Thursday's Best NBA Bets
By Covers.com
New Jersey Nets at Orlando Magic (-11.5, 181)
Well, this is awkward, isn't it?
Dwight Howard's current team (the Magic) hosts the team he wishes to get traded to (the Nets).
Howard may want to reconsider this requested destination if he caught any of New Jersey's showing - or lack thereof - Tuesday night against the Hawks.
Atlanta had the Nets beaten before the ball was first tipped off and, with the visiting side up 20+ points in the third quarter, the sellout home crowd started chanting, “We want Dwight!”
“It’s very disappointing, we came out and put up a stinker like that in our first home game,” Nets PG and Howard's BFF Deron Williams told the Newark Star-Ledger. “It was one of those games where nothing seemed to go right. Definitely we have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time to do it.”
Nets fans will get a whole heap of Howard on Wednesday. New Jersey’s frontline is a mess with center Brook Lopez on the shelf.
Pick: Magic -11.5
Denver Nuggets at Portland Trail Blazers (-5.5, 199)
There were some raised eyebrows when the Nuggets shipped Raymond Felton to the Blazers for Andre Miller. Most see Felton as the better point guard with a friendly contract.
But we eventually learned the move was more about that other point guard on the Nuggets’ roster. Ty Lawson recorded 27 points on 10 of 15 shooting from the field in just 32 minutes of action in Monday’s blowout win over the defending champion Mavericks.
Denver coach George Karl seems keen on pairing Lawson with Miller and letting the bigger guard run the offense. Whether he’s playing the point or off the ball, Lawson appears to be the Nuggets’ biggest offensive weapon.
The Blazers get a break catching the lightning-quick Lawson and the rest of the Nuggets on the second night of a back-to-back set. The extra rest and the home floor should be enough to push Portland toward a cover.
Pick: Blazers -5.5
NEW JERSEY (1 - 1) at ORLANDO (1 - 1)
Top Trends for this game.
NEW JERSEY is 71-94 ATS (-32.4 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 28-50 ATS (-27.0 Units) after a loss by 10 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
NEW JERSEY is 11-25 ATS (-16.5 Units) after scoring 85 points or less over the last 3 seasons.
ORLANDO is 37-52 ATS (-20.2 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
ORLANDO is 32-45 ATS (-17.5 Units) as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
NEW JERSEY is 4-3 against the spread versus ORLANDO over the last 3 seasons
ORLANDO is 7-0 straight up against NEW JERSEY over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO (2 - 0) at HOUSTON (0 - 1)
Top Trends for this game.
HOUSTON is 11-2 ATS (+8.8 Units) in home games in December games over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 22-11 ATS (+9.9 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
HOUSTON is 4-4 against the spread versus SAN ANTONIO over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 5-3 straight up against HOUSTON over the last 3 seasons
6 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS (0 - 2) at OKLAHOMA CITY (3 - 0)
Top Trends for this game.
OKLAHOMA CITY is 104-83 ATS (+12.7 Units) in all games over the last 3 seasons.
DALLAS is 61-42 ATS (+14.8 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 250-199 ATS (+31.1 Units) as an underdog since 1996.
DALLAS is 34-17 ATS (+15.3 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 11-1 ATS (+9.9 Units) in road games first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 122-91 ATS (+21.9 Units) when playing with 2 days rest since 1996.
DALLAS is 41-20 ATS (+19.0 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 38-23 ATS (+12.7 Units) versus good offensive teams - scoring 99+ points/game over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
OKLAHOMA CITY is 6-6 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
DALLAS is 8-4 straight up against OKLAHOMA CITY over the last 3 seasons
7 of 12 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
DENVER (2 - 0) at PORTLAND (2 - 0)
Top Trends for this game.
DENVER is 122-168 ATS (-62.8 Units) when playing on back-to-back days since 1996.
PORTLAND is 3-12 ATS (-10.2 Units) as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
DENVER is 6-2 against the spread versus PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
DENVER is 5-3 straight up against PORTLAND over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO (1 - 1) at SACRAMENTO (1 - 1)
Top Trends for this game.
CHICAGO is 31-54 ATS (-28.4 Units) in road games in December games since 1996.
CHICAGO is 88-122 ATS (-46.2 Units) in road games first half of the season since 1996.
