the longest winning streak in franchise history, set during the 2004-05 season.
2. The Knicks have buried 37 3-pointers in the two wins over the Heat.
3. Miami ousted New York in five games in last season's playoffs, not allowing more than 94 points.
Sunday NBA Tips
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
The Sunday NBA card is filled with action starting with the Knicks and Heat early in the afternoon followed by the Thunder and Clippers in Los Angeles. We'll take a look at three of they key night matchups, including the Lakers and Hawks at Staples Center, while the Bulls and Pacers hook up in a key Central Division battle. A game that involves two Texas rivals begins this preview as both clubs are in reverse roles this season.
Mavericks at Rockets
Dallas has plenty of ground to make up in the Western Conference playoff race as the Mavs begin Sunday's action five games behind the Rockets for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Mavs have taken care of business against their cross-state foes twice this season, including a 116-109 victory at the Toyota Center in December as six-point underdogs.
Rick Carlisle's club bounced back from Wednesday's meltdown at Memphis to top Brooklyn on Friday, 98-90 to snap a three-game skid. Dallas is on fire covering numbers on the highway by posting a 12-2 ATS record the last 14 road contests. The Mavs have limited three straight opponents to 95 points or less, while cashing the 'under' in four consecutive games.
The Rockets escaped Orlando on Friday night with a 118-110 triumph, but failed to cash as nine-point road favorites. Houston's five-game home winning streak came to a screeching halt in Wednesday's buzzer-beating loss to Milwaukee, but the Rockets have won six of their last nine home games against Western Conference opponents. The Rockets look to end a nine-game losing skid to the Mavericks that dates back to November 2010, while Dallas has cashed in seven straight meetings.
Bulls at Pacers
These two teams will battle it out for the Central Division title when all is said and done, as Indiana holds a three-game advantage over Chicago. The Bulls head to Indiana with no rest following Saturday's home victory over Brooklyn, while winning consecutive games for the first time since late January. However, Chicago is playing with double-revenge after getting tripped up twice by Indiana.
The Pacers held off the Bulls at the United Center in early December as four-point underdogs, 80-76. Each team shot below 38% from the floor, while Paul George torched the Chicago defense with 34 points. Indiana topped Chicago again at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on February 4 in a make-up game after getting postponed in December due to bad weather in the area. Frank Vogel's club outlasted the Bulls in a run-and-gun contest as the Pacers topped the Bulls as 5 ½-point 'chalk,' 111-101.
Indiana has won six of its past seven games following Friday's road victory at Toronto, while picking up its sixth cover in this stretch. The Bulls have been up and down on the highway recently by splitting its last 10 games away from the Windy City, while cashing the 'under' in four of their last five road contests. After going through a nice stretch as a road underdog, the Bulls own a below average 2-4 ATS record the past six opportunities when receiving points away from home.
Hawks at Lakers
Los Angeles is that close to reaching the .500 mark, as the Lakers would improve to 30-30 on the season with a victory over the Hawks. It's been an uphill climb for the Purple and Gold, who has won 12 of the last 17 games, including seven of the previous eight contests at Staples Center. The Lakers will face an Atlanta squad that saw its four-game winning streak halted in a surprising setback at Phoenix on Friday night as short favorites.
The Hawks play the fifth of a six-game road trip after winning three of the first four contests. Atlanta pulled off outright 'dog victories at Milwaukee and Utah, while routing Detroit as short favorites. However, the Hawks pulled up lame in a 92-87 defeat to the Suns, the lowest point total for Atlanta since scoring 76 points against Chicago on February 2. In spite of the loss, Larry Drew's team owns a 5-1 SU/ATS record the last six road games.
The Lakers drilled the short-handed Timberwolves, 116-94 on Thursday as 10-point favorites, while topping the 100-point mark for the sixth straight game. L.A. has hit the 'over' in four of five contests since the All-Star break, including all three games at home. Mike D'Antoni's club has put together a 7-4 SU record at home against Eastern Conference opponents, but the Lakers have covered just five times.
