Thursday's Best NBA Bets
By Covers.com
Memphis Grizzlies at Atlanta Hawks (-4.5, 182.5)
The Atlanta Hawks could have easily tanked when Al Horford hit the shelf with a pectoral injury and nobody would have thought much about it.
Instead, the Hawks have won nine of the 11 games they have played without the All-Star center, going 6-4-1 against the number.
Joe Johnson scored 30 points in a 100-77 blowout of the Raptors on Tuesday, upping his scoring average to a team-leading 19.1 points per game.
"From a scorer's standpoint, you kind of look at how your first couple of baskets are," Johnson told reporters. "I got two really easy baskets and that just gets you into a rhythm. I kept getting great looks."
With Memphis coming off an impressive 100-97 overtime win over Denver, this total is looking a little low. We’ll take a shot with the over.
Pick: Over
Utah Jazz at Golden State Warriors (-4.5, 194.5)
Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson feels like he’s making progress with his club.
With Tyreke Evans putting up 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and Golden State’s bench outscoring Sacramento’s 43-21, the Warriors came away with a 93-90 win Tuesday.
"Anytime you've got some players, some home run hitters on that starting lineup, it's a tough decision," Jackson said about giving his bench big minutes. "Because you know what you're going to get, offensively especially. ... The bench guys just played great. I've always said, if you want to play, force me to leave you in. And those guys did exactly that. They deserved to win or lose this ballgame."
The Warriors came away with the win, but it wasn’t enough to get them to the pay window as 4.5-point favorites. Golden State is now just 1-5 against the spread in its last six, but this team is getting closer.
Utah has some problems on the road allowing almost 103 points per game, while going 2-4 against the spread.
We like Jackson’s club to cash in here at home.
Pick: Warriors
Hot Teams
-- Hawks won their last six home games (4-4 as home favorite).
-- Bulls covered six of last eight games as a road favorite.
-- Spurs won/covered four of their last five home games.
-- Clippers won five of their last six games.
Cold Teams
-- Grizzlies lost four of their last five games.
-- Knicks are 1-5 as an underdog, 0-2 at home.
-- Hornets lost 11 of last 12 games, but covered four of last five on road.
-- Kings lost last five games, losing last two by 3 points each. Portland lost seven of its last nine road games.
-- Nuggets lost last two games, after winning previous six.
-- Warriors are 1-3 as a home favorite this season. Utah is 2-4 as a road underdog this season.
Wear and Tear
-- Grizzlies: 4th game/6 nites. Hawks: 3rd game/5 nites.
-- Bulls: 5th game/7 nites. Knicks: 2nd game/5 nites.
-- Hornets: 5th game/7 nites. Spurs: 5th game/7 nites.
-- Blazers: 3rd game/4 nites. Kings: 2nd game/5 nites.
-- Nuggets: 3rd game/5 nites. Clippers: 4th game/5 nites.
-- Jazz: 5th game/7 nites. Warriors: 2nd game/5 nites.
Totals
-- Last six Memphis games stayed under the total.
-- Six of last eight New York games stayed under total.
-- Three of Hornets' last four road games went over total.
-- 10 of last 12 Sacramento games stayed under the total.
-- Four of last five Denver road games went over the total.
-- Over is 8-3 in Warriors' last eleven games.
MEMPHIS (11 - 10) at ATLANTA (16 - 6)
Top Trends for this game.
MEMPHIS is 70-45 ATS (+20.5 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 34-21 ATS (+10.9 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 27-12 ATS (+13.8 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 39-26 ATS (+10.4 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 64-36 ATS (+24.4 Units) versus good defensive teams - allowing <=91 points/game since 1996.
ATLANTA is 12-23 ATS (-13.3 Units) in non-conference games over the last 2 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
ATLANTA is 3-1 against the spread versus MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
ATLANTA is 4-0 straight up against MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
4 of 4 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO (18 - 6) at NEW YORK (8 - 13)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 4-3 against the spread versus NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 4-3 straight up against NEW YORK over the last 3 seasons
4 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
NEW ORLEANS (4 - 18) at SAN ANTONIO (14 - 9)
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 365-309 ATS (+25.1 Units) in home games since 1996.
NEW ORLEANS is 35-19 ATS (+14.1 Units) as a road underdog of 9.5 to 12 points since 1996.
NEW ORLEANS is 35-19 ATS (+14.1 Units) in road games after 3 or more consecutive losses since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 6-3 against the spread versus NEW ORLEANS over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 7-2 straight up against NEW ORLEANS over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
PORTLAND (13 - 9) at SACRAMENTO (6 - 15)
Top Trends for this game.