CHICAGO is 56-43 ATS (+8.7 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
CHICAGO is 13-4 ATS (+8.6 Units) off a upset loss as a favorite over the last 2 seasons.
SACRAMENTO is 9-21 ATS (-14.1 Units) first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
SACRAMENTO is 9-21 ATS (-14.1 Units) in home games in non-conference games over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 3-1 against the spread versus SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 3-1 straight up against SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
2 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NEW YORK (1 - 1) at LA LAKERS (1 - 2)
Top Trends for this game.
NEW YORK is 28-12 ATS (+14.8 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 12-2 ATS (+9.8 Units) as a road underdog of 3.5 to 6 points over the last 2 seasons.
NEW YORK is 28-15 ATS (+11.5 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 18-30 ATS (-15.0 Units) in home games over the last 2 seasons.
LA LAKERS are 10-25 ATS (-17.5 Units) after 3 or more consecutive unders over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA LAKERS is 3-1 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
LA LAKERS is 4-0 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NEW JERSEY vs. ORLANDO
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New Jersey's last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of New Jersey's last 8 games when playing on the road against Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Orlando's last 16 games when playing New Jersey
Orlando is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing New Jersey
DALLAS vs. OKLAHOMA CITY
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Dallas's last 10 games when playing on the road against Oklahoma City
Dallas is 14-5 SU in its last 19 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma City's last 6 games
Oklahoma City is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Dallas
SAN ANTONIO vs. HOUSTON
San Antonio is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of San Antonio's last 5 games
Houston is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing San Antonio
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Houston's last 7 games when playing San Antonio
DENVER vs. PORTLAND
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Denver's last 6 games when playing on the road against Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Denver's last 16 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland's last 6 games when playing at home against Denver
Portland is 7-13-1 ATS in its last 21 games when playing at home against Denver
CHICAGO vs. SACRAMENTO
Chicago is 3-9 SU in its last 12 games when playing on the road against Sacramento
Chicago is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games
Sacramento is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Chicago
Sacramento is 2-5 SU in its last 7 games
NEW YORK vs. LA LAKERS
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New York's last 11 games
New York is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games when playing LA Lakers
LA Lakers are 2-4 ATS in their last 6 games when playing at home against New York
LA Lakers are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games when playing at home against New York
NEW JERSEY at ORLANDO
NEW JERSEY: 32-45 ATS as a favorite
ORLANDO: 91-64 UNDER after playing a game as favorite
SAN ANTONIO at HOUSTON
SAN ANTONIO: 11-2 ATS off 2 consecutive home wins by 10 points or more
HOUSTON: 11-2 ATS in home games in December games
DALLAS at OKLAHOMA CITY
DALLAS: 22-7 ATS as a road underdog
OKLAHOMA CITY: 23-11 OVER as a home favorite of 6.5 to 9 points
DENVER at PORTLAND
DENVER: 122-168 ATS when playing on back-to-back days
PORTLAND: 42-24 ATS in home games after allowing 80 points or less
CHICAGO at SACRAMENTO
CHICAGO: 13-4 ATS off a upset loss as a favorite
SACRAMENTO: 9-21 ATS in home games in non-conference games
NEW YORK at LA LAKERS
NEW YORK: 25-7 ATS as a road underdog
LA LAKERS: 3-18 ATS after a combined score of 175 points or less
Hoop Trends - Thursday
By Vince Akins
VegasInsider.com
SU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Nets are 0-12 ATS (-8.0 ppg) since November 29, 2009 on the road with at most one day of rest after a 5+ point loss in which they shot less than 40% from the field.
OU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Kings are 0-11 OU (-11.8 ppg) since February 07, 1999 at home with at most one day of rest after a road loss in which less than 45% of their baskets were assisted.
PLAYER BASED TREND OF THE DAY:
The Thunder are 10-0 OU (17.6 ppg) since April 14, 2010 at home after Kevin Durant scored at least 30 points the last two games.
CHOICE TREND:
The Trailblazers are 11-0-1 OU (18.5 ppg) since November 20, 2006 at home after a double digit win in which they allowed less than 40% from the field.
TODAY’S TRENDS:
The Thunder are 7-0 ATS (9.6 ppg) since March 07, 2010 after a road win in which they allowed less than 40% from the field.The Bulls are 0-9 OU (-11.4 ppg) since January 22, 2010 when playing the first of back-to-back road games.