NBA: Streaks, Tips, Notes
Sportspic.com
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers
The Los Angeles Clippers will try to snap a two-game series slide vs Oklahoma City when they welcome Thunder to the Staples Center Sunday afternoon. Great spot for L.A. to clip OKC. The Clippers winning eight of nine (7-2 ATS) after knocking off Pacers and most recently Cavaliers on it's mini two game road swing enjoy a solid 23-6 (18-11 ATS) mark on home court scoring 103.2 while allowing 92.8 PPG. The Thunder looking mediocre on the road of late hit another road block last time out falling 105-103 as favorite in Denver and have now lost 5-of-6 when traveling giving up a whopping 104.2 PPG over the span. Look for Clippers to exact their double revenge improving the 4-1 SU/ATS streak vs Thunder at the Staples Center, it's 7-3 ATS stretch playing at home on Sunday, 14-7 ATS mark following a game in which they shot =>50.0% from the field while Thunder fall to 1-5 ATS as a road dog after a loss as a favorite, 1-5-2 ATS as a dog after allowing =>100 points the previous game.
NBA Point Spreads and Betting Guide
By: The Linemakers
Sportingnews.com
The Sunday NBA card features two nationally-televised gems on ABC, both of which are potential conference championship previews.
The New York Knicks (35-20 SU, 26-27-2 ATS) host the Miami Heat (42-14 SU, 29-27 ATS) at 1:00 pm ET, followed by a Western Conference heavyweight bout between the Los Angeles Clippers (43-18 SU, 35-26 ATS) and Oklahoma City Thunder (42-16 SU, 34-22-2 ATS) at 3:30 pm ET.
The Heat have won 13 in a row and covered seven of their last 10. They have failed to get the money in their last three games, but they've been a sizable home favorite in each of those contests.
LeBron James & Co. are 14-13 ATS this season on the road, where they tend to cover shorter numbers. The 4.5 point spread in Sunday's trip to New York qualifies.
It's tough to find value in this line, but it's even tougher to go against the Heat, with the national spotlight on them, considering the way they've been playing.
In the second game of ABC's doubleheader, the Clippers are in a double-revenge spot at OKC. L.A. dropped the first two games of the season against the Thunder – 117-111 in Oklahoma City in November, and 109-97 at Staples Center in January. However, Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups were both out for the second matchup.
The Clippers are back to full strength now, and are 2.5-point favorite on Sunday.
There are 228 and 206 points put up in these teams' first two meetings of the season; today's total is 204.
Rick Herron and Brian Blessing (video): Who's the class of the conference?
Here are some more key trends and injury news to weigh as you're handicapping Sunday's NBA card. The lines below are from the LVH SuperBook as of early Sunday morning.
* The Heat have covered their past five road games while the Knicks have covered only once in their last nine games overall. The Knicks and Heat have stayed UNDER the total in their past six meetings. Miami is -4.5, with a total of 198.
* The Thunder have covered only one of their last six road games, while the Clippers have covered four straight coming in. The Clippers are also 9-1 ATS in their past 10 Sunday games. The Thunder have covered only once in their last five games at the Clippers. The two teams have gone OVER the total in six of their past seven meetings. L.A. lays 2.5 at home today, the total is 204.
* The Bobcats have failed to cover their past five games against Pacific Division teams. The Kings have gone OVER the total in their nine of their past 11 games. Sacramento is -7 at home, and the total is 206.
* The Sixers have covered 12 of their last 16 meetings with the Wizards. The Wizards have stayed UNDER the total in 18 of their last 26 games.
* The Grizzlies have covered their past four road games, however, they have covered only once in their past five meetings with the Magic.
* The Mavericks have covered 16 of their last 21 road games and 15 of their last 18 against Western Conference teams. The Rockets have covered five of their last six home games, but the Mavericks have covered their last four visits to Houston. Dallas is +5 today, with a total of 218.5.
* The Bulls have failed to cover their past six Sunday games, but have covered four of their last five on the road. The Pacers have covered six of their last seven games. The UNDER has occurred in four of their last five meetings. Caesars has Indiana as the 7-point fave and the total set at 179.5.
* The Hawks have covered five of their last six road games. The Lakers have gone OVER the total in their last four home games. The favorite has covered the last four meetings between the Lakers and Hawks. L.A. is -5.5, the total is 207.
NBA Injuries:
* Wizards center Nene (shoulder) is questionable.
* Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph (ankle) is questionable.
* Magic guard Jameer Nelson (knee) is doubtful.
* Spurs guard Tony Parker (ankle) is OUT.
* Spurs guard Gary Neal (calf) is doubtful.
* Bulls guard Richard Hamilton (back) is questionable.