SACRAMENTO is 16-34 ATS (-21.4 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
PORTLAND is 7-2 against the spread versus SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
PORTLAND is 8-1 straight up against SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
DENVER (14 - 7) at LA CLIPPERS (13 - 6)
Top Trends for this game.
DENVER is 61-44 ATS (+12.6 Units) in all games over the last 2 seasons.
DENVER is 28-15 ATS (+11.5 Units) as an underdog over the last 2 seasons.
DENVER is 34-21 ATS (+10.9 Units) in road games over the last 2 seasons.
DENVER is 26-12 ATS (+12.8 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 72-111 ATS (-50.1 Units) in February games since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 26-43 ATS (-21.3 Units) second half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 171-233 ATS (-85.3 Units) after allowing 105 points or more since 1996.
LA CLIPPERS are 13-26 ATS (-15.6 Units) after scoring 105 points or more over the last 3 seasons.
LA CLIPPERS are 25-46 ATS (-25.6 Units) after 3 or more consecutive wins since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
LA CLIPPERS is 7-1 against the spread versus DENVER over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 4-4 straight up against DENVER over the last 3 seasons
5 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
UTAH (12 - 8) at GOLDEN STATE (7 - 12)
Top Trends for this game.
UTAH is 31-51 ATS (-25.1 Units) in road games after playing 3 consecutive home games since 1996.
Head-to-Head Series History
UTAH is 5-3 against the spread versus GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
UTAH is 5-3 straight up against GOLDEN STATE over the last 3 seasons
7 of 7 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons
MEMPHIS vs. ATLANTA
Memphis is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Atlanta
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Memphis's last 5 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Atlanta's last 5 games when playing at home against Memphis
Atlanta is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Memphis
CHICAGO vs. NEW YORK
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Chicago's last 17 games when playing New York
Chicago is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games when playing New York
New York is 2-11 ATS in its last 13 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of New York's last 17 games when playing Chicago
NEW ORLEANS vs. SAN ANTONIO
New Orleans is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
New Orleans is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing San Antonio
San Antonio is 13-1 SU in its last 14 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of San Antonio's last 5 games at home
PORTLAND vs. SACRAMENTO
Portland is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland's last 6 games
Sacramento is 8-15 ATS in its last 23 games
Sacramento is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games
UTAH vs. GOLDEN STATE
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Utah's last 12 games on the road
Utah is 4-11 SU in its last 15 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Golden State's last 5 games when playing at home against Utah
DENVER vs. LA CLIPPERS
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Denver's last 8 games
Denver is 6-2 SU in its last 8 games
LA Clippers are 10-1 SU in their last 11 games at home
LA Clippers are 17-6 SU in their last 23 games when playing at home against Denver
Hoop Trends - Thursday
By Vince Akins
VegasInsider.com
SU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Hornets are 11-0-1 ATS (11.2 ppg) since March 29, 2006 as a dog when they have lost their last three games SU and ATS.
OU TREND OF THE DAY:
The Nuggets are 0-10 OU (-9.8 ppg) since February 06, 2003 as a dog with at most one day of rest off an overtime game.
PLAYER BASED TREND OF THE DAY:
The Trailblazers are 10-0 ATS (9.1 ppg) since March 11, 2008 on the road as a favorite after winning the previous matchup in which Lamarcus Aldridge had a double double.
CHOICE TREND:
# The Bulls are 10-0 ATS (14.4 ppg) since January 16, 2008 when they are playing in at least their fourth straight road game and they have no rest.
TODAY’S TRENDS:
The Hornets are 13-0 ATS (12.4 ppg) since December 06, 2001 as a dog with at most one day of rest after a loss in which they shot at least ten three-pointers and made at least half of them.
MEMPHIS at ATLANTA
MEMPHIS: 34-21 ATS as an underdog
ATLANTA: 12-23 ATS in non-conference games
CHICAGO at NEW YORK
CHICAGO: 13-3 ATS off an upset loss as a road favorite
NEW YORK: 2-8 ATS in home games
NEW ORLEANS at SAN ANTONIO
NEW ORLEANS: 26-10 UNDER when playing their 3rd game in 4 days
SAN ANTONIO: 200-150 UNDER as a home favorite of 6.5 to 12 points
PORTLAND at SACRAMENTO
PORTLAND: 25-9 ATS in road games after a game where they made 55% of their shots or better
SACRAMENTO: 8-18 ATS after 2 or more consecutive unders
DENVER at LA CLIPPERS
DENVER: 28-15 ATS as an underdog
LA CLIPPERS: 3-12 ATS after a road game where both teams score 100 or more points
UTAH at GOLDEN STATE
UTAH: 104-72 OVER in road games after scoring 105 points or more
GOLDEN STATE: 63-37 OVER as a home favorite of 3.5 to 6 points